Black and grey realism tattoo of a compass rose, hourglass and lightning storm across the outer forearm.

Compass and lightning storm on a forearm

Realism · Forearm · Black and grey · Photo

A black and grey tattoo covers the outer forearm, showing a compass rose and a sand timer set against a dark storm of clouds and branching lightning. The shading is smooth and realistic, with strong contrast and soft gradients on the clouds and metal details. The design fills the lower half of the arm against a plain black background.

Realism Forearm Compass Compass rose Hourglass Lightning Storm Cloud

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

The storm came over the hill at ten past two, and by three the lights on Ward Seven had gone to a tired yellow. Ruth Abney kept the hourglass on the drug trolley because the night sister said it kept the nurses honest. Each sand measured four minutes of checks, and when the top bulb emptied she turned it over and went down the corridor again.

Keep reading

Lightning walked along the car park and stood on the roof of the chapel. Every flash showed the compass rose painted on the wall by the lift, the one a boy from the fishing village had drawn years ago so the lost could find the stairs. Ruth had always thought it a silly thing to paint on a hospital. Tonight she found herself touching its north point with two fingers as she passed.

Bed six was an old fisherman who believed the sea was still calling him. He asked her which way was north, and she showed him the star on the wall. He said his grandfather steered by a star, then by a lamp, and by the time the lamps came in the sea had already decided. Ruth turned the glass again. The sand ran thin and grey, like the rain on the window.

By dawn the storm had gone east, taking its branches of light with it. The fisherman slept, his breathing slow and even. Ruth turned the hourglass one last time and set it down empty side up, the way the old women of the village did, so the next watch would know the hour had been kept.