Pro Artist of the month - Bethanie Lauren

November 04, 2025 - 4 weeks ago

Soft colour realism, delicate botanicals, and tattoos that feel like fine art on skin - there's one artist whose work stops us in our tracks every time, and that's the incredible Bethanie Lauren.

Celebrating over a decade in the industry, Bethanie wows with a signature style blending painterly colour theory with floral elegance, and can now be found in her serene private studio in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, complete with a garden she lovingly grows for reference materials.

We spoke to Bethanie about her evolution from graphite realism to blooming botanicals, how oil painting reshaped her tattoo approach, and her passion for teaching through seminars.

Can you tell us about your journey into tattooing – how did you first discover your passion for it?

I’ve always loved drawing even when I was little, my mum had to wait in the playground for me to finish a painting or whatever I was creating that day. It was my dream to draw everyday. It wasn’t until I was a bit older that I started thinking of tattooing, I knew nothing about the industry but went and asked for an apprenticeship when I didn’t get into the university I wanted to go to.

I kind of feel like I was thrown in at the deep end - I had no expectations with tattooing, but the more I learnt, the more I loved it. 

How has your style evolved since you started?

My style has evolved massively! I went into the tattoo industry thinking I would be a black and grey realism artist, I loved drawing with graphite pencils and hadn’t really explored many other mediums.

The first four years of tattooing, I did a lot of illustration/dotwork and patternwork, so I’d only really used liners for most of the tattoos I did.

I then wanted to add a lot more depth to my work and was really inspired by a lot of colour realism artists. I knew nothing about colour theory but I was really passionate about wanting to understand it and grow as an artist.

What inspired you to specialise in floral and botanical tattoos?

Even when I was doing the more illustration/black and grey work, I loved whenever I had a floral piece booked in. I think they are a timeless tattoo that can flow beautifully on the body.

You’re both a tattoo artist and oil painter, which came first and how do these two art forms influence each other?

Yes! I absolutely love oil painting too! I’d wanted to learn how to paint for a long time, but found it difficult to find the time to paint. During lockdown I painted non-stop, and I loved having that time to dedicate to painting. The two are really different technique wise, but I definitely approached my tattoo designs differently after lockdown. I started looking at the body like a canvas, and I wanted my designs to feel like a piece of art.

Congratulations on 10 years of tattooing! Where has your tattooing journey taken you, from apprenticeship to private studio?

I can’t believe its been over 10 years of tattooing now, its gone by so fast. I’ve been lucky to work lots of conventions, work and guest at lots of amazing studios, meet incredible artists. I’ve also built an amazing client base where I really get on with my clients and look forward to catching up with them on their tattoo sessions.

How important is it for you to have your own private studio space now, and what atmosphere do you try to create for your clients?

Massively, this has been in the works for years. I kind of ended up tattooing on my own, and when the time came to me being in a position to have a studio or a private studio, private studio was definitely for me. I'm naturally a bit of a hermit, I like my own space and I like to get to know my clients one on one rather than a big group chat like in an open plan studio. That’s not me saying there’s anything wrong with a big open plan studio, it's a very good atmosphere but just not one I’m massively suited too.

I'd had a vision of a beautiful relaxing studio surrounded by an amazing garden for clients to look out onto. I really wanted to give my clients an awesome experience as well as a beautiful tattoo. I finally finished building my own studio in march this year. Its something I put a lot of love into and I’m so proud of it!

What does your design process look like, from first sketch to final masterpiece?

I think my design process is actually quiet maths-y haha. I know where certain flowers will sit well on the body and I know the size these flowers need to be to fit the details I want in them. The design is SO important in creating a good tattoo, I spend a lot of time visualising and then tweaking and altering parts until I feel its the best it can be.

I’m also working on growing a lot of my own reference which I think would make such a special and more meaningful tattoo for clients. I’ve currently got ranunculus, butterfly ranunculus and anemones in the greenhouse! Can’t wait to get some good photos of these!

How do you balance your artistic vision with a client’s personal story or request?

