Black and grey realism tattoo of a woman's face and eye with a butterfly on the forearm.

Enlarged with AI from a smaller original

Realistic face portrait with butterfly on forearm

Realism · Forearm · Black and grey · Photo

A realistic black and grey portrait of a woman's face runs along the forearm, with a detailed eye at the centre and a large butterfly sitting over the lower cheek. Feather-like shapes fan out above the eye and across the top of the arm, with soft grey shading and highlights on the skin. The arm rests in front of a brick wall, and the wearer's dark top and blue jeans sit out of focus behind it.

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A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Nell,

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The water tower at Sallow Wells is finished, and I have stopped sleeping well because of it. Every morning the sun comes over the ridge and finds the face I painted on the north tank, and I swear the eye has moved. Mr Oakes at the depot says it is the heat lifting the paint, but he has never once looked at it straight on. Nobody out here does. They drive past at sixty with the windows up and glance at it the way you would glance at a sign.

I started it because the council wanted something the lorries could see from the highway, and I thought a big sober portrait would do. Then I got halfway through the brow and realised I was painting feathers, not hair, long grey plumes fanning up over the eye like the ones on a hawk's wing. I did not plan that. The butterfly came last, settling on the cheek where the shadow pooled, and once it was there the whole thing turned into a question I could not answer.

Yesterday a girl from the petrol station cycled out with a flask of tea and stood in the dust for ages. She said the eye looked like it was waiting for a car to come back. I told her that was nonsense, and she said, "Then why did you paint it so patient?" I had no answer, so I gave her the tea and watched her ride home.

Tonight I climbed the ladder with the last of the grey and gave the eye one more highlight, a small white point so the road below would catch it. I think it will hold. Come out at Easter if you can, and bring the good brushes.

Love, Ida

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