Journalism of Courage
Like movements in art,designs and motifs in tattoos
come and go. Be it the barb wire around ones arm or
an Om symbol in the radiant sun or even the Lord Shiva tattoos they all peaked and passed and may make a
comeback later. But tattoos rooted in human emotions are timeless. Nostalgia never goes out of style. Therefore,
sporadically,a customer walks in seeking to get the portrait of a loved one etched on to his skin forever.
It is like carrying the picture of a beloved in your wallet, says veteran tattoo artist Sabby of Sabbys Tattoo
Studio. He adds that the wish to get portraits done is rooted in memory and often the reason behind it is very
special. Getting names tattooed was a fad,but getting portraits done is like taking it to another level, says
Sabby. In his career as a tattoo artist spanning over 15 years,Sabby has often seen customers walk in with the
desire of getting portraits done. Of the 300-odd customers we ink every month,about 15 come in asking for portraits, he says.
Despite the excitement a customer walks in with,the artist often feels that the moral obligation to dissuade
him from getting a portrait inked,reiterating the decisions permanency. People riding the crest of love are gung-ho about getting their partners names and faces inked on to
their bodies. If unfortunately theres a break-up,customers come back for a cover-up or a removal job, says artist Nirmal Bihani of Guns Artwork.
Abhinandan Basu of InkLab attributes the demand for portraits to the prevailing trend in the West. Basu
says,Popular TV shows such as Miami Ink and LA Ink,which brought tattooing trends to our TV sets,popularised portraits. Expert artists in these shows replicated photographs on peoples bodies. These shows did much to glamourise portrait tattoos. Basu,who has a portrait of his mother on his arm,believes that even
though portraits require a high level of technical sophistication,it says nothing about the artists finesse.
There is no creation involved in portraits,only replication. A great portrait artist neednt necessarily be a
great artist,he is definitely a great craftsman, says Basu.
But is there a room for mistake? If there is a mistake in a portrait tattoo,there will be someone else on your body and not the one in the picture, says Andy,Basus colleague from InkLab. He adds,An artist can
better his skills by sketching on paper regularly and watch other tattoo artists. And yes,he must master the
skill of shading,which is imperative to perfect portraits.
Sabby believes that artists must also have an astute understanding of their tools. The artists must know his
needles and what they can do. More importantly,he must be able to pick up the right needle for the job, says
Sabby. He adds,Understanding the ink is also important. Since portraits are done with black and grey,and use
white for highlighting,an artist must know how many shades he can get by diluting black ink. There could be
more than 10 shades between black and grey. But yes,the Indian skin tone is restricting.
Tattoo artists say that inks are tested in the West on white skin. Even the lightest shade of grey is visible
on fair skin. A darker skin tone disallows an artist to play with shades. Therefore,achieving depth through
shades becomes tougher, says Andy.
