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Steve Butcher

The Freeze Frame

Retained in Black IvyBased Los Angeles.

@stevebutchertattoos stevebutchertattoos.com

At a glance

StudioPrivate studio

BasedLos Angeles

2025 titleBlack Ivy, Global Top 10

2026 titleBlack Ivy, Global Top 10

Styles

Hyper-Realism Colour Realism Black & Grey Realism Portrait Realism Black & Grey Portrait Realism Colour Surrealism Pet & Animal Portraits

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Inspector's report · 2026

Steve Butcher is the master of the frozen instant. A dunk mid flight, sweat on a brow, the reflection in an eye.

The style is hyper-realism in its plainest sense, recreating photographs and action scenes and capturing the mood of the image. What the inspectors see is more specific. The instant itself, held still, with hair rendered strand by strand.

The method is slow, with the skin itself saved for the crisp whites that give his colour its snap. Sittings run 7 to 10 hours and complex pieces past 20. His basketball portraits, the Kobe Bryant pieces above all, carried the work to an international audience, and clients have flown 36 hours to sit in his chair.

Inspector's note

The most consistent colour realist the inspectors reviewed this year. Every piece meets the standard of the one before it, and in this category that is the highest compliment available.

Back to the Global Top 10

Also in Black Ivy · alphabetical

PreviousLewis YzoriOne Body, One Canvas · Lisbon NextThomas Carli JarlierA Poem Written on Skin · Clermont-Ferrand

Certified Black Ivy

Global Top 10 · 2026

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Mikael RämgårdCo-Founder

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The SKINGRAPHICA® Global Top 10 Tattoo Artists is an independent editorial recognition of the world's most technically accomplished tattoo artists. Selection rests on mastery, consistency and artistic execution. It does not rest on popularity, social following or commercial influence.

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