Traditional style tattoos
Traditional style tattoos, also known as old school or classic American style, has been inked in the human skin since the invention of the first electrical tattoo machine. Even now, its influence and power is still strong among many tattoo enthusiasts. In fact, most professional tattoo artists believe that the traditional style will never be outdated. The beauty of the traditional style lies in its simple yet very detailed appearance; most of the time inked in lots of bold colors and sometimes even in black and gray or black and 1 or 2 other bold colors. But the most characteristic aspect of the traditional style is that it is very effective to express feelings, messages, emotions, expectations, faith, patriotism and such things so essential to all human beings. The symbols used are so meaningful that sometimes there is no need to add quotes or writings to understand the idea behind the tattoo. E.G. a dagger piercing a heart clearly indicates betrayal in love. Likewise, each symbol alone has one or several meanings when used in tattoos; when used together with other symbols, they have even more meanings. E.G. a heart alone means love, passion, romance and even courage. A dagger alone can represent threat, action, protection, power and even sacrifice. When both symbols are used together, we have seen that it means betrayal in love. But if you remove the heart and couple the dagger with a skull, it means “death” if the dagger is going through the skull (which reminds us that we are all mortal) or “action” if the skull has the knife in its teeth, commando style. Inscriptions written on stylish banners are often used to strengthen or clarify the meaning of the design. When you take into consideration all the symbols available, all the possible combinations with 2, 3 or more symbols, you get an idea of the power of the traditional style. The designs themselves are so attractive that sometimes you just want to have them tattooed on you because you love what the design represents. E.G usually tigers represent strength but you can have a tiger tattooed on you just because you like tigers and found a nice tiger design.
August Coleman, Paul Rogers and Norman Collins aka Sailor Jerry are some of the tattoo legends and icons of the tattoo world. As most of the legendary tattoo artists, they were all into traditional style tattoos. Coleman is considered the forefather of American classic traditional tattoos and Sailor Jerry is probably the most popular tattoo artist in the world, having contributed a lot to the tattoo community not only by popularising the traditional style but also by implementing a lot of things to make tattooing a better and safer activity.
August "Cap" Coleman in his studio in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. Photo by William T. Radcliffe © The Mariners' Museum/Corbis.
Paul Rogers tattooing a lady.
Norman Collins, better known as Sailor Jerry.
Nowadays, better tattooing techniques and improved tattooing material and inks have strengthened an already strong style. Since the invention of the electrical tattoo machine, no other style has had or will have such a rich history as the traditional style.
People with traditional tattoos inked in their skin are, in a way, part of this rich history, perpetuating and preserving a precious heritage left to us by legends like August Coleman, Paul Rogers and Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins. I’m one of these people. Are you one of us?
To Contact:
Renegade Tattoo Studio
La Caverne No 1, Vacoas
Republic Of Mauritius
Tel: (230) 57609351
Email: renegade.biker@yahoo.it
