Southside Tattoo (02) 4257 8288

Portfolio

The work

Everything on this page was tattooed at the Tongarra Rd studio. Some of it is finished, some of it is photographed mid session, which is honestly what most of a tattoo looks like.

  • A full colour phoenix and dragon back piece in progress, photographed from above while the artist works on the lower back
    Full colour back piece, built over multiple sittings. Phoenix, dragon and blossom, laid out to follow the spine.
  • A black and grey Medusa portrait on a thigh, serpents rising from her hair and a Scorpio glyph beneath
    Black and grey Medusa with a Scorpio glyph. Soft greywash in the skin, hard blacks in the hair.
  • A fine line tree of life on an upper arm above a colour band showing a chemical structure over red and blue
    Fine line tree of life over a colour band. Thin linework needs a steady pass and a light hand.
  • Fine line lilies running down a spine, drawn in soft grey with loose red linework flowing through them
    Lilies down the spine in fine line and greywash, with red drawn through as a loose second layer.
  • A black and grey panther looking through palm fronds, tattooed on a calf
    Panther through palm, black and grey. The leaves do the framing so the face keeps all the contrast.
  • A large black and grey back piece with script lettering and a motorcycle badge, being worked on under a studio lamp
    Black and grey lettering across a full back, with script banding and heavy shading around it.
  • A black and grey Chicano style portrait of a woman with teardrop markings, holding a tattoo machine
    Chicano style portrait, all greywash. Smooth gradients like this are where the hours go.
  • A Japanese style hannya mask sleeve at the linework stage, with a pagoda and clouds already outlined
    Japanese sleeve at the linework stage. The colour goes in over several more sittings.
  • A colour horror film character portrait on a thigh, lit in orange against heavy black shadow
    Colour horror portrait. Warm background packing, with the face left to carry the detail.
  • An artist shading the lower section of a black and grey back piece, seen over their shoulder
    Shading the lower panel. Big black and grey work is a series of sittings, not one long day.
  • A tattooist drawing a custom design on a tablet at the studio counter before a session
    Every custom piece starts as a drawing. You see it, and you change it, before anything goes on skin.
  • A tattooist leaning in to line a forearm piece, working from a stencil already applied to the skin
    Lining a forearm piece over a fresh stencil.
  • Close portrait of a tattooist mid session, machine in hand, concentrating on the work
    Heads down. Four artists work out of the Tongarra Rd studio.

By style

Looking for something in particular

Each of these pages has the pieces in that style, plus what is worth knowing before you commit to it.

Seen something you want a version of

We do not copy another artist's piece, and we will not copy one of ours onto someone else either. Tell us what drew you to it and we will draw you your own.

Ring the shop
(02) 4257 8288
Open
Mon to Fri 10:00 to 5:00pm
Sat 10:00 to 4:00pm, Sun closed

We reply inside one business day. No newsletters, no chasing. Just a conversation about the brief.