Life & Death in Tattoo Flash

Created over the last three winters at the tattoo shop California Tattoo in Savannah, Georgia, this tattoo art story represents a period during the off-season that artist Christopher Norrell uses to hone skills and learn new ways of seeing. In this introspective mood, Norrell has engaged in an ongoing challenge with his craft in which he hates his own work enough to do it over and over until it is right. Thematically this is manifested in a struggle between life and death, good and evil, using images of the Angel of Death, predatory animals, skulls, phoenixes, birds, and flowers. Progress in Norrell's struggle is evident throughout the more than 230 pieces of tattoo flash art and looking closely there are distinct changes in style, color theory, and composition, showing things he learned and things he abandoned. All of this exploration is in the name of Norrell's ultimate goal to create tattoos that are sturdy, long lasting, easy to understand, and visually appealing. This is an ideal collection of flash for tattooers, the tattooed, and artists.