Artists seek to ink best tattoos at Vancouver tattoo show

Lovers of body art gathered in Vancouver over the weekend at the city's annual tattoo and culture show, seeking to make an artistic addition to their bodies, while top artists from around the region competed to create prize-winning tattoos.

A major part of the show each year is a series of competitions among the artists with judges selecting the best tattoo in categories such as "the best sleeve" or "the best large color." And on Sunday night, for the grand finale, judges are going to choose what they are calling "the best tattoo ever."

Andrew Graham, a tattoo artist from Calgary in Alberta province, said a great tattoo artist needs to cultivate their own style while matching their designs to a body part that would accentuate their image and design.

"You want to try and let the 3D of the body add to the shape of the tattoo. Just try to make it fun, make it interesting. Make it new. Not the same thing you have always seen every time," he told Xinhua.

Local tattoo artist Jeremy Riley said that the key to a good tattoo is planning well to create a thoughtful design.

"I have seen tattoos that were executed not that well but the design was so good that it carried over beyond the way the person tattooed it. Because you can outline a perfect tattoo, but if the design is terrible, that tattoo is never going to be as good. It never meets its potential," he added.

Jacalyn Wilchuck, a tattoo lover, developed her taste for body art during her travels in Southeast Asia. She said once she got a taste for tattoos, she started to develop her own theme, and could not stop at just one.

"It is just a way of expressing yourself artistically I guess, right. We only have this body for a limited amount of time so why not decorate it?" she said. Endi