Black and grey shaded tattoo of large outlined stars and swirling smoke-like shading across a shoulder and upper arm.

Stars and swirls across shoulder and upper arm

Shoulder · Black and grey · Photo

The tattoo shows several five-pointed stars of varying size, some outlined and some solid black, arranged diagonally across the shoulder and down the upper arm. Soft grey shading and swirling bands fill the spaces between the stars, giving a smoky, airbrushed texture. The photo is taken from above with some glare on the skin, and the tattoo is shown in black and grey only.

Shoulder Upper arm Star Swirl Shading

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A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Nell,

Keep reading

The wagons came over the Hardknott road in sleet that turned to rain by the summit, and Dad's old Bedford lost a tyre on the hairpin above Eskdale. I am writing this from the dry side of a canvas flap with my airbrush cleaned and my fingers still smelling of thinners, so you can stop fretting.

The Ferris wheel needs new gondolas before the Whitsun fair, and Mr Abbott wants night skies on every one, not the usual painted roses. I have been doing stars. Five points each, drawn freehand from a chalk line I wipe off after. The trick is the smoke. You hold the airbrush a hand's width off the board and let grey drift in from the edge, so the star seems to sit inside a cloud that's been stirred with a spoon.

Last night a lad from the pass camp came to watch and asked if I could paint a star too big for any gondola, one that ran off the edge of the panel and onto the next. I told him the wood doesn't care where a star stops. He laughed and said his nan used to say the same about her kitchen tiles.

I finished the last gondola this morning. A big solid star low in the corner, a smaller outlined one chasing it, and swirls of smoke running down the side as if someone had dragged a wet thumb through them. When the varnish dries I'll post you a photo under the lamps, and you can tell me it looks like weather.

Love, Tom