Whether you are planning to get a new tattoo and are looking for tattoo ideas or you are just a tattoo lover and want to see some great cross tattoo designs, this book will not disappoint. With over 400 cross designs, this book is probably the most complete collection of cross tattoos you will ever find. From Celtic crosses to religious, Irish, tribal, ornamental and Gothic crosses, all are well represented in this book. If you plan to get a new tattoo, make sure you first check the 430 cross designs from this book. Tattoos are permanent and hard to remove; do not take chances - make sure you choose the best design before going to see your tattoo artist.

From impossible shapes to three-dimensional sketches and trick art, you won't believe your eyes as you learn to draw optical illusions in graphite and colored pencil. Perfect for beginning artists, The Art of Drawing Optical Illusions begins with a basic introduction to optical illusions and how they work. Jonathan Stephen Harris then guides you step-by-step in creating mind-blowing pencil drawings, starting with basic optical illusions and progressing to more difficult two- and three-dimensional trick art. Perspective and dimension are difficult to capture for both beginning and established artists, but now you can hone those skills in the most unique way possible, while also exercising your mind with these brain-boosting, unbelievable tricks!

A complete survey dedicated to the artistry and variety of Ethiopian crosses discusses the evolution and common origins of the range of cross types, from the cross stamped on the Aksumite coins and those depicted in architecture to the illustrations in ancient illuminated codices and the designs forged for specific liturgical functions.

Journey from ink to skin with This Is a Book for People Who Love Tattoos, a glorious full-color celebration of the history and craft of tattooing. From the earliest known origins of tattooing to the latest trends, this gorgeously illustrated guide offers a deep look at the culture of American Traditional style tattoos. Tattoo aficionado and historian Verena Hutter profiles not just the key tattoo artists who inspired the style, such as Sailor Jerry, Bert Grimm, and Dainty Dottie, but also the meanings and origins behind some of the most iconic designs found in tattoo shops across the globe She traces the indelible “I love Mom” tattoo back to a 19th-century folk song sung by Irish sailors and reveals the significance of eagles, skulls, horseshoes, lighthouses, and dozens of other designs. This Is a Book for People Who Love Tattoos will inspire your next tattoo session while celebrating the rich history of the craft.

The cross is one of Christianity’s most distinctive symbols, increasingly cutting across Catholic/Protestant and other denominational divides. Although the US acknowledges no official religion, a variety of both Christian and non-Christian denominations have flourished. Crosses dot the landscape, sometimes towering over it and at other times simply marking a grave or the site of a traffic accident, or providing a place for contemplation. Courts continue to decide whether it is better to remove long-standing crosses on public property to protect the separation of church and state, or whether removing such symbols might be misinterpreted as expressing hostility towards religion. Whether marking identity, triumph, love, grief, or sacrifice, the cross remains important in American life and continues to be the subject of works of art, music, literature, and political, religious, and social rhetoric, all of which this volume addresses in an accessible A-to-Z format.

For centuries, the Celtic cross has endured as a popular interpretation of the symbol of faith and redemption. These 5 tattoos recapture the spirals and knot work characteristic of Celtic art.

At least thirty-seven per cent of male convicts and fifteen per cent of female convicts were tattooed by the time they arrived in the penal colonies, making Australians quite possibly the world's most heavily tattooed English-speaking people of the nineteenth century. Each convict’s details, including their tattoos, were recorded when they disembarked, providing an extensive physical account of Australia's convict men and women. Simon Barnard has meticulously combed through those records to reveal a rich pictorial history. Convict Tattoos explores various aspects of tattooing—from the symbolism of tattoo motifs to inking methods, from their use as means of identification and control to expressions of individualism and defiance—providing a fascinating glimpse of the lives of the people behind the records. Simon Barnard was born and grew up in Launceston. He spent a lot of time in the bush as a boy, which led to an interest in Tasmanian history. He is a writer, illustrator and collector of colonial artifacts. He now lives in Melbourne. He won the Eve Pownall Award for Information Books in the 2015 Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Book of the Year awards for his first book, A-Z of Convicts in Van Diemen’s Land. Convict Tattoos is his second book. ‘The early years of penal settlement have been recounted many times, yet Convict Tattoos genuinely breaks new ground by examining a common if neglected feature of convict culture found among both male and female prisoners.’ Australian ‘This niche subject has proved fertile ground for Barnard—who is ink-free—by providing a glimpse into the lives of the people behind the historical records, revealing something of their thoughts, feelings and experiences.’ Mercury 'The best thing to happen in Australian tattoo history since Cook landed. A must-have for any tattoo historian.’ Brett Stewart, Australian Tattoo Museum