Neo-traditional colour tattoo on a thigh showing a hawk's head merging with a woman's profile, surrounded by orange chrysanthemums and red feather swirls.

Hawk-headed woman and chrysanthemums on thigh

Neo-trad · Thigh · Colour · Photo

A hawk or eagle head with a golden eye fuses into the profile of a woman, whose bare shoulder and chest are shown below. The linework is bold and dark, with smooth blended shading on the feathers and skin, and the palette is dominated by oranges, reds and browns with grey-blue shadows. Large orange chrysanthemum-style flowers fill the lower corners, and thin red and grey swirls trail up behind the head, giving a balanced, vertical composition. The image is a side-by-side duplicate of the same photograph.

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

Dear Wat,

Keep reading

The hawk came back on Tuesday with your letter tied to her leg, though the rain had got to it and the ink had run to a grey smudge. I read what I could. You are working the salt pans at Harrowmouth now, you say, and the gulls there are fat and stupid and you have not once been tempted to eat one. Good. Mother would have taken the strap to you for it.

She is called Ashe, as you know, and she has grown thin since you took the cart north. She sits on the frame by the wall where the chrysanthemums climb and watches the lane for you. Every morning I open the shutter and she turns her head, that gold eye fixed on the road, and then she turns it back to me as if I were a poor substitute. I suppose I am.

The flowers are at their best now. Mr Pryce from the big house has been buying them by the armful for his wife's burying, and he paid in silver, which I have hidden under the flour bin because I do not trust the tax man. The orange heads have come out heavy and bowed with the frost, and I cut them at first light so they stay proud for market.

Come home at the turn of the year. Bring the sea salt. Ashe will take a fish from your hand if you have not forgotten how to hold one still.

Your sister, Nell

More like this

Colour tattoo of a red-haired mermaid with a teal tail and surrounding bubbles, covering the upper arm and shoulder.
Red-haired mermaid on upper arm
Black and grey linework tattoo of a woman in profile wearing an ornate headdress with scrollwork, on the upper arm.
Art Nouveau woman in profile on upper arm
Colour traditional tattoo of a woman in a feathered headdress holding a tomahawk, with red flowers below, on an upper arm.
Feathered headdress woman with flowers on an upper arm
Neo-traditional tattoo of a woman in profile with curled dark hair, orange spiked rays and a teal hair ornament, on the inner forearm.
Neo-trad woman profile on a forearm
Black and grey realism tattoo of a blindfolded winged woman with red splashes and cracking stone limbs, placed on the calf.
Blindfolded winged figure turning to stone on a calf
Colour neo-traditional tattoo of a dark-haired mermaid with teal scales, red roses and a conch shell, on the upper arm.
Mermaid with roses and shell on a limb
Black and grey neo-traditional tattoo of a woman's face with braided hair, flowers, feathers and a geometric headband on the thigh.
Woman portrait with flowers on a thigh
Colour tattoo of an Art Nouveau style woman with red hair and white roses in a circular frame, placed on the upper arm and shoulder.
Art Nouveau woman with white roses on upper arm
Traditional style tattoo of a woman in profile with a red rose in her hair and gold beaded jewellery, on the forearm.
Woman in profile with rose on a forearm
Black and grey realism tattoo of a blindfolded Lady Justice holding scales, with acanthus leaf ornament, on the side of the torso.
Blindfolded Lady Justice with scales
Black and grey neo-trad tattoo of a woman with an updo in an ornate oval frame, with a large rose above her, on the outer thigh.
Woman in ornate frame with rose on thigh
Watercolour-style mermaid tattoo with flowing red hair and a blue tail on the forearm, with loose ink splashes around her.
Watercolour mermaid on a forearm

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