ButterMandala

Hello, I'm Niklavs Trankalis (Nik)
I began tattooing full time in February 2014 after an apprenticeship in Leicester, England.

From young age ever since I first saw artwork by graphic novelists such as Luis Royo, Massimiliano Frezzato, Alfonso Azpiri I fell in love with art and everything creative.

I was born and raised in Riga - a city known for its beautiful Art Nouveau architecture. So that is the style that resonates with me the most. Especially after discovering work of Alphonse Mucha and later the tattooist Jeff Gogue who introduced this style in tattooing.

Dynamic imagery of movement, asymmetry and high contrast is where I find my creative flow. Though not all of my work resembles the imagery I am the most passioned about. It's because I am always on the look out for something new to try and add to my ever-growing portfolio.

My favorite styles in tattooing are mixture of dark fantasy realism with neo-traditional.

I have studied art since secondary school and enjoy working in all (traditional as well as digital) media forms. The degree in art and design I believe has helped me greatly to deliver any popular style of work in tattooing as well as to develop a signature of my own. Yet the progress never ends and that's the best part about being an artist.

If my artwork speaks to you, let me know your thoughts.