A Tattoo Renaissance

I scour the internet for inspiration, resources, and eye candy. The last few hours I've been looking for faces rendered with color. I just wanted a couple of good examples. It turns out I was inundated with some of the most beautiful works of art I've seen in years. Lovely pieces that capture moments of beauty, expression, horror, humor, grace, form and craftsmanship. And these are just faces. All of which are walking around as a visual experience on someone's body.

Here's a small sampling, see for yourself:

This may be an obvious observation, but I don't care. Something amazing, a renaissance of sorts, has been taking place. (You know, "renaissance"... it's Algonquin for "the good land") Oh, and I'm not referring to some "vogue of counter culture" in which having a tattoo is more commonplace. Nope. I'm talking a concerted effort of artistic growth and skill. Artists pushing themselves further and further.

Clearly, something like this is birthed from a strong history (tattooing goes back how many years?) and will continue on whatever course it decides. I'm just excited to be able to see the progress. If this is early renaissance, I can't wait to see what the high renaissance will bring.

Artists:
01 - Jeff Ensminger : jeffensminger.com
02 - Joshua Carlton : joshuacarlton.com or on MySpace
03 - Nate Beavers : natebeavers.com or on MySpace
04 - Correction: Nikko on Kyle Cotterman on MySpace.
05 - Sean Herman : seanherman.com
06 - Monte Agee : montetattoo.com or on MySpace
07 - Nikko : ignitiontattoo.com or on MySpace
08 - Mike De Masi on MySpace