Inked art stories
Alasdair Gray tattoos are part of our origin story and they hold a special place in our heart. We particularly love hearing the stories that lie behind every piece of Alasdair Gray inked art. And so we’re thrilled to be able to share some of them here.
Lou Lawson: Tall tales
Inspirational animals
I got my two tattoos at the same time. Both on my upper arms and both from Alasdair Gray's mural at Hillhead station, which was created when I was living in Glasgow. I got a Queer Fish on one arm and a Hard Working Beaver on the other.
Hopeful and free
I love the mural, especially the quote on it:
Do not let the daily to-ing and fro-ing
To earn what we need to keep going
Prevent what you once felt when wee,
Hopeful and free.
Lasting love
So I'd thought about that for a while and then I found black and white versions of those drawings in his book Ten Tales Tall and True.
I took them to Lixi @lixi_sickandnormal and they did such an amazing job turning them into tattoos!
They're still my favourite tattoos of all time, I love them so much.
Ben Dunphy: Reminder of home
Underground inspiration
I used to live in Hillhead, where Alasdair’s work could be found easily without looking. One day I stopped to look at the mural inside the subway station off Byres Road. If you know this mural you know it is flanked by characters that pop up sporadically in Alasdair’s canon of drawings. I didn’t have any tattoos at this time, but I wanted one that would connect me with my home of Glasgow before I moved away in late 2019. I didn’t plan to have an Alasdair Gray themed tattoo, but after spending a bit of time looking at his many drawings, the difficulty was to not choose dozens.
Different head cases
Any of the images from the Hillhead mural would make a great tattoo but I was immediately drawn to the man sketching his own head (Head Cases).
Not long after this, I opened my copy of Lanark for the first time. Inside one of the first pages there was a version of Head Cases. Different to the Hillhead version and part of a full-page drawing. I knew immediately that this was the tattoo I wanted and I arranged to have it done.
An enriching experience
The tattoo was complete only a few days before Alasdair’s death. At this time I was feeling very home sick and that news only added to my feeling of loss. Alasdair, and Lanark in particular, inspired such an appreciation for the imperfect place of Glasgow. My tattoo still serves as that reminder of home.
When people ask about my tattoo, I can’t say exactly what it means. But I tell them about Alasdair Gray and how his work will enrich their lives as it has mine.
Stephen Smith: Phenomenal artwork
A lifelong fascination
I was introduced to Alasdair Gray’s books / art in 1987. I had started at Glasgow School of Art that year and a friend had said to me “There is a book you have to read. It’s called Lanark and it’s written by Alasdair Gray, who also studied at GSA”. Needless to say, I was utterly taken with it and also by the phenomenal artwork that was contained within. It was the start of a lifelong fascination with the writings and artwork of Mr Gray.
A creative collaboration
It was a considerable gap in time before I decided to have myself tattooed (not until my 30’s). My first was inspired by another favourite author / artist – Clive Barker, a chest piece sported by the character Ohnaka from his story / film Cabal (Nightbreed). Soon after, I decided to have a partial back piece done from one of Mr Gray’s pieces, taken from Unlikely Stories, Mostly.
I thought this would work very well placed on the back, with the twin points coming across onto the front of my neck, shawl-like. I was highly fortunate in finding a superb tattoo artist who truly appreciated Mr Gray’s art and reproduced / interpreted it as faithfully and carefully as possible.
A big decision
There was another of Mr Gray’s pieces that I was desperate to have as a tattoo, namely Faust In His Study. I mulled on this for a fair time, with the only place I could have it being my torso and chest (or what wasn’t already taken up with the Ohnaka tattoo. So it would mean the omission of some detail from Faust and also allowing the tattoo to wrap around my sides and slightly onto the available space on my back. So, not a perfect canvas, but still enough to have most of the original artwork appear.
An ongoing artwork
As of now, the tattoo still has a way to go, the arrival of Covid taking any further work off the table. But all going well, work will resume on the piece and that will be my on-going project until it is fully complete. Again, I am extremely fortunate to have Morag Sangster of Tribe work on this, it’s a complex piece and she has done Mr Gray’s work proud.
Vanessa McCulloch: Scottish connection
Literary inspiration
I am English but lived in Glasgow for about 6 years after I graduated from University in Stirling, Scotland, which is where I first saw a copy of Unlikely Stories, Mostly. I was studying English literature, but I had not expected to encounter a text whose pictures I found as lovely as the words.
A timeless classic
I got my tattoo a few years ago, here in Belgium, where I now live. I had recently read Lanark and been thinking about getting a tattoo which would keep me connected to Scotland, as I still can't seem to shake the feeling of missing it, and especially Glasgow. An Alasdair Gray tattoo was the perfect solution and having it means I can carry a bit of Glasgow with me wherever I go. The gentle movement of his lines, and their fineness are perfect for a tattoo. I also think his illustrations have a classical quality, meaning that I can feel pretty confident that I have a tattoo that won't date, has personal meaning, and is one which I will never regret.
Bridget McCall: Self-contained power
Dark desires
I have loved Alasdair's work since reading Lanark in High School. I have always been very drawn to writing which is transparent about the less palatable parts of the human psyche, and Alasdair's semi-autobiographical, unfiltered approach to this I found very refreshing. I went on to write my undergraduate dissertation about masculinity, mystery and the sublime in Alasdair's work, and it drove my interest in the book as an art-object. My love for Alasdair's books has really driven the direction of my career as I now work in the Glasgow School of Art Library with lots of his lovely donations!
A lasting love
I decided to get my tattoo after a difficult breakup (a classic reason to get a tattoo!). Around the same time I was reading Something Leather and was really struck by Alasdair's description of the use of the wasp iconography that runs through Something Leather.
He said that it was inspired by a woman he had seen at the train station in leathers, with a shaved head and wasp tattoos on her face. She had the self-contained power of a person whose aesthetic was for herself and uninfluenced by male desires, which felt poignant at the time! No regrets, I still love it.
Explore more…
Find out more about our Blood and ink origin story.
Explore our Inked art gallery.
Enjoy our personal perspective on Alasdair and some of his best known books in Who is Alasdair Gray to us?
And if you’ve got an Alasdair Gray tattoo then get in touch and share your story with us. We’d love to hear it!
