The Strange and Beautiful

Today’s skull of the day is this lovely piece by Ryan Ashley Malarkey. Miss Malarkey is best known for her incredible realism. While she is equally skilled in color as well as black and grey, she currently works exclusively in black and grey. Malarkey is based in Kingston, PA, where she is also the co-owner of an oddities parlor known as The Strange and Unusual.

Malarkey’s style has a very ornamental aesthetic to it, typically featuring beading and floral accents to give each image a little something extra. As you can see in today’s skull pick, she is able to effortlessly soften the harsh images of death through the incorporation of a delicate rose and beaded head piece. Instantly the skull takes on more of a darker beauty than it would have as just a tattoo of a skull on its own. We love how the piece seems to simply fade away at its edges, therefore looking extremely organic in nature and not just like something stuck onto the client’s skin.

Another beautiful aspect of this tattoo is the cracked detailing carried throughout it. In stark contrast to the gorgeous white highlights prominently featured in the piece’s head piece, the jet black of the cracks instantly jump out at the viewer without completely overwhelming the piece. Artistic decisions like this embellishment are one of the reasons we absolutely love Malarkey’s work.

For more incredible skull tattoos like this wonderful piece by Ryan Ashely Malarkey, check out some of our favorite skull pieces right here.