Today an esteemed returning client came to complete a set of Scythian style animal tattoos. We had previously done a leaping stag on his right leg, and of course he yearned for symmetry. Today we added a pouncing wolf, drawn to mimic the spiral forms and dotting in the stag.
'Scythian Wolf' Tattoo by Pat Fish
'Scythian Deer' tattoo by Pat Fish
Here is a link to the Scythian Stag on the other leg: http://www.luckyfish.com/blog/scythian-stag-tattoo
Today a woman requested a custom shamrock with leaves evoking hearts, picking out a knot she liked best and asking me to morph it into the three leaves forming the shape she wanted. On to the challenge! Always glad to add a new shamrock design to the assortment. She was obviously a very pale Irish gal, so she could get the brightest green of all!
Celtic 'Trinity Shamrock' Tattoo by Pat Fish
Today a returning client came back to build on a tattoo of ravens that he had me do six years ago. Time to be more ambitious! The birds have weathered nicely, softening with aging, and to enhance them we formed a custom arc of Celtic knotwork reaching up onto his shoulder.
Celtic Tattoos by Pat Fish
I have an entire page that explains the process of building sleeves in this manner: http://www.luckyfish.com/building-a-celtic-sleeve
And the pattern for the ravens, a design inspired by artwork by the Celtic artist Jen Delyth, is available for sale, as is the top arch:
Today a man whose heritage roots tie him back to the Celtic lands came in for this Legacy Tree, a Celtic tree of life on his calf with roots that form a band around the leg. The number of leaves represents the members of his generation, and the two falling leaves stand for those who have now passed away. Like an ancient sentinel in the forest, the family line endures.
Celtic 'Legacy Tree' Tattoo by Pat Fish
Recently a nurse requested a permanent medical alert bracelet, jewelry that can never be lost or stolen, protecting her from an inadvertent mishap. Delicate and effective, knowledge is power.
Medical Alert Bracelet Tattoo by Pat Fish
Today a woman came for a special dedication, a bracelet with the initials of her terminally ill father. She wanted him to be able to see it now, to know that he will remain always in her thoughts after he passes away. She chose symbols important to both of them to place in a series of discs linked with chain, and now whenever she looks at it she will recall this moment when she made a permanent testimonial of her love for him.
Celtic Dedication Bracelet Tattoo by Pat Fish
Back in November, a client commissioned this custom tattoo (click here to see the original blog post), and today he returned to bring it to life with color. We knew when we did the black lines and shading that it would have color, but he wanted to have some time to think about how much. Today we opted for an emphasis on the central flames, leaving the cats, sword, and triquetra in black, to meld them together.
'Celtic Sword Cats' Tattoo by Pat Fish
Today a happily married couple came to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary by getting matching Celtic tattoos of their pair of mules! Thanks to the internet she found me, quite possibly the tattoo artist most enthusiastic to do mule portraits! So here their mules are, Gus and Elvis, representing the teamwork that she and her husband share, and their bond of devotion and, dare we say it, stubborn determination to make their marriage work!
Celtic 'Stubborn Love' Tattoo by Pat Fish
Today a UK resident returned to add another pattern to his growing collection of ethnic art. This is a Pictish boar, a close representation of a carving made in Scotland by the Picts, one of more than 250 preserved stones that were carved as early as the 3rd century. Below it I placed a La Tene band, that dates from 500 BCE, and gives the boar a plinth to stand on.
Stone Boar Band Pictish Tattoo by Pat Fish
Today a world traveler stopped by for a Celtic embellishment, a tree of life tattoo made from a California valley oak with knotwork roots. A permanent souvenir of his passage through the Central Coast, capping his shoulder with the canopy of the majestic tree.
Celtic Tree of Life Tattoo by Pat Fish
This Celtic hummingbird tattoo has turned out to be one of the favorites of 2015. It is adaptable to being rendered in many different ways, and several people have requested it. This version is almost life-sized, and hovers delicately on a woman's shoulder. Her husband came for something massive and ambitious, and she caught the fever and also left with a permanent souvenir of their trip to the Left Coast.
Celtic Knotwork Hummingbird Tattoo by Pat Fish
The last tattoos of 2015, a pair of romantic hearts celebrating a recent marriage. Taking a pattern from the husband's wedding band, this Celtic heart design also contains an infinity symbol, for a rope-like twist representing the "tie that binds" them together in holy matrimony.
'The Tie That Binds' Celtic Knot Tattoo by Pat Fish
'The Tie That Binds' Celtic Knot Tattoos by Pat Fish
Featured Tattoos from 2015
When I began tattooing I made it my goal to bring alive the ancient Celtic designs in skin, and for three decades I have made that a focus for my art.
In recent years I felt the pull of my own Scottish heritage, and began to work to raise the profile of Pictish Art in tattooing and encourage more clients to embrace this enigmatic and historical style. 2015 saw quite a few clients choosing Pictish designs, and this one in particular stood out. Click the image to view its original blog post and read more about it.
