This Artist Paints Faded, Blown Out, and Aging Hand Tattoos in Hyper-Realistic Detail

Hand tattoos, whether you love them or hate them, they’ve become an increasingly popular request in shops around the world. Maybe we have celebrities like Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, and Ariana Grande to thank or the rise could be attributed to the influx of amazing tattoos on social media, either way, hand and finger tattoos are an unavoidable aspect of the tattoo industry.

Aside from being extremely visible and contributing to a person looking badass, hand and finger tattoos differ from other parts of the body because of the unique way they heal. Our hands are always in motion and are extremely susceptible to the elements—this leads to the skin being tough and callused. Tattoos in callused skin tend to fade faster, blow out more often, and in general, show age quicker. The rate at which someone’s hand tattoos will show their age is dependent on what a person does for a living, with people in manual labor jobs reporting faster fading than a person who works at a computer. Many people avoid getting their hands tattooed for this reason, whereas others will embrace their faded ink with pride.

One person who appreciates the worn in look of tattooed hands more than almost anyone else is Scottish artist, Jackee Sandelands-Strom. Strom is a painter based in Edinburgh who creates hyper-realistic paintings of tattooed hands. 

“From the age, roughness or even tattoos, you get a feel for who these people are even before you catch the secondary extremely detailed subject in the painting, which range from burning cigarettes to tea leaves,” Strom says on her website. Strom uses both acrylics and oils to create her paintings and her work can be seen at the RJD Gallery in Bridgehamption, New York.