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    Intricate Postage Stamp Tattoos by Ash Aurich Are an Ode to Art History

    All images courtesy of Ash Aurich, shared with permission

    Intricate Postage Stamp Tattoos by Ash Aurich Are an Ode to Art History

    March 10, 2025

    ArtIllustration

    Kate Mothes

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    As the saying goes, if one knows very little about something, their knowledge could fit on the back of a postage stamp. But for tattoo artist Ash Aurich, the minuscule format provides a readymade canvas and frame ripe for experimentation, intrigue, and beauty.

    Using a fine line technique with delicate shading, Aurich outlines the unmistakable scalloped edges of the ubiquitous, tiny adhesives, filling rectangular compositions with Renaissance-inspired romantic and religious figures.

    A deep appreciation for iconic artworks inspired Aurich to create tiny odes to art history. “I wanted to be able to capture the essence of these masterpieces in a unique and engaging way,” she tells Colossal. “Having the opportunity to tattoo these designs on others who appreciate art is a rewarding experience.”

    Aurich’s preferred subject matter is people, especially the dramatic and often symbolic figures in art historical masterworks by the likes of Johannes Vermeer or Caravaggio. “The attention to detail, use of light and shadow, and mastery of human anatomy create stunning, lifelike representations that translate beautifully into tattoos,” the artist says. She shares that it’s important for the emotions and narratives of each portrait to resonate with the wearer, especially at their small scale.

    Currently in residency at Atelier Eva, Aurich has opened her books for March and April in New York City. The tattoos seen here are all flash designs, but she creates custom compositions, too. See more on Instagram.

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    Miniature Scenes, Cross-Stitch Flowers, and Works from Art History Nestle into Eva Krbdk’s Tiny Tattoos

    
    Art
    Illustration

    #animals
    #art history
    #cross-stitch
    #landscapes
    #nature
    #tattoos

    May 3, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Havva Karabudak, shared with permission
    Havva Karabudak, who works as Eva Krbdk, thrives on inking minuscule details. Focusing on innumerable lines and dot work, the Turkish tattoo artist (previously) illustrates textured florals in cross-stitch, realistic portraits of animals, and micro-paintings in the likes of van Gogh, Magritte, and Fornasetti. Many of the vivid renderings are small enough to fit into a perfectly round circle or a skinny stretch of a client’s upper arm.
    Karabudak’s background coalesces in her tattoos, including her formal education at the Fine Arts Academy of Ankara in Turkey and her love of textiles. “It’s pretty customary for young women to learn (embroidery) from their grandmothers in Turkey,” a statement about her work says. “As a result, tiny cross-stitch patterns were among the first tattooing styles that Eva embraced.”
    Karabudak just opened her studio Atelier Eva in Brooklyn, and although she’s currently booked, you can watch for openings on Instagram.

    #animals
    #art history
    #cross-stitch
    #landscapes
    #nature
    #tattoos

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    Science-Inspired Ink by Michele Volpi Blurs the Line Between Tattoo and Textbook

    
    Art
    Science

    #anatomy
    #black and white
    #insects
    #nature
    #surreal
    #tattoos

    July 29, 2020
    Vanessa Ruiz

    All images © Michele Volpi, shared with permission
    One might learn something from staring at the tattoos of Italian artist Michele Volpi (previously). The composition, detailed dot work, and precise lines of his tattoos transcend both ink-infused skin and science textbooks. The Bologna-based tattoo artist relishes in scientific books—from Frank Netter’s painterly medical illustrations to the exquisitely rendered biological specimens and marine life of Ernst Haeckel. He often visits bookshops during his travels to discover and acquire these new sources of inspiration.
    Volpi’s customers seek him out to tattoo an array of botany, astronomy, physiology, and chemistry-based compositions. Sometimes customers let him choose the branch of science, in which case he renders his favorite subject—anatomy. Even then, Volpi combines subject matter like in his tattoo comparing the shape of a human pelvis to that of a butterfly or another that features a human skull being stretched absurdly through a wormhole.
    The artist tells Colossal that his “dream is to make a scientific book with all of my conceptual scientific illustrations that I love.” View Volpi’s body of work and booking information on Instagram. For those not ready for the permanence of a tattoo, there are prints of his pen-and-ink, anatomical illustrations available in his shop.

    #anatomy
    #black and white
    #insects
    #nature
    #surreal
    #tattoos

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    Iconic Marble Sculptures Tattooed with Inky Backdrops and Floral Motifs by Fabio Viale

     Viale’s Laocoön. All images © Fabio Viale Italian sculptor Fabio Viale inks his marble reproductions of iconic sculptures with heavy scenes of ancient stories, swirling waves, and foreboding clouds. Each vine, flower, and dragon-based composition is settled on a darkened backdrop that tends to envelop an entire back, leg, or shoulder, triggering an uncommon […] More

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    Technicolor Animal Portraits Inked in Watercolor Tattoos by Sasha Unisex

     All images © Sasha Unisex Based in St. Petersburg, artist Sasha Unisex often begins a bold tattoo concept by painting a prismatic wolf or a cherry blossom-speckled origami crane with watercolor. She fills arrangements of stark shapes and precise gradients with crimson, cerulean, and tangerine hues. When the tattooist recreates her inky animals and […] More