Surreal & Illustrative Tattoo Artist in London
I'm Nick Whybrow, a tattoo artist based in London with more than 20 years of professional tattooing experience.
Since 2003, I've been creating custom tattoos for people looking for something a little different. My work is primarily surreal and illustrative, combining expressive linework, crosshatching and etching-inspired detail with influences from traditional tattooing, Japanese composition and classical art.
Custom Tattoos Built Around Your Idea
One of the things I enjoy most about tattooing is figuring out how to turn a vague idea into something that actually works.
Sometimes a client knows exactly what they want. Other times they have a collection of ideas, images or influences that don't obviously fit together.
That's often where the interesting stuff starts.
I enjoy taking different elements and finding ways to combine them into a design that feels natural, personal and unlike something that's already been tattooed a hundred times.
My work often explores surreal imagery, figurative and classical-inspired subjects, animals, nature, scenery, space and unusual concepts, all brought together through an illustrative approach to tattooing.
Surreal, Illustrative & Etching-Inspired Tattooing
My style has developed through years of drawing, tattooing and experimenting with different ways of making images work on skin.
I'm particularly drawn to illustrative linework, crosshatching, graphic compositions and the kind of texture found in etchings and old illustrations. I like tattoos that feel modern while still carrying influences from older forms of art and tattooing.
Although these are the areas I'm most interested in, I don't believe every tattoo needs to fit neatly into one category. Some of my favourite projects come from mixing different influences and finding a way to make them work together.
The goal is always the same: to create a tattoo that feels considered, individual and built specifically for the person wearing it.
More Than 20 Years Of Tattooing Experience
I began tattooing in 2003 following an apprenticeship in Colchester.
Since then I've worked and guest spotted in tattoo studios across the UK and internationally, continually learning from other artists and developing my own approach to tattooing.
London has been my tattooing home since 2007, and in 2018 I opened The Good Fight Tattoo in Camden.
After more than two decades of tattooing, I still enjoy the same thing that attracted me to it in the first place: the opportunity to create something permanent, personal and completely unique for another person.
Have An Idea?
You don't need to arrive with a finished design.
A rough concept, a strange idea, a collection of references or even just something you've been trying to figure out for years is enough to start a conversation.
If it sounds like the kind of project I'd enjoy, get in touch and let's see what we can make of it.
Tattooed At The Good Fight, Camden
I work from The Good Fight Tattoo, the independent custom tattoo studio I founded in Camden, North London.
The studio is home to a team of artists specialising in a range of different tattoo styles, and if I'm not the right person for your particular idea, there's a good chance I can point you towards someone who is.
