A man seen from behind against a black background, his whole back and both arms covered in black and grey tattoos.

greyhorn

Two artistsLarge pieces onlyLeeds, England

A back piece takes a year. We plan it like a building.

Greyhorn is a black-and-grey studio for sleeves, backs and legs. We draw the whole piece before the first line, then tattoo it over months in long, unhurried sittings.

A studio defined by what it leaves out

We do not do small tattoos, colour or walk-ins. We do one large piece at a time, for people who are ready to sit for it.

Start a consultation

A forearm tattoo of a woman's face beneath a fox mask, finished with small flowers.

Black and white photograph of gloved hands at work on a tattoo.

14 yrstattooing in Leeds
6 hrsa normal sitting
31back pieces finished
1artist per piece, start to end

A good large tattoo is not about the skin. It is about the years you will wear it.

What we do

We design for the body first. The reference picture comes second.

An arm stretched out against a pale wall, tattooed from shoulder to wrist in flowing black and brown shapes.

Full sleeves

Shoulder to wrist, drawn around the way your arm turns and the muscle moves. Usually five to eight sittings, three to four weeks apart so each part heals before the next.

Arms

A man's back in a dark room, tattooed with a large kneeling angel with spread wings.

Back pieces

The largest canvas and the slowest work. We draw it at full size on a print of your back, mark the linework in two sittings and build the shading over the year.

Backs

Gloved hands tattooing a large grey skull onto a thigh.

Legs and hips

Thigh panels, calves and full legs. Easier sittings than the ribs or the back, and room for big, quiet shading that ages well.

Legs

See finished pieces

A man flexing one arm, his back covered in a dense black and grey tattoo that runs into both sleeves.

Planned as one piece across the back and both shoulders, so the sleeves could follow later without a seam.

The Harbour Back

Placement: Full back
Sittings: 11
Hours: 64
Healed: 2025

A person seen from behind against a pale wall, arms stretched above the head, back and arms tattooed.

An older piece on the left side, reworked and joined into a new design across the whole back.

Two Halves

Placement: Back, rework
Sittings: 8
Hours: 45
Healed: 2024

A shoulder and upper arm in a white vest, tattooed with a black and grey portrait against a dark background.

A half sleeve built around one portrait, with the shading kept soft so it still reads from across a room.

The Portrait Sleeve

Placement: Upper arm
Sittings: 4
Hours: 22
Healed: 2026

A shoulder and upper arm with a dark floral tattoo, photographed close with a shallow focus.

The first studio I walked into that asked how I would feel about it at sixty, before it asked what I wanted.

Rania, full sleeveSix sittings, 2025

The Greyhorn journal

We write when there is something worth knowing.

Why we draw everything first

Ines VargaMarch 2026

The drawing takes weeks and costs nothing extra. It is the part of the job that decides whether the piece is still good in twenty years.
Read
How to sit for six hours

Tom AshworthJanuary 2026

Eat a proper breakfast, bring a jumper and a long playlist, and tell us when you need a break. Nobody gets a prize for sitting still.
Read

Before your first sitting

Book a consultation first. Forty minutes, free, in person, with the artist who will do the whole piece.
Bring a few pictures you like and tell us why. We will not copy them, but they tell us the mood.
Expect the drawing to take three to six weeks. We send it to you before anything is booked.
Plan the healing: no sun, swimming or gym on that area for two weeks after each sitting.

Book a consultation

Black and white photograph of a detailed tree and landscape tattoo on an upper arm.

A forearm in a dark room with a black and grey tattoo of circles running down it.

Every large piece starts with one conversation