Brenda Flatmo Tattoo and Art bio picture
  • Brenda Flatmo

    I am a tattooer and aspiring painter. In this blog I have two aims: by sharing some of my work as both completed pieces and progression shots of projects, I hope to give the viewer a peek into the process of tattooing. I also hope that this blog might bring me closer to my work by forcing me to be more methodical and contemplative as I record and photograph these projects in various stages of development. Generally, things move so quickly in business, art and in life, that as one project or job is finished, I find myself rushing headlong to the next task and I hope that this blog might slow down time, if just a little.

  • PluraBella, LTD.

    My studio is called PluraBella. I share it with my husband, Kore- an extremely talented artist and tattooer that is a daily inspiration to me.
    We live and operate in Cincinnati, Ohio, although we make regular trips to the Los Angeles area and even to the occasional tattoo convention.

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Cherry Blossom Tattoo

After a long hiatus, crazy life and lots of technical problems, I return to the blog with a new post!

This tattoo was a pleasure to do- it’s a first tattoo on a very tough new client. We were able to get this one done in a relatively quick amount of time( although any amount of time spent getting one’s ribs tattooed tends to tick by slowly!).

This is a sort of sumi-e style of tattoo, done to mimic a watercolor painting style. There is no black in this tattoo: the darkest tones in the branch are done in a dark gray, so the branch will retain a softness which will be more apparent once it heals (this photo was taken a day after the tattoo was completed). The flowers themselves were done entirely in color with a good balance of white, pink, and red. I like to use light tones in the blossoms, but it’s very important that the flowers are constructed to be as striking visually as possible, since there is no background here to lend support.

This type of tattooing is very organic and for me, to tattoo in this style is the closest the experience of tattooing ever comes to painting or drawing. Needless to say, I really enjoy it and would love to do more!

 

cherry blossom branch tattoo on side

Kimberly Roberts - April 11, 2014 - 6:39 am

Very beautiful tattoo!

Hummingbird, roses and dogwood blossoms: in progress

Hello, all!!

Here are a few views of a tattoo, that while still in progress, I thought I would share. The elements represent special memories of family for the client: a composition of dogwood blossoms, a hummingbird and roses. I’m very happy with what we’ve accomplished so far- we’ve gotten a lot done in just two sittings. For now the client is taking a short break for a vacation, but I hope to have it finished soon!

Owl

We thought that we would go for a placement that was a bit unusual here and so rather than be limited to the chest only, we let this guy spread over into the shoulder as well. Just a small bit of environment makes this  much more interesting. 

New shots of an older tattoo- I think that I did this one around 2 years ago. Recently I was working on a new project for my lovely client  and  I was able to get some good shots of it, so I’d like to share them here. I love this tattoo-we plan on adding more to it and I really can’t wait! It’s such a fantastical combination; I’d love to see more happening and growing here in this little scene.

Full leg octopus tattoo: in progress.

So, once again, I’ve taken a huge break from posting. I can’t believe it’s been so long since I last sat down to deal with the blog, but time flies and there simply never seems to be a moment to spare! I do have some new thoughts and projects and perhaps some new additions for the blog, so we’ll see! For now, though, an actual post!

I thought I would show you some progression shots of a larger tattoo, from study onward. This is an ongoing project, so you’ll see what’s been accomplished so far.  I have included the initial study for the tattoo, which was a very general sketch overlaid on a photograph of the clients leg, to show part of the planning process. I placed a stencil for the main body of the octopus based on this sketch and then drew the majority of the tentacles and all of the water directly on the leg, tattooing those on over the first two sessions.

I knew that I would’nt be able to account for all of the geography of the leg in my drawing, so I was prepared to do alot of drawing on the body for this particular tattoo. I certainly don’t draw all of or even most of my tattoos on skin, but for some projects it is the most effective way to approach the design, making sure that the tattoo is complete and full and that the drawing works with the shapes of the body as much as possible.

We have begun the long coloring process: for now focusing on rich reds of the outer body. There is quite a bit to go and this project is likely to take until late summer or fall for completion. Fortunately, because my client is an extremely tough guy and is able to sit for a long session for each appointment, we are making good progress each time we tackle the project. I’ll try to post again to show how we are moving along, so stay tuned!