On the Energy a Tattoo Carries

and how to go beyond subject matter when thinking about a tattoo idea

Hi friends,

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how art carries energy. Energy that stays with people and moves with them through time.

The thought struck me as I stared at a painting by William Hanson that we have hanging in our living room. It occurred to me, just how many different moments of human experience this painting had been present for. The artist’s wife Jeannine, had lived down the road from my parents. After his passing, she became friends with my mother. Jeannine’s house was full to the brim with remnants of her and her husband’s life together. His artwork, books, souvenirs from travel. As she was getting older and moving into assisted living, my mom met helped her sort through all the many years of saved artifacts and artwork. Through that process, the painting came to hang on our wall.

It hung in our first apartment in Washington, DC, and now hangs in our home in Colorado. Over time, the people around this painting changed, the spaces changed, and the context changed. But the painting remained a constant.

It isn’t illustrative. There is no specific subject. Just color, shape, and line, made with what looks like stamps from the bottom of a glass bottle. But it has a very distinct energy. And, without us fully realizing it, the energy of the painting has given tone to so much of our lives (and perhaps William and Jeannine’s before us).

I love thinking of this painting’s journey as a metaphor for how tattoos show up in the world.

When people think about tattoos, the first question is usually about subject matter. What is it? or What are you going to get? A bird, a fish, a flower?

But, what I’ve found to be more important is the energy the tattoo carries. The subject is part of that, but the feeling created by shape, movement, scale, and placement is what really affects both the wearer and the people around them.

Think about it like this: You can see someone across a room and feel something about their presence, partly because of their tattoos, even if you never speak to them. Then you leave, and maybe you never see them again — but the impression stays with you. In that way, a tattoo can function a lot like a painting on a wall. Its energy can affect anyone who sees it, even just for a moment.

A good tattoo will follow you around, and color the backdrop of moments throughout your life. It’s a piece of art that will be there with you through the most beautiful and most difficult moments of your life.

So what energy do you want to carry with you — to be your companion — in all those moments to come?

To consider, let’s take a look at a few tattoo projects I’ve recently completed.

Doug’s Half Leg Sleeve (in progress)

This piece has a sharp, repetitive structure at it’s center that creates a sense of outward motion, almost like something is exploding or expanding. That movement is balanced by the black hexagons descending down the leg, which add weight and grounding. The result is a tension between explosive energy and controlled structure. It feels both dynamic and stable at the same time—edgy, but anchored.

Victoria’s Hip Piece

This piece was designed to follow the curvature of the hip and move with the body. The outer shapes create a smooth, downward motion, almost like water flowing along the contours of the form. There’s a sense of softness and fluidity, but also strength in the way the design expands and opens across the hip. The overall energy feels feminine but grounded—flowing, elegant, and powerful.

Spencer’s Shoulder Piece

This piece balances structure and softness - rooted in the idea of the Lotus being a beautiful flower that grows out of the mud. The background elements create a sense of order, while the lotus opens outward organically from that controlled geometry. That contrast gives the tattoo a feeling of release—like something unfolding from within a stable foundation. The overall energy feels calm but expansive, while the structure feels confident and certain.

When you start with energy instead of subject matter, you’re no longer limited by the image itself. You can find something that fits the body better, fits the person better, and ultimately creates a stronger presence. Tattoos create an energetic mark in the wider world. They shape how someone is perceived, and how they perceive themselves.

So when I consult with clients, I often ask not just what do you want, but how do you want to feel? Grounded, powerful, fluid, calm, expansive? From there, the imagery becomes more flexible, and the result is often more cohesive and meaningful.

That’s usually where I like to begin.

— Kyle