Giddy Up: Two Pairs, Two Worlds

James Dean has a thing for riders lately, horses caught rearing, mid-charge, a beat from bolting. Two recent sets show it best: a western pair and a fantasy pair, each done as matching-but-not-identical companions.

Starting with the classic western pair, two cowboys go for their guns on rearing horses. Same energy, staged differently, one leans into the charge, gun drawn low; the other's nearly thrown from the saddle, arm flung wide. Same black work, same desert tone throughout. Side by side, they read as two frames of one shootout rather than two copies of the same tattoo.

The other set trades six-shooters for myth, the Witch King charging out of the dark on one leg, and Gandalf raising his staff on the other. Same rearing-horse backbone, opposite mood. One's all heavy blacks and menace; the other's looser and lighter, cloak and mane caught in the wind. Less two halves of a story, more two forces pulling against each other.

Put the sets side by side and the shared structure stands out: every horse caught at that exact moment, legs up, weight thrown back. That's the hard part to draw well, western or fantasy, and it's the thread running through both pairs even though nothing else about them matches. Swap the costume and the same pose can carry a shootout or a battle against the dark just as well.

If you're after a matching pair that tells two halves of one story rather than repeating itself, this is exactly the kind of thing James is good at.

Sunset Tattoo is the home of some of New Zealand’s most celebrated tattooists, and located on Karangahape Road (K Road). We specialise in timeless, professional tattoo styles such as Japanese, American/western traditional, fine line and black work. With a friendly team, a gorgeous studio and decades of knowledge we would love to help you with your next tattoo project. For more information, get in touch with us. Contact: info@sunsettattoo.co.nz / www.sunsettattoo.co.nz