We’ve featured a few great black and gray portraits here on Tattoos In Flight, but this particular tattoo by artist Aaron Bell of Slave to the Needle in Seattle, WA really takes the cake!  Aaron’s attention to detail and the rich tonal quality really makes this portrait shine.

The portrait represents the image of a World War II fighter pilot complete with his A-2 Leather Bomber Jacket, “Mae West” life vest, leather helmet and goggles, and O2 Mask.

Please click on the image above or the link below for a larger image.

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The commitment required for large scale tattoo work is certainly commendable — the amount of time it takes along with the pain and cost over multiple sessions makes the completed piece not only a triumph of art, but also a triumph over various hurdles along the way.  A full sleeve project is one of these large scale projects and is one of the most visible you can get — making it important to get the right artwork from the right artist!

That’s the case in this fantastic sleeve featuring all different sorts of World War II fighter and bomber aircraft.  You can see famous planes like the P-51 Mustang, B-17 Flying Fortress, P-47 Thunderbolt, and SBD Dauntless here.

The awesome sleeve was created by artist Jason Leisge of Oddball Studios in Portland, OR.

For a larger shot, click on the link below or the image above.

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A colorful sleeve project for today that needed two photos to properly document. Yet again we can see that the North American P-51 Mustang continues to be one of the most popular aviation tattoo subjects out there. 

This particular tattoo project was created by Mark Lazio of Ground Zero Tattoo in Riverside, CA.

Please click on the link below to see a larger version of the photo and the second photo in the series. 

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The B-17 Flying Fortress is quite possibly the most recognizable aircraft of World War II and certainly was the most famous due in part to it’s role in the wartime documentary film “Memphis Belle” by William Wyler, documenting the first crew of the war to successfully complete 25 missions.

As a result, a great number of aviation tattoos today feature the famed Flying Fortress and today we feature another. This particulat tattoo was done by artist Audi at Midnight Moon Tattoo in Chichester, NH.

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We’ve got a few B-17 Flying Fortress tattoos to showcase in the coming few days starting with this great ribpiece by Mike Devries of Mike Devries Tattoos in Encino, CA.

The piece is still in progress, awaiting one more run through and background, but it still looks great and the placement is very unique and works well for the massive bomber.

Contribute your photos to be featured here… email us at tattoosinflight@gmail.com.

Here’s one you don’t see everyday… a B-26 Marauder. This nearly photorealistic black and grey tattoo was completed by artist Pows One at Starlight Tattoo in New Jersey. I was even amazed with this one!

Do you have a tattoo involving flight to share? Email us at tattoosinflight@gmail.com.

Artist Don Jewell sends us this great WWII pinup / P-51 Mustang collaboration this week. Don is located at Artistic Creations Tattoo in Sacramento, CA.

Looking for P-51 Mustang Source Material for a new tattoo? Take a look at the following books to use… shop online at HistoricAviation.com

It’s hard to believe this is the wearers first tattoo… but according to artist Daniel “Wes” Wesley, it was!  Looks like an Me-262 at the bottom with a P-40 soaring above.  The color is fantastic, but looking at Wes’ portfolio, I’d expect nothing less!

Wes is based in Columbus, OH – take a look at his site at http://www.wescoreart.com.