The popularity of modern tattooing owes its origins to Captain James Cook’s voyages to the South Pacific in the 1770s, but tattoos have long evolved from the early days of anchors and tigers. As they evolved, so has the interest in them grown, and some tattoos are considered to be nothing short of works of art. These next tattoo artists are living proof that your tattoo need not be a total cliche.
Roxx
Tattoo artist, known simply as Roxx, puts the art in “tattoo art.” Using the human body as her canvas, her work is bold, geometric, and very much striking. So much so that it was featured in a 2017 exhibition in The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). “Tattoo to me is the enhancement and adornment of what nature has already given us,” stated the LA-based artist in an interview with Dazed & Confused.
Daisy Watson
Inspired by Picasso, Cocteau, and Jean Arp, Daisy Watson uses thin black lines to create surrealist tattoos with a playful twist. “My drawings are never too serious or boring,” said the Berlin-based tattoo artist in an interview with femtastics. “At least I hope so. I would call my style surrealistic.”
Tati Compton
California-born tattoo artist Tati Compton (real name Tatiana Kartomten) has made a name for herself thanks to her “stick-n-poke” technique. “I started doing tattoos on an impetus – for an experience or out of boredom or from a feeling and it didn’t really matter how it looked or turned out,” she admitted in an interview with Tattoo Life. “It was more about the act and experience. It was free – I didn’t have to ask anyone for anything – It was DIY, it was immediate, and it was fun. I don’t know how to use a machine, this is the only way I know how to tattoo.” The end result is undeniably cool.
