All about Neo-Trad
I’ve always been drawn to Neo-traditional tattooing, and the style in general. Art Nouveau too. You can say that Art Nouveau is Neo-trads great great grandfather. We wouldn't have this guy without him.
When you look at classic American Traditional tattoos, you’ll see heavy black outlines accompanied with primary colors (mostly). These tattoos were simple for 2 reasons: time and technology. Sailors didn’t have a ton of time to sit and get tattooed. Sometimes they had one or two hours before they had to up and leave again—and tattooers didn’t have the technology or skills to make something custom, fast, cost effective—flash was coveted, gate-kept, and stencils were pre-made and reused. There was no space for what Neo-Traditional is today, back then.
As technology got better Neo-Traditional emerged. It took from all the best parts of traditional, and art nouveau and made this wonderful love-child between them. Bold lines hold the structure, finer lines emphasize detail. Color choices are extremely varied. The rise and spotlight of Neo-Traditional had really opened up the realm of possibility for tattooers. **Say thank you to the nice man Steve Moore in Canada for challenging a lot of tattoo “ideaologies” in the early 90’s! He may be more on the illustrative side, but he did so much! Lord Lips too.**
With this style of tattoo you can control what story you want to tell or what feeling to portray. Artists having the ability to inject their own stylistic preference into their pieces is, for me, the most valuable thing about it. It’s my favorite part. There are so many Neo-traditional tattooers out there and a simple color choice, or how they draw a leaf can completely give away who has done the tattoo. In a world full of people trying to keep up with trends, this style is timeless. You cannot age the essence of someone’s soul.
When I began tattooing it was a style I wanted to take on. Now 12 years down the line, seeing it change so much (for good) has just really sent it home how much of a right choice it was. There are other styles I enjoy, and arguably tattoo more of, but this one feels like home. My bed after a long day. The breath of fresh air on top of a mountain.
I love it!
I hope you all had a wonderful 4th and are basking in the glory of midsummer. Be sure to use SPF!!