New school tattoos

The lines get bolder, the shapes more graphic, the composition more willing to break out of where a traditional piece would have kept it. The subjects are often the same — dragons, masks, foo dogs — but they are drawn with more exaggeration and more movement.

It suits people who want the weight and meaning of Japanese work without it looking like a reproduction of something from a century ago. It also suits coverups, where you need shapes with enough authority to sit over what came before.

This is the part of my work that has grown most over the last few years, and it is where I am usually pushing myself.