Photorealism Tattoos-Tom Renshaw and More

Photorealism tattooing is creating tattoo work that looks just like a photograph. Realistic. It’s amazing how much more advanced and complex tattoos are now compared to years ago. The styles have changed. Techniques have been expanded upon. The equipment is more sophisticated. Artists share ideas with each other.

The three tattoo artists I have featured on this Hub are favorites of mine. I have a few tattoo sites that I began a few years back. I did an apprenticeship with a friend of mine that owned a shop in New York but it was never the art form for me. But having the brief experience of tattooing for a short while really makes me appreciate the talents of these guys even more. To be able to catch a likeness in a portrait is a difficult accomplishment on paper – but to achieve a likeness by injecting ink into holes in a person’s skin – just seems an impossible task. These artists prove the impossible is possible.

Please take the time to leave a comment or take the poll - I'm curious to see what other people's opinion are of these talented artists.

You’d probably be surprised to learn that a talent as special as Bob Tyrrell didn’t even get his first tattoo until he was 29 years old. By the time he finished his apprenticeship he was 34. Just think of all those years he could have been producing all these awesome tattoos. The man’s talent is truly special. His portraits are so lifelike whether he’s tattooing humans, animals, or demons. When he began his career, he was teamed up with another famous realism tattoo artist – Tom Renshaw. Renshaw is more well known for his wildlife scenes. The talent these two men possess is truly some of the top tattoo work you’ll ever see.

Some of Tyrrell’s work is color but the majority of the realism is done in black and grey work. Notice how he’s able to get a glistening light on wet areas like the mouth, teeth, and eyeballs.

Tom Renshaw has been tattooing for around 20 years and I believe him to be one of the most talented tattoo artists living today. Renshaw tattoos at Eternal Tattoos in Clawson, Michigan. This man is so famous, he’s been able to focus his art on the style he enjoys the most. He does only black and gray photo realistic tattoos – no color. Many of his best clients are other artists.

His work has been in hundreds of magazines and he’s won over 400 awards for his work. I think you’ll be able to see the similar talents between Renshaw and Tyrrell.

Unlike the other two artists I have listed above, Mike Devries is able to get a very realistic likeness of individuals using quite a bit of color. Perhaps his subjects are more animated than a truly realistic rendition but I thought his ability to capture a likeness of a person or animal still classifies this work as photorealism.

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