David Hale is an American tattoo artist who lives in Athens, Georgia. He owns and runs his own tattoo shop; LoveHawk Studios, where he creates individualized tattoos based on his illustrations. Hale’s designs are inspired by the natural world, affected by his imagination and inked onto the canvas of human skin. See more tattoos in David Hale Tattoos the Textures of his Imagination
Artistic, Illustrated Tattoos by David Hale
Hale’s tattoo designs are based on his own illustrations. These drawings are often very stylized, influenced by folk art and tribal design. Tribal tattoos were very popular about a decade ago, but has since declined in popularity. Most tattoo artists now sneer at anything tribal-looking, but David Hale has instead embraced the shapes, lines and color most often used in tribal tattoos and made them his own. Compare this tribal tattoo of an eagle to David Hale’s style to spot the similarities.
David Hale is a very spiritual person. In an interview with hybridsessions.com, he says that when he was a child he would sign his drawings, “to God, from David.” This connection with spirituality has accompanied Hale through his life, finding expression in his art works in the form of mandalas and natural subject matter. Mandalas are circular patterns that have been used in religions and spiritual cultures around the world to symbolize balance and completeness. You can learn more about mandala tattoos in The Spiritual Magic of Mandala Tattoos.
Tattoos Inspired by the Spirit of the Wild
David Hale’s awesome tattoos often have an animal as a subject, especially animals that are significant in Native American folklore. These animals are called totem animals; spiritual animal guides that protect and lead a person through their life. A totem animal represents psychological, physical and spiritual characteristics such as courage, wisdom, beauty and strength. Examples of totem animals are North American bears, wolves and eagles. Foxes, hunting birds and fish also play a large symbolic role in David Hale’s tattoo art.
David Hale uses more than just mandalas in his tattoo designs. He includes patterns in his designs that add texture, visual interest and meaning to the the tattoos. Sometimes these patterns will resemble the shapes found in paisley designs while in other designs these patterns will be either architectural, organic or tribal in form. David Hale’s use of patterns works well in his tattoo designs of insects. Not only does he include the patterns on the insects’ wings, where you would expect to see patterns of some kind, but often in the shape of the insects’ bodies as well.
The natural world plays a huge role in David Hale’s amazing tattoo designs. Birds, fish, trees, the sun, moon and stars all find their way into his art works either as the main subject of the tattoo or as symbols in the background of the design, waiting for the viewer’s eye to find them and therefore find more meaning in the tattoos. Trees are becoming a popular subject in tattoo art, as people begin to realize that our planet’s supply of trees is rapidly dwindling. Hale depicts trees in his tattoos as spiritual beings with an important role in the circle of life.
Visit David Hale’s website or Facebook page for more illustrations tattoos by this artist.