http://www.www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/index.html/ https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/COLOR Wolf and flowers for Jessica V1.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Wolf face with colored flowers New York, New York This tattoo is on a very dedicated collector of my work. It is one of my favorite tattoos because of the delicate details and strong vibrant colors. What are your favorite flowers, and do you have a spirit animal you also identify with? https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/boxer healed on Andrea1.jpg Rafael Marte - Healed and Hairy Boxer New York, New York Its not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog! This tattoo has been holding up well a year or so into its lifetime now. Taking good care go your skin is crucial to maintaining a good looking tattoo. So remember, follow your artist's aftercare instructions, and moisturize your skin on a regular basis. If I tattooed you, please stop by so i can see your healed tattoos. Thanks ! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/hand mirror.jpg Rafael Marte - Ornate Hand Mirror With Profound Quote New York, New York WHEN you get lost in the trance, remember the way from whence you came... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. http://www.www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/index2.html/ https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. http://www.www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/index3.html/ https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/mic and neg stars.jpg Rafael Marte - Vintage Microphone New York, New York Vintage Black & Gray Microphone https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose cortez .jpg Rafael Marte - Script and Rose New York, New York Full color red rose with script name https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull britney's dad.jpg Rafael Marte - Skull New York, New York Skull https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_139917.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_138843.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_138836.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_137379.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_137374.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/COLOR Wolf and flowers for Jessica V1.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Wolf face with colored flowers New York, New York This tattoo is on a very dedicated collector of my work. It is one of my favorite tattoos because of the delicate details and strong vibrant colors. What are your favorite flowers, and do you have a spirit animal you also identify with? https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_133150.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/boxer healed on Andrea1.jpg Rafael Marte - Healed and Hairy Boxer New York, New York Its not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog! This tattoo has been holding up well a year or so into its lifetime now. Taking good care go your skin is crucial to maintaining a good looking tattoo. So remember, follow your artist's aftercare instructions, and moisturize your skin on a regular basis. If I tattooed you, please stop by so i can see your healed tattoos. Thanks ! https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_132932.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_130558.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/hand mirror.jpg Rafael Marte - Ornate Hand Mirror With Profound Quote New York, New York WHEN you get lost in the trance, remember the way from whence you came... https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_130557.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_130387.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_130386.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_111775.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_111748.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_111444.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_110140.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_110024.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_109674.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_104039.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_104032.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_103728.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_103662.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_101227.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_100618.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_100093.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_99761.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_95610.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_95274.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/mic and neg stars.jpg Rafael Marte - Vintage Microphone New York, New York Vintage Black & Gray Microphone https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_95272.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/rose cortez .jpg Rafael Marte - Script and Rose New York, New York Full color red rose with script name https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/tattoos_95271.html http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/skull britney's dad.jpg Rafael Marte - Skull New York, New York Skull https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Abstract_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Aerosol_Inspired_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Animal_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Archive_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Art_Nouveau_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/hand mirror.jpg Rafael Marte - Ornate Hand Mirror With Profound Quote New York, New York WHEN you get lost in the trance, remember the way from whence you came... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Back_and_Chest_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Biker_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Bio-Organic_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Black_and_Gray_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Black_and_Gray_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/mic and neg stars.jpg Rafael Marte - Vintage Microphone New York, New York Vintage Black & Gray Microphone https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull britney's dad.jpg Rafael Marte - Skull New York, New York Skull https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Blackwork_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/hand mirror.jpg Rafael Marte - Ornate Hand Mirror With Profound Quote New York, New York WHEN you get lost in the trance, remember the way from whence you came... