Black and Grey is a style that was once only reserved for people behind the bars of East Los Angeles prisons. Its unique artistry married with the rich stories of people who donned them became the driving force for its popularity in today’s time. Nowadays the peculiar and quite sombre Blackwork tattoo style has made its way to the streets of big cities all over the world, including Melbourne of course.
Blackwork tattoo owes its uniqueness to the scarcity of materials inside prisons. Tattooists had to be creative in their craft—some even used guitar strings to prick the ink in. They also used diluted ink to make the most of the resource, but this also resulted in the iconic gradients present in all solid black or black inks tattoos.
This style is very distinctive in Blackwork tattoos. For a time, outside artists had a hard time recreating the style. From application to the artistry, it can be hard to emulate the Blackwork style with modern professional tools. But with rigorous training and refined techniques, the best tattoo artists in Melbourne have got the craft down to the tee.
Ready to have your first black and grey piece? Experience amazing Blackwork artistry with custom tattoo studios like Vivid Ink Studio. Take a look at some of the Blackwork tattoo designs we've done.
