Black and grey Japanese bonsai tree done by our resident tattoo artist Kelsey Liu. This tattoo was approached with a soft and delicate style of tattooing and stipple shading. The added red in the background makes the rest of the shading stand out and gives great contrast! 

Bonsai (/ˈbɒnsaɪ/; Japanese: 盆栽, lit. ‘tray planting‘, pronounced [boɰ̃sai] ^ⓘ) is the Japanese art of growing and shaping miniature trees in containers, with a long documented history of influences and native Japanese development over a thousand years, and with unique aesthetics, cultural history, and terminology derived from its evolution in Japan.^[1] Similar arts exist in other cultures, including Korea’s bunjae, the Chinese art of penjing, and the miniature living landscapes of Vietnamese Hòn non bộ.

In Japanese, the word bonsai (盆栽) translates to “planted in a shallow container”. Rooted in Eastern philosophies, the art form is a symbol of harmony, balance, patience, and good luck. Practitioners use these miniature, living sculptures to reflect the majesty of nature and honor the human connection with the earth

Purposes of bonsai are primarily contemplation for the viewer, and the pleasant exercise of effort and ingenuity for the grower.^[4] Bonsai are not grown for the production of food or medicine.

If you would like to see more black and grey work done by Kelsey please check out her page here!