There are famous tattoo artists who have stood out for the quality of the tattoos they have managed to make and for their designs. Their perseverance has led them to become the best tattooists in the world.
According to the RAE,"tattooing is to engrave drawings on human skin, by introducing coloring matter under the epidermis, by the prongs or pits previously arranged."
The word tattoo Comes from the Polynesian language (tátau) and from this term passed to English, tatoo (pronounced tatú). And from here it has passed to all other languages.
The history of the tattoo is ancient. There is evidence of tattoos (a small mustache on the lip) in the Chinchorro culture of Peru, 2000 years before Christ.
Tattoo, even if it does not come in the RAE, it will be any person who dedicates, professionally or not, to make tattoos on the skin.
There are many styles of tattoos. Some tattoo artists dominate several of them. We have the abstract tattoo, black and white, Celtic, blackwork (using only black ink), pointillism (fine style using innumerable points that come together to form the drawing), Chinese character tattoo, Germanic runes, Japanese irezumi, etc.
There are many professionals who have made tattooing their way of life. The most famous can earn a lot of money on each tattoo. Let's meet some of them.
Current tattooists
1- Amanda Wachob (Brooklyn, New York)
Image Source: theweekendertravel.com
Amanda is able to make incredible figures with ink of different colors on the skins of their clients. His impeccable drawings give the impression of seeing a hyperrealistic painting.
It makes all kinds of drawings, from geometric figures, through butterflies of brilliant colors, to spots and dots creating an abstract drawing of great quality.
2- Chaim Machlev (Berlin, Germany)
Image Source: ohmytattoo.altervista.org
This tattoo artist is known as"Points and Lines". Their tattoos are exclusively in black ink, never using any other color. His lines and point drawings are quite creative and are very well regarded by tattoo lovers.
3- Xoïl (Paris, France)
Image Source: weheartit.com
Loic Lavenú has an original style, little seen, that makes his tattoos look like passed by photoshop. Black ink predominates, but you can use other colors.
4- Peter Aurisch (Berlin, Germany)
Image source: inkarmy.com
Talented tattoo artist from the Fine Arts. Their tattoos are like small pictures on the epidermis of the clients, giving him equal it is watercolor, outline or charcoal style. Very original.
5- Sasha Unisex (St. Petersburg, Russia)
Image source: monsieurink.com
The most surprising thing about this Russian tattoo artist is the rich and varied range of colors she uses for her work.
Precisely these colors, with the proper combination of them, makes their tattoos acquire an elegant touch of softness that is very difficult to achieve in the tattoo. It is as if his needles did not pierce the skin, as if he painted softly on it.
6- Madame Chan (Berlin, Germany)
Originally a tattoo artist, with an unmistakable style in which she combines everyday motifs with drawings drawn from her dreams and fantasies.
7- Alice Carrier (Portland, Oregon, United States)
Image source: tatuantes.com
If you like motives and drawings of nature, this is your ideal tattoo artist. From flowers, petals and stems, through spikes of wheat, to small birds perched on branches, Alice has a very good hand for drawing.
8- Rob Kelly (Hong Kong, China)
Image Source: tattooatoz.com
This artist combines the best of western art with the classic Chinese tattoo. It combines the new school of color with the classic stroke in drawing and lines.
9- Angelique Houtkamp (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Image Source: myspace.com
This Dutch tattoo artist began relatively late, at the age of thirty. That has not prevented her own style, with a feminine touch, which would be worth both for canvas and for the skin.
10- Valerie Vargas (London, United Kingdom)
Image Source: weheartit.com
This tattoo artist is famous for their faces of women and for flowers, both for their colors and for drawing.
11- Louis Molloy (Manchester, United Kingdom)
Image Source: tattooblog.com
If you've always wondered who was responsible for ripping and dying the skin of soccer player David Beckham, here's the answer. It is versatile and can do any type of tattoo.
12- Kenji Alucky (Hokkaido, Japan)
Image Source: tumblr.com/search/blackinkpower
Interesting and original Japanese tattoo artist. This refined technique and using a myriad of dots is called"stippling". Use geometric and tribal drawings.
To appreciate his art well, the viewer has to get close to the skin. You have to look at your tattoos very closely. The most curious can use the magnifying glass to see the last detail of their technique.
