There’s something about a blackwork rose tattoo that just oozes elegance and sophistication. Instead of your traditional red or pink rose, the absence of color let’s the mind concentrate on the artist’s lines and overall design in a way that’s usually overlooked when viewing vibrantly colored works. After searching the web high and low, we’ve put together a collection of what we feel are some of the most amazing black and grey ink rose tattoos around. We hope you enjoy this list as much as we enjoyed creating it.
This creative stem.
There aren’t too many abstract rose tattoos out there but this design shows us just how beautiful designs can be that stray a tad bit off course from the norm. The hard lines of the geometric shapes provide for a wonderful contrast with the soft curved lines of the rose. (Photo: Heidi Kaye)
This delightful dotwork design.
This piece was created entirely out of dots placed so closely together that they’re nearly indistinguishable from one another in some areas. It’s the pointillism style, or “dotwork” as it’s referred to in the tattoo industry that creates that wonderful textured appearance so many adore. (Photo: Vatis)
This thorny rose.
We often forget how unwelcoming the stem of a rose can be. It’s sharp thorns are there to warn off hungry predators and would be pickers. Most rose tattoos feature only the blossom, sometimes a stem, but rarely if ever the sharp thorns. However, this piece displays a rose as would be seen in its natural habitat—thorns and all. (Photo: Amy Shapiro)
This gorgeous tricep tat.
These creative petals.
Here we have a unique blackwork rose tattoo design that features different patterns on various petals. The entire design is an aesthetically pleasing mixture of dots and lines which combined to create a delightful overall appearance.(Photo: Barb Rebelo)
This elegant rose.
This back piece.
This beautiful blackwork design.
This forearm piece.
This triangular glyph.
Here we have a stylish blackwork rose confined to a triangular borderless outline. These glyph designs are widely popular, often incorporating various shapes, the most popular being triangles, circles, and diamonds. (Photo: Thiago Oliveira)
This dotwork shoulder piece.
This gorgeous dotwork rose sits upon the shoulder like a floral badge of honor. This goes to show you how much a great design can benefit from the right placement. (Photo: Aimee)
This delicate back piece.
This small detail driven work sits perfectly along the upper portion of the spine. (Photo: River)
These neo traditional blossoms.
Two stunning blackwork rose tattoos done in the neo traditional style decorate the lower forearm. (Photo: Eric Worx)
This blossoming rose design.
Here we have three rose blossoms illustrating the various stages of bloom from x to x. (Photo: Ben Doukakis)
