Minimalist Tattoos Mimic the Graceful Fluidity of Brush Strokes

Artist Lee Stewart creates minimalist tattoos that beautifully capture the fluid gesture of a brushstroke. The resemblance of this artful motion is impressively realistic, and she articulates the long, graceful lines in the same way that a wet paintbrush touches paper. Like the real thing, they have variation in weight and texture with parts of a single line appearing both light and heavy handed. In some areas, there are even tiny splattered dots where the pigment would’ve unpredictably flown off the brush.

Stewart is influenced by the street art of Berlin as well as East Asian ink washes, and she uses this style to depict animals, flowers, and abstract lines that contour the body. Thanks to her careful study of human anatomy, her work feels harmonious with the way we move. It comes down to placement, which Lee says is vital to the success of a design. “Form flattering tattoos will become alive, when the person moves the limb that the tattoo is placed on,” she told The Creators Project. “The piece is no longer an inanimate interpretation of a figurative subject: it breathes, moves and follows the person it’s on.”

Lee Stewart: Website | Instagram
via [The Creators Project]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled "Embroidered Life" that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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