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Body_Part_Arm_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Body_Part_Arm_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose cortez .jpg Rafael Marte - Script and Rose New York, New York Full color red rose with script name https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Body_Part_Arm_Sleeve_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Body_Part_Back_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Body_Part_Chest_Tattoos_for_Men_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Body_Part_Chest_Tattoos_for_Women_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Body_Part_Hand_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Body_Part_Leg_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Body_Part_Shoulder_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Body_Part_Side_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Bodyset_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Bodyset_-_Hyperspace_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Cartoon_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Celebrity_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Color_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Color_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose cortez .jpg Rafael Marte - Script and Rose New York, New York Full color red rose with script name https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Coverup_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Cross_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Custom_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Custom_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Custom_Tattoos/index3.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Ethnic_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Ethnic_Native_American_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Evil_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Evil_Death_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Evil_Grim_Reaper_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Example_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Family_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Family_Heritage_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Fantasy_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Fantasy_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Fantasy_Dragon_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Fantasy_Fairy_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Fantasy_Gargoyle_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Fantasy_Warrior_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Feminine_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/hand mirror.jpg Rafael Marte - Ornate Hand Mirror With Profound Quote New York, New York WHEN you get lost in the trance, remember the way from whence you came... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Fine_Line_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/hand mirror.jpg Rafael Marte - Ornate Hand Mirror With Profound Quote New York, New York WHEN you get lost in the trance, remember the way from whence you came... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Fine_Line_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Finished_Work_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Finished_Work_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Flower_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Flower_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose cortez .jpg Rafael Marte - Script and Rose New York, New York Full color red rose with script name https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Flower_Cherry_Blossom_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Flower_Chrysanthemum_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Flower_Lily_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Flower_Lotus_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Flower_Poppy_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Flower_Rose_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose cortez .jpg Rafael Marte - Script and Rose New York, New York Full color red rose with script name https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Flower_Vine_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Gambling_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/General_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Half-Sleeve_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Heart_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Illustrations_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/hand mirror.jpg Rafael Marte - Ornate Hand Mirror With Profound Quote New York, New York WHEN you get lost in the trance, remember the way from whence you came... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Illustrations_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Illustrations_Tattoos/index3.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Lettering_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose cortez .jpg Rafael Marte - Script and Rose New York, New York Full color red rose with script name https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Memorial_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Military_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Misc_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/hand mirror.jpg Rafael Marte - Ornate Hand Mirror With Profound Quote New York, New York WHEN you get lost in the trance, remember the way from whence you came... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Misc_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Misc_Tattoos/index3.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Movie_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Movie_Horror_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Movie_Horror_Vampire_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Music_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Myth_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/hand mirror.jpg Rafael Marte - Ornate Hand Mirror With Profound Quote New York, New York WHEN you get lost in the trance, remember the way from whence you came... