Artist Uses Real Plants and Flowers to Create Nature-Inspired Tattoos

No two plants grow exactly alike, which is why Ukrainian tattoo artist Rita “Rit Kit” Zolotukhina uses real flowers and leaves to create intricate, one-of-a-kind tattoos.

Illusion magazine recently interviewed Rit Kit about her artistic process, which involves taking bits of live greenery, like a delicate fern or a tiny flower, and dipping them into tattoo stencil ink. Rit Kit presses the pigment-covered botanicals onto her clients’ skin, leaving an impression that she traces with her needle. She then fills in the blossoms and plants with varying gradients of ink, taking care to depict the shrubs in all their natural glory.

“We don’t know the definitive look when we start, just the colors, the mood and basic shape, Rit Kit tells Illusion. “It’s my favorite way to make tattoos, and I think the most natural. They’re like botanical fingerprints on the bodies of other brave nature lovers.”

Check out some of Rit Kit’s designs below, or visit her Instagram or portfolio website for more images.

[Illusion]