Inspiration: Angelique Houtkamp

Angelique Houtkamp is an amazing artist whose work I became familiar with on my trip to melbourne last year. She's one of many brilliant artists who show through the gallery Outré -along with other people of general awesomeness such as Beci Orpin, Kozyndan, Audrey Kawasaki, Mark Ryden and sooo many more (check out the Outré artists' page).

She epitomises a trend that seems to be taking over the world: vintage tattoos are oh so hot right now. That's not to say she has jumped on board- tattooing was her life long before garish Ed Hardy designs were spread across teenyboppers and waycool yuppies bodies everywhere. Rather than replocating old tatto designs, she reinvents them and integrates them into her own beautiful work. Her work represents a romantic view of vintage tattoo art, as well as crazy awesome modern tattoo flash that... is just the most brilliant form of art.

Buy her book, Tattoo Darling(available at Outré), and breathe in the beautiful glossy pictures, and you'll probably be wondering when and what you'll get for your first tattoo. Or, if you're already tattooed in some form, you'll be left wondering how to raise the money to fly to amsterdam and pay her €250 to perform her magic on you.

(All images (c) Angelique Houtkamp)