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Myth_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Nature_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Nature_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Nature_Animal_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Nature_Animal_Bird_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Nature_Animal_Dog_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Nature_Animal_Dragonfly_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Nature_Animal_Eagle_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Nature_Animal_Spider_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Nature_Animal_Wildlife_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Nature_Animal_Wolf_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Nature_Fire_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Nature_Moon_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Nature_Tree_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Nature_Water_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Nautical_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/New_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/hand mirror.jpg Rafael Marte - Ornate Hand Mirror With Profound Quote New York, New York WHEN you get lost in the trance, remember the way from whence you came... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/New_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/New_School_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Oddities_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/hand mirror.jpg Rafael Marte - Ornate Hand Mirror With Profound Quote New York, New York WHEN you get lost in the trance, remember the way from whence you came... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Oddities_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Oddities_Tattoos/index3.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Original_Art_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/hand mirror.jpg Rafael Marte - Ornate Hand Mirror With Profound Quote New York, New York WHEN you get lost in the trance, remember the way from whence you came... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Original_Art_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Original_Art_Tattoos/index3.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Pin_Up_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Portrait_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Realistic_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/hand mirror.jpg Rafael Marte - Ornate Hand Mirror With Profound Quote New York, New York WHEN you get lost in the trance, remember the way from whence you came... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Realistic_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Religious_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Religious_Cross_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Religious_Demon_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Religious_Devil_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Royal_King_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Sci_Fi_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/hand mirror.jpg Rafael Marte - Ornate Hand Mirror With Profound Quote New York, New York WHEN you get lost in the trance, remember the way from whence you came... https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Severed_Head_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Singular_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/hand mirror.jpg Rafael Marte - Ornate Hand Mirror With Profound Quote New York, New York WHEN you get lost in the trance, remember the way from whence you came... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Singular_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Singular_Tattoos/index3.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Skull_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull britney's dad.jpg Rafael Marte - Skull New York, New York Skull https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Sleeves_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Small_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/hand mirror.jpg Rafael Marte - Ornate Hand Mirror With Profound Quote New York, New York WHEN you get lost in the trance, remember the way from whence you came... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Small_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Spiritual_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/hand mirror.jpg Rafael Marte - Ornate Hand Mirror With Profound Quote New York, New York WHEN you get lost in the trance, remember the way from whence you came... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Spiritual_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Stand_Alone_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/hand mirror.jpg Rafael Marte - Ornate Hand Mirror With Profound Quote New York, New York WHEN you get lost in the trance, remember the way from whence you came... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Stand_Alone_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Roses Rufino2.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic Roses with name New York, New York This was a memorial for the love of his life. Rge red reose to show his love for her and the white rose because it was her favorite. Some people leave a lasting impression in our lives. This forearm tattoo can't show the full extent of his love but its a start. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Stand_Alone_Tattoos/index3.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Star_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf dark coverup.jpg Rafael Marte - Dark Wolf Coverup New York, New York some mistakes haunt us and wont les us forget a certain part of our lives we wish to move on from. Sometimes covering an old tattoo that does just that may bring the closure needed to help you heal. This dark night scene made the old arm band underneath disapear. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Tattoo_Concepts_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/rose on forearm of italian girl.jpg Rafael Marte - Roed rose on Forearm New York, New York Roses, if you haven't guessed by now, are one of my favorite things to draw. I love looking at them and drawing from reference or simply making them up from my imagination. This client was traveling from abroad and booked an appontment to get one of my sketches tattooed on her. This is a huge honor for me and the most comfortable way for me to work. The next few images will be of roses to show off a mix of styles ranging from this colored one, to black and grey and even one with both styles mixed. Stay tuned and feel free to e mail me to talk about any tattoo ideas you may have. