Black-and-gray (also black-and-grey, black and grey/gray) is a style of

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...

ing that uses black

tattoo ink Tattoo inks consist of pigments combined with a carrier, used in the process of tattooing to create a tattoo in the skin. These inks are also used for permanent makeup, a form of tattoo. Professional tattoo inks are available in many colors and ...

mixed with

distilled water Distilled water is water that has been purified by boiling it into vapor then condensing it back into liquid in a separate container. Impurities in the original water that do not boil below or near the boiling point of water remain in the origin ...

to create various tones in the skin. This tattooing style originated from

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

s in the 1970s and 1980s and was later popularized in tattoo parlors.

Origin

Black-and-gray is sometimes referred to as "jailhouse" or "joint style". It originated in prisons where inmates had limited access to materials: they resorted to using guitar strings for needles and

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into Rolling paper, thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhale ...

ashes or pen ink to produce tattoos. Inmates constructed makeshift tattoo machines using small motors from tape players. Prisons prohibit inmates from tattooing, so these were done in secret. Jailhouse style developed in the

Chicano Chicano (masculine form) or Chicana (feminine form) is an ethnic identity for Mexican Americans that emerged from the Chicano Movement. In the 1960s, ''Chicano'' was widely reclaimed among Hispanics in the building of a movement toward politic ...

and

cholo ''Cholo'' () was a racial category used in 18th-century Spanish America to refer to people who were three-quarters Amerindians, Amerindian by descent and one-quarter Spanish people, Spanish. Its origin is a somewhat derogatory term for Multi ...

culture in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, this style became popularized in tattoo parlors outside of prison and was renamed "black and gray". Tattoo artists Ed Hardy, Jack Rudy, Charlie Cartwright, and Freddy Negrete contributed to popularizing the style for a wider audience, including in a shop called Good Time Charlie's in

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles (), or East L.A., is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) situated within Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, East Los Angeles is designated as ...

Technique

Black-and-gray tattoo work is produced by diluting black ink with

in varying proportions to create a "wash" that results in lighter shades. Gray shades can also be produced by mixing small amounts of black ink with white ink, which produces a thicker but brighter result and requires a slower application.

Shading Shading refers to the depiction of depth perception in 3D models (within the field of 3D computer graphics) or illustrations (in visual art) by varying the level of darkness. Shading tries to approximate local behavior of light on the object's ...

is an important component for these types of tattoos as they will fade over a period of years without strong black tones, which provide contrast and allows the tattoo to stand out. Subtle shading in black-and-gray requires a high level of skill from a

tattoo artist A tattoo artist (also tattooer or tattooist) is an individual who applies permanent decorative tattoos, often in an established business called a "tattoo shop", "tattoo studio" or "tattoo parlour". Tattoo artists usually learn their craft via an ...

Common usage

Black-and-gray techniques can be used for a variety of tattoo designs and styles. Japanese

irezumi (also spelled or sometimes ) is the Japanese word for tattoo, and is used in English to refer to a distinctive style of Japanese tattooing, though it is also used as a blanket term to describe a number of tattoo styles originating in Japan, inc ...

, such as the rising koi, are traditionally done using black-and-gray, although colored irezumi sometimes use black-and-gray backgrounds in a manner similar to sumi-e brushwork. Classic Chicano tattoos—which include a broad range of imagery such as icons in

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

or the

Mexican flag The national flag, national flag of Mexico () is a vertical Tricolour (flag), tricolor of green, white, and red with Coat of arms of Mexico, the national coat of arms charge (heraldry), charged in the center of the white stripe. While the meani ...

and partially originated from prison life—are also normally done in black-and-gray. Photo-realistic portraits are also commonly done in black-and-gray, and typically resist deterioration better than color portraits. In some color tattoos, artists can use black-and-gray to provide a foundation for the subsequent shading using colors. The colored ink can be added directly above the black-and-gray portions of the tattoo.

Examples

File:Mlght13.jpg File:A039-andreaafferni-seminars-seminar-tattoo-tattoos-tatuaggi-portrait-ritratto-realism (cropped).jpg File:Full Back tattoo by jairo ramirez.jpg File:Man with a full back tattoo. Black and White image.jpg

References

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