This Husband and Wife wanted matching tattoos to commemorate their 25th wedding anniversary and chose portraits of their mules to represent their love for each other. I share their enthusiasm for long ears! Click the photo to read more.
The deer on the left is modeled after ancient Pazyryk Scythian tattoos found on a 5th century BCE mummy from frozen Siberia. When this client requested a complementary design for his other calf to balance it, I designed the dire wolf. Click the photos to read about this set of unusual animals.
Special Thanks to Ben for letting us use his portrait!
The award for most ambitious client goes to this splendid fellow who journeys from the East Coast for periodic additions to his collection. The angular sleeve on his right arm is adapted from the Pictish Maiden Stone in Scotland, and the spirals on his left arm are a balancing complementary conceptually challenging free-form pattern. His chest is only lines at present, and work to fill it in will be the next phase. Click the image to read more about his sleeves.
This Celtic high cross done all in knot work is the pattern I found most personally satisfying this year. The flow of the weaves and the way the ring, the inner diamond shape, and the plaits in the body all interweave took MANY hours of designing time. There is a strict rule to the Celtic patterns, they must obey the logic of weaving over and under just as the plaits in weaving, crochet, or rawhide braiding always follow it. After many years drawing such patterns I continue to take real pleasure when they take shape, and the process of creating original custom designs for clients keeps my career challenging. Click on the photo for the original blog post about this cross.
Hey Guys, ColinFraser here. Filling an entire arm or leg with continuous seamless Celtic knotwork is the most challenging and rewarding work on which Pat and I collaborate. There were several great pieces this year, but this one in particular stood out for its inclusion of a zoomorphic figure - a first.
This kind of tattoo really highlights the amount of behind the scenes work and “analog to digital“ back-and-forth that we employ when creating custom Celtic patterns. In this case, the client chose a knot that Pat drew from a grave rubbing she made in Ireland years ago. I then created a tessellated repeating pattern of the knot in Photoshop and gave it back to Pat. She connected the individual knots into a seamless pattern that then went back into Photoshop so that I could “morph” it in 2D to fit the proportions of the client’s leg in 3D. Once the fit was close, Pat completely redrew the pattern using the morphed version as a template and then added a head and tail to create a dragon serpent from an individual lace of the knot. Finally, the improved pattern was test fit and fine tuned so that we could create a stencil. After all that was done, Pat still had to “lace up” the pattern where the stencil’s seams met on the leg before the tattooing could begin! A lot of work, but I think you’ll agree that the impressive result is well worth it.
Today a man who was inspired by reading about the ancient Irish goddess Badb, a war goddess who takes the form of a crow, requested this crow skull for the center of his chest. The deity is sometimes known as Badb Catha ("battle crow").
Celtic Crow Skull Tattoo by Pat Fish
Today a nurse whose own life has been filled with medical challenges came from the East coast to celebrate her status as a survivor. She chose this tree of life pattern and asked for the seasonal turning of the leaves to be portrayed in the canopy, something she enjoys watching every year.
Tree of Life Celtic Tattoo by Pat Fish
Today a man for whom the bear is a personal totem came in to add to his collection of ursine tattoos. This time we added a Celtic bear head bracketed with a knot on either side to represent the pads of the paws, and tied it together in the back with knotted claws touching under the arm for a unique band.
Celtic 'Bear Totem' Band Tattoo by Pat Fish
Celtic 'Bear Totem' Band Tattoo by Pat Fish
Recently a woman asked for a Great Blue Heron flying on her shoulder. A totem spirit for her, she has found that they appear for her at important times in her life. Here it is winging its way against a blue moon, in a tattoo that for her symbolizes self-reliance and balance.
'Moon Heron' Tattoo by Pat Fish
Today a woman came requesting a tattoo both ethnic and timeless, a symbol that hearkens both to her Scottish ancestry and her love of life. This ancient spiraling pattern incorporates both double and triple spirals, roiling like the waters of the sea, rendered in a sharp black and dotted woad blue.
'Water of Life' Celtic Tattoo by Pat Fish
Tonight I finished up coloring this dragon phoenix on a fireman. It took several sessions to complete, and was a challenge because the Celtic band and flames needed to be planned with the dragon so that it was all one integrated tattoo. It was important for me to mimic the uplifted wings of a phoenix in flames we are familiar with, and to have the dragon's bat-wings fit the musculature of his shoulder to look dimensional. The client had very specific ideas about the coloring, and now it is finally looking alive!
Celtic 'Dragon Phoenix' Tattoo by Pat Fish
The previous session's blog post showing the dragon in black ink only is here:
Today an athletic fellow with Viking heritage came in for a vegvisir on his upper arm. The Huld manuscript, dated to 1860 but copied from earlier material, says: "Carry this sign with you and you won’t get lost in storms or bad weather, even though in unfamiliar surrounds." A permanent compass to keep him on track.
Vegvísir Viking Tattoo by Pat Fish
