A black-and-white photo of a person mid-air in a Superman-style body suspension pose, supported by multiple hooks in their back and legs, smiling joyfully toward the camera. They are suspended horizontally in a large indoor space with high ceilings and visible rigging. A group of onlookers—some seated, some standing—watch with expressions of admiration, amusement, and support. The atmosphere is lively and communal, capturing a moment of shared experience and transformation.

Holy Stencil King

I wanted to show the process in which Matt Black of Divine Canvas in London lays down his amazing dotwork tattoos, and I think what might strike tattoo artists or people who are heavily tattooed the most, is that he’s somehow able to lay a stencil for a big psychedelic wavework tattoo like this. I’d assume something like this had to be freehand, not planned in advance, if only because it’s practically impossible to draw something like this on flat paper and then stencil it so accurately onto a complex shape like this part of the body. Seriously, it’s quite hard for me to understand how he did this, and it almost makes me think I’m misinterpreting the photo and it’s not a stencil. But I’m quite sure it is.

wavepulse1

Anyway, stage two is to lightly outline all the shapes in dotwork, as you can see above on the right. After that it’s a matter of filling in the waves, with all the secondary detail — a secondary set of ripples and fluctuations in dot density on top of original design, eventually leaving the customer with an incredible living, pulsating piece of art on their body.

wavepulse2

(Both images can be zoomed to get a better view)

Comments

9 responses to “Holy Stencil King”

  1. mxc Avatar
    mxc

    that really is an impressive stencil! i couldn’t have imagined it’d work out so well, and oh, the patience it must take to do something like that!

  2. mxc Avatar
    mxc

    that really is an impressive stencil! i couldn’t have imagined it’d work out so well, and oh, the patience it must take to do something like that!

  3. mxc Avatar
    mxc

    that really is an impressive stencil! i couldn’t have imagined it’d work out so well, and oh, the patience it must take to do something like that!

  4. Leon Avatar
    Leon

    incredible.

  5. Leon Avatar
    Leon

    incredible.

  6. Leon Avatar
    Leon

    incredible.

  7. Pit Avatar
    Pit

    LIKE!

  8. Pit Avatar
    Pit

    LIKE!

  9. Pit Avatar
    Pit

    LIKE!

Latest Tattoo, Piercing, and Body Modification News

  • Twelve Points to the Sky
    There’s a particular kind of magic that happens at your first big suspension gathering when you arrive with nerves, an open heart, and the quiet hope of flight. Guided by the encouragement of mentor Lynn Loheide and driven by the quiet confidence of belonging, Alex… Read more: Twelve Points to the Sky
  • Ontario SusCon 2025
    In March 2025, BME attended the Ontario Suspension Convention in Hamilton, hosted by the Kevin Donaghy and the Ontario Suspension Collective. We had the pleasure to take part and help document the event, but also run a booth to sell a bunch of old (but… Read more: Ontario SusCon 2025
  • Welcome Back to Body Modification Ezine
    Dear BME Community, We’ve been gone far too long, but BME is back to give people a voice, a space, a community. With time everything evolves, and BME may be different than you remember. Our goal is to stay true to Shannon and Rachel’s values… Read more: Welcome Back to Body Modification Ezine
  • BME Social Media
    Word of mouth has been our method of reuniting the community, and it has brought a substantial amount of us together. I am inspired by your loyalty and I want to remind more people of BME’s existence. In 2020 we gained control over @bmezine on… Read more: BME Social Media
  • BMEShop
    Despite the hurricanes in 2015 which destroyed almost all of what Rachel owned, she managed to save the original inventory from BME. We have relisted some of the stock on BMEShop.com with the hopes you may be interested.  Our first drop includes a selection of… Read more: BMEShop
  • Rachel Larratt 1980-2022
    Unfortunately, when we lost some of the ModBlog content, it included the post about Rachel’s passing. (Original Post) Rachel passed away on June 22, 2022. She died in her sleep. Even now, it’s extremely difficult to write this post. Rachel meant so much to so… Read more: Rachel Larratt 1980-2022