Every Tuesday Dead Deco discusses Day of the Dead related tattoos here on Tat Tues, and we have begun seeking out tattoo artists and owners to bring you more insider information this year.
Today’s work of art comes from the hands of
Mike Davis of Back Alley Tattoos in Morehead, Ky.
We contacted Mike to learn more about this tattoo and the popularity of Day of thh Dead tattoos in his part of the United States.
Dead Deco: This is a beautiful calavera design. Can you begin by telling us a little more about it.
Mike Davis: I’m glad you like the piece, I had fun doing it. This piece is a very large cover up. The young lady that it is on sits like a champ and she’s one of my favorites to tattoo. This piece starts at her hip, curves around and up her rib cage and will eventually end as a half sleeve. We don’t get to work together as often as we would like as she lives about 200 miles away, so it’s kinda hard to set up chair time. On the up side, she can sit for a solid six or seven hours, so we get a good bit accomplished when she comes in.
DD: Did you design this tattoo from scratch or did they have a reference drawing for you to begin with?
MD: 99% of all tattoos done in my shop are complete custom pieces. All the artists at my shop have very strong art backgrounds, myself included. I designed this piece after a couple of consult sessions with the young lady who has the tattoo.
DD: Is the entire piece Day of the Dead themed or does it only include this one reference?
MD: This is one element of a very large piece. The face will be framed in with roses when finished.
DD: Have you had many requests for this Day of the Dead related work? Do you have more Day of the Dead related tattoos (like sugar skulls) in your portfolio?
MD: We get some requests for this type of work but not a great deal of it. [Mike has done other Day of the Dead pieces as well]
DD: Thank you for that insight Mike. For those of you wishing to contact Mike, you can via facebook.com/groups/126560064032476. Feel free to stop by his shop at 115 North Wilson Ave Morehead, Ky, 40351
or call 606-783-9899
Dead Deco 