Category: black and grey tattoo

Black and grey realistic lion half sleeve

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Really happy about working with Nikki, I had previously tattooed a portrait for her, and she came back years later for this realistic lion. We have one more session to go, just adding some mains and pushing contrast. She’s agreed to come back in order to achieve a better result. I think that’s what it comes down to, how much care you put to something, and in tattooing, also it’s about how much faith the client has. Clients who easily loose faith in the process, specially approaching a large piece of art, will not achieve the best end result, or not even reach the end result. In business, if you manage to please 90% of your clients you are successful, because the 10% will never be pleased anyway. And the best way is to accept that, because you will live in peace, as your health comes first. I usually try not to speak in depth like this, however, sometimes is good to share business experiences, to inspire and guide other business owners, as we all have to deal with society.

Black and Grey Flower and Nature Sketch

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I love to draw before I start working, it warms me up and gets me ready for tattooing. So all sketches I finish are a product of 5-10 minutes spare I find before I start tattooing. I love all different sort of mediums in art, but sketching is one of my favourites for sure, together with oil painting. Sketch is the foundation of all sort of art, is the foundation in tattooing, painting, gaming and many others, so sketching everyday it develops your artistic skill, and it gives you the opportunity to put to a paper ideas that you feel like expressing. With this sketch I tried to achieve a natural and positive feel to it. Thank you for visiting my web site

Medusa black and grey Tattoo by Louis

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It was his first tattoo, and what a nice guy to work with, it’s inspiring to meet first timers who are willing to put time to their tattoo. He had an idea which got me exited, he wanted a full sleeve based on Greek mythology. We started with Medusa, which is such a cool character, he was happy to let me express myself artistically, and that’s where I achieve my favourite pieces. Getting tattooed with an natural vibe, relaxed, and letting it be, it allows me to work in peace and trust the end result, as an natural result. Instead of worrying so much about the end result, and the end result not being as natural as it could have been. I’m very exited about carrying on with this sleeve, Poseidon will be next, so keep an eye open for more updates.

Thank you

Egyptian God Graphite on A3 paper

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This drawing I actually finished before the lockdown. I love Egyptian art style, and I would love to work on Egyptian related tattoo projects in the future. Egypt is for sure on my list of places to visit. I’m fascinated by Egyptian culture, I love watching documentaries about it. Thank you for looking at my site, and see you guys after lockdown is over.

Black and grey Japanese Coy Carp

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Happy New Year everyone. What a different end of the year we had. But I’m sure there are better days to come. I’m now back uploading on this site, so keep an eye open for updates. In this post I finished a black and grey coy carp half sleeve. We are in the process of a full Japanese sleeve. I have been focusing on realism a lot lately, but he had been following me on Facebook for a while, so a accepted to go back to my roots of tattooing when I used to do a lot of Japanese. Hope everyone is keeping safe, and I hope this will be our last lockdown. Take care

Native Indian Pencil Drawing @louissantostattoo

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Hey everyone. I hope everyone is ok with this UK lockdown. As you guys can see I’m having a lot more time in my hand, so I thought this time to approach a full A3 detailed pencil drawing, Pencil drawing it allows me to be as neat as possible, quiet similar to a tattoo needle. I love painting too, however the brushes moves quiet a bit when you touch the canvas to paint, I guess everything has its highs and lows. In this drawing I tried to achieve a Native Indian Tattoo Master, he’s got the experience, and dedicates his whole life to art and tattooing. He’s holding a painting brush, and he’s got a tattoo machine engraved in to his hat. His face is tattooed and he has a sort of satisfaction look in to his face, which it represents listening to your own intuition, and not falling to what other people tell you to do. He sees loneliness as a blessing, as he has no stress and he has the opportunity to embrace his artistic urges. Our time on this earth is very limited, and the choices you make will carry on with you forever, so listening to your intuition and going towards what you want to do is imperative. One day we are going to be old, and time is past, and looking back with satisfaction knowing we have done what we wanted, is a life mission.

Follow me on instagram@louissantostattoo

Keep Safe Guys

Owl and dove black and grey sleeve tattoo

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Matthew asked me for full sleeve in black and grey, I was happy when he asked me for a dove and an owl. The dove above is done all free hand and the bottom half it was all stencilled. He wanted a compass in the middle of the owl, it was a nice idea. He had good ideas but also kept them simple, that’s why his full sleeve was so clear. Sometimes when you put too much information in a sleeve, it becomes a bit busy and hard to read. However Matthew listened to my advice, and he was a really nice guy to work with. Overall a great experience. Hope to see you again Matthew, for your next sleeve. Follow me on instagram@louissantostattoo

Full back tattoo, black and grey realism-fantasy

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This one is a bit of a blast from the past, but worth reminding about it. It was her first tattoo, so very brave girl to begin with. She wanted a coverage of the full side of her back. I was very surprised as usually for first tattoos, clients prefer to start small and build it up. So I was worried about letting her understand the process, patience and dedication needed in order to have a large tattoo. I was sure to be clear that only sticking through the process, you will get the end result. Specially with full back tattoos, not everything will look clear straight way, specially with the way I work, I build everything like a paint, so first, I apply a simple basic layer and add to that later, giving the skin the chance to heal, and go back to it. I don’t believe in damaging the skin so much, so I ask my clients to come back for a second pass. Anyway, all that worry I had with this tattoo, it went completely out of the gate, as she was very patient and had faith in the process. Sometimes clients really surprise me, with how young they are and how sensible they are, willing to put the time needed to have a nice tattoo. With this black and grey tattoo, we tried to achieve a mix of realistic and fantasy style to it. Follow me on Instagram/louissantostattoo.Thank you for reading.

Jason’s black and grey full sleeve complete

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Jason was one of those dream clients, really easy going and humble. He gave me a first idea and let me roll with new ones, and giving me the opportunity and freedom to express and come out with the best solution possible to his sleeve. We are on to plan his next one.

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