Recently I added this background pattern based on the Shandwick stone in Scotland to an eel/dragon tattoo begun several years ago. To balance a Japanese style chest-piece with wind-bars and a dragon on the other side, we did an entirely dot-work installation of these evocative Celtic triple spirals. I used a very deep blue for the lines and a brighter, lighter blue for infill.
Celtic Spiral Waves Background Tattoo by Pat Fish
Today a woman chose this ethnic design to add to her forearm, a piece of permanent jewelry to show her love for her heritage. Modeled after a very old kilt pin, the thistle of Scotland is enclosed within the arms of a heart, a symbol of love for country and kin.
'Loyalty Thistle' Celtic Tattoo by Pat Fish
Today a reptile fancier came for a permanent representation of her very favorite species, the Zebra-tailed Lizard. It required a lot of image searching, drawing and re-drawing, considering the perfect placement....... and now he perches on her shoulder, alert and ready.
Zebra-tailed Lizard Tattoo by Pat Fish
The zebra-tailed lizard, Callisaurus draconoides, is common and widely distributed throughout the Mojave, Sonoran and Colorado deserts and its range extends north into the southern Great Basin.
These very fast lizards are easily identified by their black striped "zebra tail." When agitated the lizards wave their very prominent tail, and it is thought that this provides protection. When predators go after a Zebra-Tail they often see the tail, so this is the point of attack. If that is the body part they grab it simply falls off, and the lizard escapes having lost a tail but not its life. You can often get surprisingly close to a Zebra-tailed Lizard. They will stand high on their legs as you approach, sometimes doing a couple of "push-ups" with their front legs. But when you finally are close enough to scare them off, they dash away with in blur. Look for them in sandy washes.
-http://digital-desert.com/wildlife/zebra-tailed-lizard.html
Today a native Californian now working out of state returned for a symbolic tattoo of the state flower, the California poppy, Eschscholzia californica. In keeping with a celestial theme in her previous tattoos of stars, we used a moon crescent of knotwork from the 8th century Rosemarkie Stone, a Pictish stone from the Black Isle of Easter Ross in Scotland. This way her birthplace and her bloodline are both incorporated in one embellishment.
Pictish 'Moon Poppies' Celtic Tattoo by Pat Fish
