EVENING PRIMROSE
“I prefer tattooing botanicals over anything else because they’re the most timeless type of art. I use a lot of vintage references (some even dating back to the 16th century), and the fact that people still want those illustrations on their body hundreds of years later is a testament to how timeless they are.
“This is one of my favorite botanical pieces: evening primroses, wildflowers native to Southern California. This piece is part of a larger project I’ve been working on with my dear client Emily for the last year and a half. She’s a paleontologist and wanted a sleeve featuring SoCal native plants, animals and insects, and it has been by far my absolute favorite project I’ve worked on yet. Evening primroses are thin and crinkled with a tissue-like texture, which is one of my favorite textures to incorporate in my work. I love tattooing wildflowers and typically opt for more unique florals rather than your standard peonies, poppies, roses, etc.
“In fact, I typically don’t accept requests for common flowers these days — there are so many other interesting flowers out there to get tattooed, and I love the idea of clients wearing tattoos that are uniquely theirs. This client has a sleeve full of things that few people have tattooed, and I think that’s the whole point of getting tattoos: to wear permanent art that is unique to you and makes you feel beautiful and at home in your body.”
— Adeline Engeman, Stabs & Scabs