Style

Chicano

Chicano tattooing developed in Los Angeles barrios in the mid-20th century, emerging from Mexican-American communities as a distinctly American art form rooted in cultural identity. The style is traditionally black and grey, executed with single-needle or tight groupings for fine detail. Iconic imagery includes the Virgin of Guadalupe, roses, clown faces (Payasos), lowriders, praying hands, script memorial pieces, and portraits. The technique shares ancestry with prison tattooing — both used simple tools under constrained conditions — and evolved into some of the most technically impressive fine-line black and grey work in the world. Many of the most celebrated black and grey realism artists trace their roots to the Chicano tradition.