tattoo ideas

updates 7/16/2022 12:47

i’m hoping to get a small collection of favorite plants on my body, so here’s an informal list (roughly in order of priority):

Note: [wiki] links go to each plant’s Wikipedia article, [inat] links go to observations of each plant on iNaturalist, [imgs] links go to general image searches for each species, and [imgN] links go to relevant images to the concept

1. valley oak (Quercus lobata, [wiki], [inat], [imgs]) leaf on my right wrist, maybe a single leaf, or a small cluster, maybe with a acorn and/or a catkin, something like 2“×3” in size
   • [img1]: valley oak leaves and acorn from my instagram
2. gnarled coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia, [wiki], [inat], [imgs]) in my upper chest, basically a rounded outline like one might see on a hilltop, all roughly fitting within a 2-3″ circle
   • [img1]: gnarled live oak
   • [img2]: live oak sketch
3. twining morning glory (Ipomoea tricolor, [wiki], [inat], [imgs]) vine on my upper, with at least a couple leaves, 1-2 spiral buds, and 1-3 flowers, maybe one curling up post bloom, and a spiral tendril or two, maybe all wrapping around my bicep and/or shoulder, or just in the front (this would I think be more involved than the first two, so if you end up having availability, I might like to start with one of the quicker/smaller ones with the thought of maybe doing this later)
4. unfurling fern fiddleneck, probably along the lines of a giant chain fern (Woodwardia fimbriata, [wiki], [inat], [imgs]), deer fern (Struthiopteris spicant, [wiki], [inat], [imgs]), sword fern (Polystichum munitum, [wiki], [inat], [imgs]), or lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina, [wiki], [inat], [imgs]), I’m not so picky on species, but something recognizably a west coast native would be nice
5. one or a couple elegant up-sweeping western redcedar (Thuja plicata, [wiki], [inat], [imgs]) branches
6. small cluster of pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii, [wiki], [inat], [imgs]) flowers roughly in a plane
7. small twining milkweed (Funastrum cynanchoides/heterophyllum, [wiki], [inat], [imgs]) inflorescence (4-8 flowers and a couple buds roughly in a sphere)
8. sacred datura (Datura wrightii, [wiki], [inat], [imgs]) flower and a couple leaves
9. small cycad (Cycas spp., [wiki], [inat], [imgs]) from roughly 45° (to get a sense of both upswept fronds as one would see from side-on, and the rosette one would see from above)

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