Today a Bostonian Irishman returned to add to his extensive collection. Three years ago we did a large partial sleeve of Celtic interlace, and today we added more matching knotwork to bring it down to the wrist. Hooray for the ethnic ambitious!
Celtic Wrist Cuff Tattoo by Pat Fish
Today a man requested of his family that his seventieth birthday gift was to come with his son and get his first tattoo. The simple elegance of the shamrock fills the claddagh ring to form a perfect Irish tattoo. And now both he and his son wear it with pride.
Today I was excited to do a second piece in what promises to be my first ever Saxon sleeve. I love Celtic, and Pictish art, but Saxon is comparatively unexplored territory. This sea dragon was found on the shield of King Raedwald, one of the greatest of the early English warrior-kings. He ruled over what is now East-Anglia and was also overlord of all the English kingdoms. When he died in around the year 625 he was placed in an Anglo-Saxon war ship along with his armor, shield, weapons and other fine treasures. He was covered by a burial mound where he lay undisturbed until the site was excavated in 1939.
Sutton Hoo 'Saxon Dragon' Tattoo by Pat Fish
Here is a photo from 2011 of the Saxon 'Bird of Prey' Tattoo on the same client:
Saxon 'Bird of Prey' Tattoo by Pat Fish
Today a collector of tattoos came in to expand on a pre-existing small circular Celtic pattern on his upper arm. I added a custom knotwork pattern to begin the process of transforming this arm into a Celtic sleeve.
Celtic Knot Quarter Sleeve Tattoo by Pat Fish
Easter is an appropriate time for this man's third and final marathon session to finish this large custom cross on his back. At his request we included the Alpha And Omega symbols in the arms of the cross, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet referenced by Christ in Revelations 1:8. At the top of the cross is the Chi-Ro symbol, a Christogram, superimposing the first two letters of the Greek word for Christ. And in the center is the IHS, another Christogram abbreviation of the Greek name for Jesus.
A meeting of ravens, a balancing of spirit and intelligence, the cleverest of birds represented as a convergent flame. A tattoo for one who seeks balance with Celtic energies.
Today a first: a cruise liner passenger disembarked, zipped up from the docks to the studio for a quick embellishment with a permanent souvenir. A simple little winged lion, a favorite image from the illuminated gospels, power and strength in a mythic form.
Celtic Winged Lion tattoo by Pat Fish
Today a woman who was deeply impressed by the symbolism of this crop circle came in for a permanent installation of it. Two sharks circling a Celtic triquetra knot, they come alive in the translation. Comparing them with the photographs below will show the ways we made discrete changes to make a more effective tattoo pattern.
Shark Crop Circle Tattoo by Pat Fish
This crop circle picture appeared near Wiltshire, UK on June 23, 2016 - http://www.cropcircleconnector.com
Today a man with a pre-existing family crest came in to add a tree of life, making it into a family tree of life. We started with two Celtic hearts knotted together to form the roots, then came up the arm with branches and leaves to envelop the Mahedy crest.
Family Tree of Life Tattoo Upgrade by Pat Fish
Today a man whose enthusiasm for his heritage led him to want a Celtic tattoo put the finishing touches on this knotwork forearm piece. Three sessions over a period of months and now he is embellished forever with an ethnic and artistic statement.
Celtic Gauntlet tattoo by Pat Fish
The Pictish people are an aboriginal people of Europe, known for their tattoos, and this descendant added to his tattoo collection today with this pattern that combines several of the motifs found on the 6th century standing stones in Scotland.
Pictish 'Power Glyph' Tattoo by Pat Fish
Today a woman who proudly owns one of this rare and magnificent breed of horse asked for a portrait of her Oberon, and had her friend Micah Brown provide the drawing. I placed him against a circle of Celtic knotwork so that his striking black and white coat would silhouette against it. The Gypsy Vanner embodies the flair of the Celtic spirit. With a striking black and white spotted coat pattern and heavily feathered feet, to see one is to feel transported to another time.
Gypsy Vanner Horse tattoo by Pat Fish
It is always a special privilege for a tattoo artist to do matching tattoos on two people who love each other deeply. Today this father and daughter came to get the same tattoo, the Father Knot, and we did his in a bolder, darker version and hers in a more feminine lace-like version.
Celtic Father Knot tattoo by Pat Fish
Celtic Father Knot on Daughter by Pat Fish
Today this Fireman came to finish his shoulder-piece begun last year. By judicious use of wicker-shading, stipple-dotting, solid color and open space, we made the intricate pattern easier for the eye to decipher.
Celtic 'Generations Half Sleeve' Tattoo by Pat Fish
Today a persistent man endured arduous airport delays and aggravations to achieve his goal of a Celtic tattoo in California. The Tree of Life in this tattoo is flanked by two protecting Irish Wolfhounds, with the entire knotting linked and interwoven with an oval border, making it an integrated shield. A big man with a big upper arm, giving me a fine pale canvas on which to install a complex and original pattern.
Celtic Hounds of Life tattoo by Pat Fish
Today saw the final color session on this complex pattern, a melding of a peacock, lion, and eel into one integrated chest piece. Symbols of faith, courage, and cleverness.
Peacock-Lion-Eel chest tattoo by Pat Fish
Today an Alaskan fireman biker, a man who celebrates the connection many motorcycle riders feel with the Viking heritage, came for this custom piece. The unique 12-pointed interwoven Valknut is surrounded by a circle of motorcycle chain, linking the two enthusiasms.
"The valknut (Old Norse valr, 'slain warriors' and knut, 'knot') is a symbol consisting of three interlocked triangles. It appears on a variety of objects from the archaeological record of the ancient Germanic peoples." -Wikipedia
Today a man whose family crest features a mighty boar requested this custom uniting of both a 9th century Pictish stone carving of a boar and a 6th century Celtic knot work ring. Rendered in both wicker-shading and pointillist dots, it captures the ancient petroglyph art and translates it to skin.
Boar Ring tattoo by Pat Fish
Today a musician came for a band that represents the spiraling notes of the sounds that make her life fulfilled. Bracketed by triquetras, the classic Celtic triple spiral forms the center of a band that completes around her arm, returning to source.
Celtic 'Spiral Serendipity' Tattoo by Pat Fish
Today marked the culmination of a long project, bringing together three tattoos into one cohesive whole. On the chest we placed a claddagh cross, the Irish symbol for faith, loyalty, and courage. To honor this man's mixed Irish and American Indian heritage, the Cherokee symbol for friendship, the crossed arrows, was placed in the center of the cross. On his sleeve we completed a Cherokee seven pointed star with yin-yang wolves in the middle by adding Celtic knotwork that circles the wolf star and then flows around and under the arm. An ambitious sleeve for a persistent and proud man.
Cherokee Claddagh and Wolf Star tattoo by Pat Fish