13- Placaso (Santa Ana, California)
It comes from the tradition of white and gray. He is famous for his"Chicano"drawings, but where he really stands out is in the portrait.
14- Mariusz Trubisz (Vrotslav, Poland)
Polish tattoo artist who also points to the technique of hyperrealism. Its vivid colors are one of its hallmarks.
15- Shane O'Neill (Middletown, Delaware, United States)
He is one of the best tattooists in the photo. You give the photo of a portrait to Shane and you tattoo it in unless a cock crows on the skin.
16- Dmitry Samoguin (Ukraine)
This tattoo artist spreads his ink along his arms, shoulders, forearms, thighs. He tattooed known characters from the cinema, science, television or politics.
Around the world, people walk around with Marilyn Monroe on one shoulder, Nicola Tesla on his arm, Albert Einstein on the forearm, or Salvador Dali, with his face and his soft clocks folding in the calf.
17- Ondrash (Czech Republic)
This Czech tattoo artist, very famous in the center of Europe, has specialized in tattoos reminiscent of watercolor painting. It uses well the color and makes mixes worthy of an expert watercolorist.
18- Scott Campbell (New York, United States)
Scott is famous for having tattooed the skins of famous people, including Marc Jacobs. It dominates many styles, but where it is strong is in Mexican imagery. He specializes in mortuary masks in Mexico.
19- Julian Garner (Ottawa, Canada)
Fine and delicate lines where in addition color is the center of the tattoo characterize this Canadian who usually tattoo bodies or heads of all kinds of animals.
20- Erin Chance (Richmond, United States)
A great representative of figurative tattoo, specialized in faces of elegant women and cats, although it is able to tattoo any other figure and also objects, such as clocks especially sand.
21- Bugs (Los Angeles, United States)
An artist who uses the needle and ink as he could use the brush or the gouge. This American understands the tattoo as a representation of art. His works deserve to be at least seen, if we do not dare to pass through the needle.
22- David Hale (Georgia, United States)
Their tattoos follow patterns of the decorative art, with classic and tribal drawings, predominating the black ink, but using, occasionally, alive colors for birds or butterflies.
Classic Tattoos
1- George Burchett-Davis (Brighton, United Kingdom, 1872-1953)
He was called the king of the tattooists. He was expelled from school at age twelve for tattooing his classmates. He entered the English Navy and continued to make amateur tattoos until he returned home and began to learn from the legendary English tattooists.
He is famous for having tattooed royalty, including the Spanish King Alfonso XIII and King George V of the United Kingdom. In addition to tattooing, he is known for developing a cosmetic that was actually the precursor of the current"tattooed eyebrows".
2- Sailor Jerry Collins (United States, 1911-1973)
His birth name was Norman Keith Collins. Most of his life was marine, hence his name,"Sailor"(marine). He learned the art of tattooing in Alaska, from the hands of"Big Mike", who taught him how to tattoo by hand. Later, in Chicago, he would learn to tattoo with machine thanks to Tatts Thomas.
He entered the US Navy at age 19 and sailed the seas of the world for the rest of his life, tattooing anyone who lent him his skin for a few hours. He became a world authority on tattooing. He taught his technique to Ed Hardy and Mike Malone. The fame of Sailor continues today thanks to the company"Sailor Jerry Ltd.", a brand of clothing and souvenirs that promotes the new talents.
3- Don Ed Hardy (United States, 1945)
One of Sailor Jerry Collins's students. Following the advice of Sailor, Don studied the classic Japanese tattoos under the magisterium of the master Horihide and began to incorporate Japanese techniques to his works.
She has published several alternative art books, including the"Tattoo Time"series. He makes the"Ed Hardy"clothing line and sponsors tattoo artists at his San Francisco studio.
4- Horiyoshi III (Japan)
This famous Japanese tattoo artist has been trying for 40 years not to miss the ancient Japanese tradition of tattooing. His teachers, Horiyoshi I and Horiyoshi II instructed and transmitted the essential knowledge in the art of"irezumi", the ancient tattoo of Japan.
Horiyoshi III knows that keeping this tradition is difficult in Japan today, since tattoos have, as in Russia, very negative connotations, because they are more typical of criminals. The Yakuza, the Japanese mafia, uses tattoos to tell the story of their crimes, as do the Vôry v zakone Russians (law thieves).
Horiyoshi's work follows Zen teachings and is based on humility.