Brooke is interested in pursuing neo-traditional tattoos (neo means new in Latin). The dictionary would define it as “A re-adoption or revival of traditional styles, values, practices, etc.”, while we see it as taking the traditional old-style tattoo art that has been around for over a hundred years (think American and sailors) and fusing it with new concepts.

Neo-traditional tattoos are still traditional in essence, but what separates them from old-school traditional tattoos is moving away from thick, broad lines, and instead, delve more into realism. Additionally, they may take the traditional subject of a skull head, for example, draw it in a similar traditional fashion, but then add flowers, colors and smoother lines to the tattoo, making it a neo-traditional tattoo as it blends multiple styles together.

It’s no surprise that Brooke is most drawn to this tattoo style because she embodies new tradition, and we couldn’t be more excited to see her grow further in her artist’s journey. Check out some of her work below and stop by our tattoo studio to meet her. We proudly feature some of her work on our tattoo shop walls in Toronto where she apprenticed originally before helping us establish the Burlington studio where she now tattoos from exclusively.

Watercolor tattoos require the same expertise and initial process that other tattoo techniques require (you may or may not do a stencil and mix shades of color), but where they really separate themselves from other tattoo techniques is the final outcome. A fresh watercolor tattoo can often appear as splashes of watercolor paint on your body.

Created with a lot more gradual coloring (unlike, for example, traditional tattooing where solid colors are merged together), the subtle gradients help create the characteristics and design of a classic watercolor painting. The other differentiating factor is outlining. Watercolor tattoos pride themselves on often not having a solid outline which is then colored in. The free flowing colors are meant to represent a painting – which they most definitely do.

Asia, while doing every style from black and grey, traditional, tribal, realism, neo-traditional, new school, etc, has really specialized in watercolor tattooing recently. Outside of loving the look and feel of them and genuinely enjoying creating unique watercolor designs, she is quickly becoming known Canada wide for her passion of watercolor tattoos.

One of the common misconceptions around watercolor tattoos is that they fade very quickly. Putting it simply, all tattoos fade overtime. In the hands of a professional tattoo artist (such as Asia), watercolor tattoos are safe from fading for years. How many years heavily depends on various factors such as maintenance of the tattoo / skin care along with placement of tattoo as not placing it on an area where there may be constant rubbing will make it last longer. Watercolor tattoos can fade just slightly quicker due to use of lighter colors, so if one of our tattoos does start to fade you can come back after a few years for a quick touch-up to get it looking vibrant again.

For tips on how to maintain your watercolor or any other tattoos, check out our healing instructions page here