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The shadow of black and grey tattoos.
Hello everyone, first thanks for looking at my blog. In this blog I would like to educate you guys about black and grey tattoos.
I used to think I knew about black and grey tattoos, until I had a seminar with Carlos Torres. Carlos Torres is a master of black and grey tattoos, and I travelled to Venice, Italy, for a tattoo conference. In this tattoo conference, was there also one of my favourite artist “Boris Vallejo” who’s a master of realism, oil painting.
If you notice a lot of black and grey tattoos, the tattoo artist puts black, grey tone, and leaves the skin area. I used to think like that when I used to do my black and grey tattoos, however, that’s a very basic understanding about black and grey tattoos, and the reason why is, in reality black and grey images are not just black. Grey and highlights. There’s a lot more than that involved.
When I had a seminar with Carlos Torres, he opened my eyes about studying black and grey images, in order to improve your black and grey tattoos, and have a better understanding with how the shadow falls in the subject.
If you want to improve with something, you have to deeply study it, and deeply analyse it. Look at it, at a deeper perspective, instead of a basic interpretation of what’s going on.
Another way to understand black and grey tattoos better is to draw black and grey images and practise shadows on paper first, in order to improve your understanding about shadows. However, how come younger tattoo artists are not drawing anymore?
Young tattoo artists report to be “specialists” in a style they never draw. Drawing is the only way to improve your understanding and artistic skill in a subject. To claim to be a specialist at something is to study deeply at subject the artist is passionate about.
However, when you as an artist is passionate about something, you will automatically want to draw that subject, and explore it, because you love it.
So if you claim to be a specialist at at style you never draw, are you passionate about it? I don’t think so, and then, in consequence, you are fooling your client, who doesn’t understand that the artist should be drawing what they claim to be specialists in, in order to improve, and give the client the best tattoo possible.
That’s a deeper insight, to open your eyes about tattooing and the tattoo world. My generation of tattoo artists, were a generation that were art focused outside of tattooing, in order to bring artistic knowledge to the tattooing craft. This is what the word “Tattoo artist” mean. Someone who’s is art focused, in order to bring those artistic knowledge to the tattoos they are working on. And that’s the reason why I wanted to become a tattoo artist, because I love that. So if you see a tattoo artist without any drawing or painting portfolio, how can they be considered artists? That means you are getting tattooed by a tattooist, not a tattoo artist.
Everyone who does tattoos nowadays are called tattoo artist but half of them don’t even draw or paint, and it’s sad. I love painting and drawing and it’s been part of me all my life, and that’s because I love art. Those who don’t draw or paint, are not artists in my opinion.
I hope this blog opened your eyes about the truth, as I do not agree about tattoo artists who fool their clients, saying they specialise at something they never draw or paint it.
Thank you for taking time to read my blog.
