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Canvas & SkinThe Virginia–Carolina Creative Coast

Black and grey

Monochrome shading and linework without color saturation.

Black and grey artists by municipality

Virginia Beach (8)Norfolk (6)Columbia (2)Isle of Wight County (1)Newport News (1)

Artists working in Black and grey

Specializes in

Mattlock Lopes

Virginia Beach

Owner of Inkcredible Tattoo Studio. Specializes in painterly realism, color realism, black-and-grey realism, portraits, fantasy imagery, and large-scale custom tattoos, with 10+ years of professional experience.

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Burke Long

Virginia Beach

Tattoo artist at Inkcredible Tattoo Studio focused on black-and-grey realism, detailed portraits, fantastical realism, memorial pieces, and large-scale custom work.

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Dorse Taylor

Virginia Beach

Tattoo artist at Inkcredible Tattoo Studio focused on anime tattoos, with additional work in vibrant color, pop-culture, black-and-grey realism, and portraits.

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Ben Spear

Virginia Beach

Tattoo artist at Inkcredible Tattoo Studio working in color, black-and-grey, surrealism, pop-culture, and character artwork.

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Tommy Altman

Virginia Beach

Owner of Sandbridge Tattoo. Focuses on black and grey and traditional Japanese work, drawing on a background in oil painting.

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Donnie Anderson

Virginia Beach

Tattoo artist at Sandbridge Tattoo partial to black-and-grey realism and dark-art surrealism, proficient across most tattoo styles. Virginia Beach native, tattooing professionally since apprenticing in Roanoke in 2012.

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Jesus

Norfolk

Tattoo artist at Valhalla Rose Tattoo and Piercing with expertise in black-and-grey, realism, portraits, and rock-themed work.

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Lewis

Norfolk

Tattoo artist at Valhalla Rose Tattoo and Piercing (4 years' experience), focused on illustrative and neo-traditional styles, plus color and black-and-grey realism.

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Graig Camp

Virginia Beach

Resident artist at Envision Tattoo Gallery, tattooing since 2000, specializing in black-and-grey work and bold traditional designs.

Offers

Nikki Canady

Virginia Beach

Tattoo artist at Envision Tattoo Gallery with 19+ years of experience in color tattoos, black-and-grey fine line work, and cover-ups.

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Yvette "Vett"

Newport News

Tattoo artist at G's Tattoos, Newport News, working in black and grey with a focus on nature-inspired subjects — florals, insects, and vines — and ornamental style work. In her own words: "I'd also like to start tattooing more lady faces and larger projects."

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Matt Williams

Isle of Wight County

Owner of James River Tattoo, with over two decades in the tattoo industry and more than 13,000 lifetime tattoos completed. Apprenticed under Kent "The Dixie Devil" Keaton in San Diego starting in 2003, then worked 4.5 years with J.D. Crowe at Ancient Art Tattoo and 14 years at Folk City Tattoo before opening James River Tattoo in 2025.

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Cassandra Redd

Columbia

Artist and owner of Banshee Tattoo Co., preferring realism and black-and-gray work, with 10 years of professional tattooing experience. Also does cover-up tattoos.

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Jim Twiddy

Columbia

Tattoo artist at Banshee Tattoo Co. with 15+ years of experience, favoring fancy lettering and American traditional designs with bold, bright colors, alongside black-and-gray and mandala work.

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Patrick Loud (Ploud)

Norfolk

Co-owner of Slow Ride Tattoo & Gallery in Norfolk, with nearly 14 years of tattooing experience across Virginia and Los Angeles, focused on illustrated realism in both black and grey and color.

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Edward Alvarado

Norfolk

Co-founder (June 2022) of Slow Ride Tattoo & Gallery in Norfolk. A Navy veteran (2013–2017) who began his tattoo apprenticeship in 2016, working in American Traditional and black and grey realism.

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Angel

Norfolk

Tattoo artist at Slow Ride Tattoo & Gallery in Norfolk, working in black and grey, realism, and portraits.

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Jarred

Norfolk

Tattoo artist at Slow Ride Tattoo & Gallery in Norfolk with a decade of professional experience, focused on neo-traditional, illustrative, and black and grey work, and also taking on realism, geometric, and color pieces.

Often tagged alongside Black and grey

Other styles the same artists are also tagged with — not a claim that the styles themselves are related, only that they share artists.