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Spider plant web ready.jpg Rafael Marte - Spider Plant on shoulder New York, New York This is a tattoo that represents family. My client wanted to represent herself and her young daughter with this image. It is a spider plant that has a baby growing off its side and you can see in the reflection of the flower pot why they call them spider plants. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Tattoo_Concepts_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Brittney.jpg Rafael Marte - Rosary floating among Lotus New York, New York This wooden rosary floating among a purple lotus was a very significant tattoo that I had the honor of doing for a very close friend of mine. It helped her cope with the loss of the most important person in her life. You only get one mother in your life so show her how important and special she is to you any chance you get. Faith Hope and Love https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/skull w purple smoke.jpg Rafael Marte - Purple Haze Realistic Skull New York, New York This was a tattoo that i had tons of fun doin! MY client gave me the freedom to choose the reference image i thought would be best for the area so I chose a gritty and weathered skull with lotsof pores and textures, which are a blast to portray in these realistic tattoos. These skulls are my dark alternative choice tothe bright floral work i love doing so much. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Traditional_Asian_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Traditional_Japanese_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Samurai Mask on David from Pilly.jpg Rafael Marte - Red Samurai Mask with Waves and Flowers New York, New York This Tattoo was done in one long six Hour session at the Philly Tattoo Convention. I have the great luck of having clients that can sit and bear through the pain to get colorful and saturated work like this. I took the amount of time i felt i needed to color in the cherry blossoms and and waves so the color was bright. but i also took an extra moment to define the smoke emanating from the glow within the lotus flower underneath that itself shines on the mask's chin. As you can see, a tatrtoo of this size and detail can be done in one sitting, but if breaking it up into sessions makes it a lot easier to deal with. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Traditional_Old_School_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Tribal_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Vintage_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Mic Andrea's arm.jpg Rafael Marte - Shure 55 vintage mic New York, New York This mic is on an artist friend of mine. She has collected many tattoos from me and always sits like a rock. This forearm tattoo took about three hours to complete and is a simple coverup of a name. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Woman with poppies.jpg Rafael Marte - Woman With Poppies New York, New York This tattoo of an elegant woman has a bit more to see than just a woman surrounded by pretty flowers. If you look closely, the flowers start off tattooed on her sin and grow off the skin to envelope our model. This symbolized growth, stability and continuation for the client who went through the many hours of tattooing to receive this piece. The inticacy of the lace on her clothing, the realism of the flowers and woman, and the use of both deep and light colors were all elements that i really enjoy tattooing, making this one of my favorite tattoos Ive had the pleasure of producing. This image was custom made for my client by me as are most of the tattoos i make, unless it is a specific image with significance to the wearer. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Whim_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/hand mirror.jpg Rafael Marte - Ornate Hand Mirror With Profound Quote New York, New York WHEN you get lost in the trance, remember the way from whence you came... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/compass with ship.jpg Rafael Marte - Blackwork Sail ship with compass and waves New York, New York Without direction, you don't know where you will end up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.But one thing is for sure, you must keep going... https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/wolf half reealistic and geometric.jpg Rafael Marte - Half realistic and geometric Wolf New York, New York From the subtle blue eyes to the super dark shaded areas, this tattoo is all about contrast! Contrast comes in many form and this wolf shows us a soft realistc view mixed with the straight jaged lined style of illustration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Anatomical heart on Justin Mendez.jpg Rafael Marte - Realisteic Anatomical Heart New York, New York I really enjoyed tattooing this realistic heart on a long time client of mine. The location is on the inner arm (bicept area). It took around three hours of actual tattooing for this pice to be completed. The tric to sitting well through a long session is, eating and hydrating your body well the day before you get tattooed, and also having a good nights rest so you come into the experience fresh and able minded. This is a healed picture of the tattoo about four months after it was done. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Lotus on Joeys Hand.jpg Rafael Marte - Lotus Flower Tattoo on Hand New York, New York This project was a test of both client and artist. First off, the tattoo took about four hours to complete and the hands are already notoriously painful areas to get tattooed on. Secondly the hands are a bit of a challenge to tattoo as the skin can be easily overworked. I was lucky enough to tattoo this on a regular client of mine, and he had the patience to plan on getting this tattoo properly. He made sure he wouldn't use his hands for a while after he got the tattoo so he did it when he had some time off of work, and he followed proper aftercare instructions to ensure a good heal. Soon i will share a collage of pectures of all healed tattoos i have done. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Whim_Tattoos/index2.