Newton Omondi Oduge, who tattoos out of Mombasa in Kenya sent me these pictures of him tattooing a lion on the back of Ammelie, a Swedish tourist. I asked him what the tattoo scene was like in Kenya, and he replied,
“The tattoo scene in Kenya is actually not that much of a scene, with very few artists and even fewer good ones. I wouldnt say we have a scene here at all, but nonetheless, we try and give our best ink. It’s only made harder because 90 percent of the time your are tattooing dark skin, and small pieces at that. Then, once in a while you get a big job, maybe all-out colorfull on white skin, and you have to pull it together.
I have been fortunate to visit Europe and do some work there, but honestly, without the interaction from the Western world we are not going to go far. I hope to get to visit Japan or the States one of these days and just sit in a corner at a great studio and watch and learn. Peace.”
In all honesty, I’ve seen a lot of lion tattoos, and this is far better than most!