Color permeates every part of David Cote’s tattoos. Vibrant reds and piercing blues give the surreal subject matter a striking presence, as animal and human silhouettes become frames for strange cosmic scenes. They’re heavily inspired by Cote’s own fantasies.“I feel like my creativity is more active just before going to bed,” he explained on a Reddit AMA, “so I either keep a sketchbook next to my bed to sketch it or I just write it down when I’m tired. I am a lucid dreamer so a lot of my ideas come to me when I’m dreaming.”

Images © David Cote