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose turquoise and triangle.jpg Rafael Marte - Color and Black and Grey Mixed Rose New York, New York This is the third addition to the rose series I have been posting. This one as promised has a mix of both black and grey shading and color saturation. I like the contrast achieved by placing both elements (color and shading) together. To me contrast is what makes an image worth loking at. It makes things clear and you are not trying to make anything out because it is cleanly displayed right in front of you. There are many ways of achieving contrast and for me this is one of my favorite. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/orchids with splatter background.jpg Rafael Marte - orchids with turquoise splash New York, New York Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that I collect myself at home. So i am more than thrilled when i get to tattoo one! I aranged this group of flowers to flow from her front to her side shoulder. This is more of a painterly style of tattooing. I love to work in this style because the imagery can be soft and delicate (like flowers) and I can use light colors. I balance it with also using deep and dark colors in parts the tattoo will hold up well. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Diablo Cojuelo Mask1.jpg Rafael Marte - Diablo Cojuelo Mask aka Limping Devil Mask New York, New York This Diablo Cojuelo or Limping Devil Mask is used in the celebration of the Dominican Carnaval celebrated every year in February. The maskes are usualy made of paper mache by hand and are always bright and colorful. The Diablos Cojuelos parade the streets with hard ballons and whips and punish the onlookers that get too close or are too slow to outrun them! This tattoo was done using some of the best quality inks on the market for tattooing to achieve the rich color satutration. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/pointillism.jpg Rafael Marte - Deathly Hollows symbol within Stippled Flower New York, New York This tattoo came in as a walk in from a client that just happened to be in Manhattan for just a few days. She is a big Harry Potter fan and the only part she wanted outluined was the symbol. The entire floral pattern is done with small dots. even the darkest areas in black are made up of tiny dots placed very close to eachother. Needles to say it was a complex project but one i enjoyed every minute of. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Wings_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG Eagle on BobBG e.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and grey Illustrative Eagle New York, New York This is my absolute favorite style of tattooing! My really good client Bob let me have complete creative freedom on this piece as he does with all the other tattoos I've done for him. The result was this large scale eagle spanning Bob's entire chest and upper stomach. I love tattooing in both color and black and grey, but this one just seemed to look right with some strong shading. This piece was done over three sessions totaling 12 hours of work. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/9 Color Sparrow realistic.jpg Rafael Marte - Realistic blue sparrow on hip New York, New York Images always have a bit impact when the contrast is there. For this tattoo, I chose a picture that had the right positioning of the bird in flight and then i played with the colors on phototshop to ensure i got a crisp and easy to read reference. Of course, when the image is finally on the skin, I took even more artistic freedom with the way i apploed the shades and color. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/dragonfly and geometry.jpg Rafael Marte - Dragonfly within Geometric Pattern New York, New York Dragonflies seemingly have the most random flight patterns, and probably look like they don't know where they are going most times. But within that erratic route, nature has precision built in. And when you closely look at the pattern found in nature, you may wonder what oh who designed them so perfectly. https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Rose Black and grey close to elbow.jpg Rafael Marte - Black and Grey Rose in forearm New York, New York This is the second rse image. In this example i made the flower in a smooth black and grey finish. I like using Dynamic brand ink for my black. When healed, the tatto looks just as it did when it was fresh if not better. Next up on my rose exhibition, i will show a mix uof both color saturation and smooth black and grey. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Ying_Yang_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/Color-rose- sunflower-and-peacock-on-upper-arm2.jpg Rafael Marte - Full colored blue rose and sunflower with peacock feathers arm tattoo New York, New York Flowers are some of my favorite things to draw, paint, and especially tattoo! In this case, I was given the freedom to design this full colored upper arm tattoo for this young lady. Her criteria was she wanted the piece to include a sunflower, rose and some peacock feathers. I happily took on this tattoo and would love to attract more like it in the future. The design pretty much put itself together because the elements were very easy to combine. The peacock feathers unite the contrasting colored and textured flowers in several ways. One way is by its shape and flow which directs your attention from one flower to the other. The other way is by the use of color. The feather is predominantly green, a mixture of the blue found in the rose and the yellow sourced from the sunflower. All these elements combined give this tattoo a sense of harmony which i would love to keep exploring in future projects. https://www.rafaeltattoos.com/Tattoos/Zodiac_symbol_tattoos_Tattoos/index.html https://www.tattoos.gallery/rafaeltattoos.com/images/thumbs/BG death card on Dave.jpg Rafael Marte - Death Card Scenery on Ribs New York, New York I have the fortune to have open minded clients that let me go wild when designing their tattoos. Dave, whom I've tattooed many times, is one of those awesome people! He comes in in with a tarot death card image as a referene one day and this was my interpretation of it with some other elements he wanted to icluded in the design. I love tattooing large scale images like this especially when i get to do it all in my drawing style. Thanks again Dave! http://galleryoftattoosnow.com/rafaeltattoos.com/images/gallery/skull britney's dad.jpg Rafael Marte - Skull New York, New York Skull