Ross

Ross is originally from Darlington but now based in West Yorkshire. His interest in tattooing is influenced by his interest in World War II – particularly military iconography. Ross has dedicated several tattoos to family members.

"Growing up, one of the things I was really interested in was World War II and a lot of the artwork that came out of that – so I think definitely the iconography. America is a bit fraught at the moment, but I think the history and the iconography still stands out. Having like eagles and a lot of flags, so it’s obviously sailors and army veterans that kind of went through that. I think obviously it meant a lot more back then, I don’t think it was in the same vein it is now – it meant something. I just thought it looks cool and ties it all together."

I think it won't get more trad that that: which is the skull with the hat. The original flash had the two dice below, but this is the original flash from the 50s tattooed by Tony Denazo, who was tattooing in New York in the 1950s. He was - I wanna say - in his early 90s when he tattooed this. I was travelling Canada and I ended up in this really small, tiny tattoo studio [where he worked]. The original (flash) sheet, which I’ve seen pictures of in his studio in New York, was on the wall when I walked in – as far as tradition goes, I think that’s probably one of the Ogs. That’s definitely my favorite – for the story behind It.

"My nana (grandma) was a seamstress. This tattoo is for my nana. I’ve got tattoos for my grandparents. I got them before and I’ve lost one grandparent already but I’ve got them (tattoos) and I’ve been able to show them like: this is for you."

"I’ve got this for my grandad, with his initials in (on the side). He’s an old train engineer. Before that, he worked for the gas board in Darlington, where I am from. My grandad worked at what was one of the last train yards before they shut down. He used to put – when there were big diesels – put the big buffers on them. That was his job, fitting the buffers. My grandad literally attempted to fix everything – hence the tool box. I definitely got my DIY bug from him, and I will try and fix anything before I outsource it to a professional."

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