Colour tattoo of an orange and purple lotus flower with a blue dragonfly and an orange butterfly on a blue cloud wash, across the upper back.

Enlarged with AI from a smaller original

Lotus, dragonfly and butterfly on upper back

Botanical · Back · Colour · Photo

A close photograph of a colour tattoo on the upper back of a person whose face is not shown. A large lotus flower with orange, pink and purple petals and green leaves sits centrally, with a blue dragonfly to the upper left and an orange butterfly with black-edged wings to the right. A soft blue cloud wash sits behind the flower, and the shading is smooth and blended.

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 Nell, the lotus came up in the mere on Tuesday, two days earlier than last year, and I stood on the planks with my boots going cold and thought of you telling me the water was too shallow for anything so grand. It is not too shallow. Mr Pryce from the mill says the roots go down into the old marl, and that is why the petals come out so orange at the tips, like something left too long in the sun.

Keep reading

The dragonflies arrived before the bloom, as they always do, blue ones with wings like pressed glass, hanging over the reeds and then darting off towards the alder wood. Yesterday one landed on the rail beside my hand and stayed so long I counted its heartbeat, or thought I did. When I looked up there was a butterfly on the far bank, orange with black lace along its edges, opening and closing its wings as if it were reading the sky. I have never known them to share a morning. Your grandad would have called it a sign and then charged for the explanation.

The mist sits on the water until nine most days, a blue wash the sun has to burn through, and by the time it lifts the lotus has its petals open wide to the light. I sat there with my tea going cold and thought about the year you left, how you said the village was too small for a girl with a head full of cities. Well, the cities have not come to the mere, and neither has anyone else worth mentioning.

So come home at the end of the month if you can, before the seed heads form and the dragonflies move on. Bring the good scissors and a warm jumper, and tell me what London has done to your hair. I will leave the back gate open. The water will still be here, and the flowers will open whether we are watching or not. Your loving Gran, Edie.

More like this

Colour botanical tattoo of three red lotus flowers with yellow centres on a woman's upper back, near the shoulder blade.
Three lotus flowers on a upper back
Colour tattoo of a blue butterfly above pink and purple orchids with a green stem, placed on the shoulder and upper arm.
Butterfly and orchids on a shoulder
Shaded purple lotus flowers and a purple butterfly tattoo on a person's lower back, with a black lace waistband visible at the bottom edge.
Purple lotus flowers and butterfly on lower back
Realistic coloured tattoo of two pink lilies, a blue butterfly and black and green swirling vines on the upper back.
Pink lilies and blue butterfly on the back
Colourful iris tattoo with pink, purple and yellow petals and teal leaves, with dotted chain lines hanging beneath it, on a person's upper back.
Iris with dotted chains on upper back
Realistic pink lotus flower tattoo on the upper back, with soft shading that makes the petals look three-dimensional on a woman's skin.
Pink lotus on upper back
Traditional style colour tattoo of a pink and red dahlia with green leaves on the upper back near the shoulder.
Dahlia tattoo on a shoulder
Colour tattoo of a lotus flower in orange, pink and yellow with black swirling linework on the side of the body.
Lotus flower with swirls on skin
Colour tattoo of two orange butterflies with black outlines and swirling black linework on the outer thigh.
Two orange butterflies with swirls on a thigh
Colour realism tattoo of three red and orange poppies with black stems and faint ink splashes, across the upper back.
Three red poppies across a back
Realistic purple and peach lily tattoo with grey shading, black swirls and stars across a person's upper back, shown from behind.
Purple lily and stars on upper back
Colour tattoo of a lotus flower in orange, pink and purple with black swirling linework on the thigh.
Colour lotus flower with swirls on a thigh

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