The first-ever Ventura County Fair was held in 1874 at the conclusion of the local San Miguel Days agricultural festival; 149 years later, Christina Diaz organized the 5th Seaside Tattoo Show at the Fairgrounds in a Quonset hut named San Miguel. The Pacific Ocean is so close to this venue that it can be heard […]
Category: Dark Art
Cyber Future: Tattooed Synthetic Humans by Dangiuz
Known as Dangiuz — real name is Leopoldo D’Angelo — this Italian digital illustrator has envisioned a cyber-world inspired by “Blade Runner”(1982) and “Ghost in the Shell” (1995), where bio-engineered humans live in a dystopian society. Defiant characters (“Freerunners”) seek justice of this oppressed nation controlled by large corporations, and yes, there are hints here […]
SVPRR: Stay Cold Apparel’s Superior Line
Made in Berlin, Germany — Stay Cold Apparel has been a bloodthirsty reference in the tattooed communities, having previously collaborated with dark artist Matt Chaos and Cristian Casas. Their latest collection “SVPRR” (aka “The Superior Line”) has surpassed anything they have created till now. Taking a year to plan and meticulously execute by creator Maximilian […]
Kavan the Kid Interview: Art Saved His Life
American photographer Kavan the Kid has expressed his disquiet emotions in the surrealist imagery that he produces. Fears, anxiety, depression are aspects unfolded in his visuals, and he talks openly about these personal struggles in this interview. He has collaborated with Human Code to create a candle with his artwork, to be sold online and […]
Scarred For Life: The Digital Work of Tom Flanagan
Featured here is Tom Flanagan’s self-portrait shots of various titles from “Scarred for Life” to “Innocence Lost,” which explores his emotions/turmoils with life and coming of age. The photos digitally edited with cigarette-like-burns or bodies splitting open like ripe bananas show a darker side to the artist’s portfolio and career start; currently he works in […]
Master of Brutality: The Transformative Tattoos of Valerio Cancellier
Valerio Cancellier’s journey as a tattooer started 20 years ago. His first tools were these; today using tattooing machines for his evolved large-scale, savage body-art style. He is not one to be reassuring clients through the intense tattoo process (that is like a ritual), one that contains much pain and blood and sometimes the person […]
A Stranger in Town: Dark, Symbolic Compositions by Shane Pierce
Shane Pierce is an artist from Missouri (currently based in North Carolina) who describes his life and art as “nomadic”—travelling, working in different creative fields, and populating his oil paintings with skull-faced suitcase-toting wanderers ( “‘a stranger comes to town’ type of theme,” as he describes it in a fascinating interview with Beautiful Bizarre). With […]
Spectral Beasts in the Shadowy Fantasy Realms of Jade Mere
Jade Mere is a writer and illustrator with a passion for fantasy, science fiction, and the paranormal. Humans and animals are her favorite subjects, and this post features a selection of the latter. Just like the moonlit waters of Mere’s Pacific-Northwest home, the animals are filled with phosphorescence, light leaking from their eyes, mouths, and […]
Sinister Medieval Tattoo Art by Christopher Jade
Feast your eyes on the sinister medieval-themed tattoos of Christopher Jade. Lovers of Dark Souls will be intrigued, as will anyone with a penchant for only the darkest of blackwork subjects; demonic knights, necromancers, rotting phantoms, and mutant beasts stalk through his portfolio like the cursed escapees from an ancient, hellish dimension. His intricate linework […]
Empowering Witchcraft Photography by Helena Darling
Helena Darling—a.k.a., The Woods Witch—is a photographer and tattoo artist living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. “I take photos of mostly everything I see,” she says, but her favorite subjects are people and nature, which fit together beautifully; see her Instagram for a mosaic of East-Coast eros, ambiance, and witchcraft. She aims to document her […]