Neo-traditional tattoo of a bearded sailor in a knit cap with a pipe, rope and red rose, on the thigh.

Bearded sailor portrait with rope and rose

Neo-trad · Thigh · Mixed · Photo

A bearded man in a knit cap looks to the side, with a smoking pipe held by a loose rope that wraps around the design. A red rose sits at the base, with a small anchor on his cheek and script lettering on the cap band and at the lower right. Bold black outlines and smooth colour shading in red, tan and grey give the portrait a rich, painted look against the skin.

Find an artist for this

Take it to an artist as a reference. A good artist will make it yours rather than copy someone else's tattoo.

A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Hold the ladle still, Sam, and listen, because I'll not tell it twice and the stew won't wait for a fool. Your great-grandfather sailed out of Whitby on the Morning Hart, and the cook aboard her was a Hull man called Josiah Crane who could make a pot of lobscouse out of boot leather and a prayer.

Keep reading

One winter they were caught off the Dogger with every line frozen stiff as iron, and the only comfort aboard was Crane's clay pipe, smoked in the lee of the galley hatch. The rope that ran from the mainmast to his stove had been coiled so long it had taken a shape of its own. Each night he tucked a rose petal, pressed flat from a bloom the captain's wife had given him at Tynemouth, inside the band of his knit cap, and each night the wind tried to take it.

The gale came on a Tuesday. The rope parted and lashed across the deck like a live thing, and Crane went after young Elias, who had gone forward to fetch the anchor chain. He caught the end, wound it twice round his wrist and the boy's collar, and held the Hart's stern into the sea until the mate could get a line across. When they hauled the pair of them in, the pipe was still lit and the petal was still in his cap.

So the next time a rope gives you grief, think on Josiah Crane and hold on a bit tighter. Now pass me that spoon, and mind the pot, because I'll not have you scorch the lobscouse.

More like this

Neo-traditional tattoo of a bearded figure wearing antlers and a helmet, framed by a black foliage wreath, on a calf.
Antlered bearded figure on a calf
Black and grey realism tattoo of an old sailor in a peaked cap and pipe, with a lighthouse and lightning below, on the upper arm.
Sailor and lighthouse on upper arm
Colour traditional-style tattoo on a calf showing a bearded man's face in a red and black checked hat, with a pipe and a pine-tree landscape.
Bearded man in plaid hat on a calf
Sketch-style tattoo on the outer thigh showing a bearded face built from a house with windows, holding a pipe and a hand with yellow and blue wash.
Bearded face made of a house on a thigh
Black and grey traditional tattoo of a skull with a long beard and wide-brimmed hat, beside a rose, on the thigh.
Skull figure with hat and rose on thigh
Black and grey realism tattoo of a bearded classical bust wearing a ribbed beanie, placed on the forearm.
Bearded classical bust in a beanie on a forearm
Black and grey tattoo of two skeletons, a man in a bowler hat and a woman with a feathered hat, framed by laurel branches on a calf.
Skeleton couple in Victorian dress on a calf
Traditional-style colour tattoo on a calf showing a moustached man with a blue linework tattooed torso, beside a shaded black rose with green leaves.
Tattooed man portrait and black rose on a calf
Black and grey tattoo of a man's head filled with flowers, wheat and an eye, with a checked collar and bow tie, on an upper arm.
Man's face filled with flowers on upper arm
Black and grey dotwork skull tattoo with an eye in a triangle and heart-shaped rays, on the thigh.
Skull and eye tattoo on a thigh
Realistic black and grey back tattoo of a bearded older man smoking a pipe, with hands holding a tin below, covering the back.
Bearded man with pipe on full back
Realism tattoo of a bearded older man with flowing hair and swirling smoke across the back of a hand, shown in greys and browns against a pale background.
Bearded man portrait on the back of a hand

From the plentytattoo archive, uploaded by a user. Is this your work? Ask for credit or removal.