I love hearing a backstory to a tattoo, I know how sentimental they can be for clients and I think that’s awesome. I do also think that a degree of open mindedness or allowing an amount of creative freedom with the artist in the design creates the best tattoos I’ve done. I'm never going to be able to create an image that someone has in their head, hopefully I can create something even better than what the client had in mind.

I have dedicated a big portion of my life to understanding what a good tattoo design is, and tattooists are professionals so working with a really rigid brief is not work I take on. I will happily explain my reasons for why I’ve made certain design choices. Sometimes certain ideas aren’t going to make the best tattoo, and I’ll be honest with clients, at the end I want to make the best tattoo possible for them, and I think open and honest communication is the key.

You often describe wanting to capture the delicacy of petals and nature – what draws you to that softness in your work?

Yes its something I’m naturally drawn to, I just want to create something beautiful for my clients. I don’t just want to create a realistic flower tattoo for people I want it to feel like a real flower. Which to me is super delicate, and soft to touch. I want my work to have that same feeling that makes you stop in your tracks to look at a flower in real life.

Your tattoos have a painterly quality to them – how do you translate your oil painter background to tattooing?

I’ve had a few people say this, and its lovely to hear but not something I’m intentionally doing I guess. That’s just the way I tattoo, I am heavily inspired by painters and a softer looking tattoo, so maybe it naturally comes from inspiration? I’m unsure.

I think application of ink into the skin is worlds apart from oil painting. But I think oil painting has helped me understand colour theory better and approach my designs differently.

Are there particular flowers or plants that hold special meaning to you or that you love to tattoo the most?

I have certain flowers that I know translate really well into a tattoo and that I really enjoy to tattoo. Some of my favourites are wild roses, hellebores, camellias, hydrangeas, and peonies.

How does nature, and perhaps your own garden, influence your creative process day to day?

Oh loads, I’m massively into my garden at the moment. I want the view from the studio to be beautiful and filled with floral references.

I would love to get to a point where I can welcome clients to the studio and we can walk around the garden choosing references for sleeves or tattoo designs. I think that would be an incredible experience for clients and add so much meaning to their tattoos.

What advice would you give to young artists, tattoo or otherwise, finding their voice and style?

Hmm, that’s a tricky one. I think just follow your heart. Whatever you are passionate in, I genuinely believe you will excel in. Sometimes it takes a while to know what it is your passionate about but try not to feel frustrated with it, it will come.

Just how important is understanding colour theory when creating your floral colour realism?

I would say its really important, but I’m a colour nerd. Understanding colour theory can make more cohesive and aesthetic design. As well as being confident in colour mixing and blending in tattooing. This will help you be a much more efficient tattooer. I think understanding value and simultaneous contrast will massively improve the depth in your designs and tattoos too.

What are the tattoo brands and products that you simply cannot work without?

Ooh well I love colour so getting new Industry Inks is like Christmas for me. I have recently tried the Hornet Honey Stencil, that stuff is amazing!

Aftercare stuff is also massive for me as I want the best heals for my clients.

Is it safe to say you’re now an Industry Inks convert? What about these inks makes them so perfect for your style and technique?

100% I absolutely love Industry Inks, it's what I’m using in all my work now. They have some beautiful colours and their inks are really consistent which I like. Red Plum is one of my favourite inks and is in most of my tattoos. I really value these deep dark colours - they may not look the prettiest on the shelf (it looks very close to black in the bottle) but these colours are ESSENTIAL for my style of work.

What is your tried-and-trusted aftercare routine, and do you have any tips for a straightforward healing process?

YES! Aftercare is so important, especially with colour realism as its a lot of trauma to the skin. I will either use Tattoo Armour or second skin for healing, these are both great aftercare products and in my eyes have changed the game!

I also recommend Hustle Butter for aftercare, I’ve used it for years for aftercare and while I tattoo. It's amazing and my clients love it! It smells lush!!

I provide an aftercare goody bag for my clients so that they have everything they need for a perfect heal.

What inspired you to start hosting seminars, and what do you hope artists take away from them, both technically and creatively?

Hosting seminars is something fairly new for me. It was Kezz from Tattoo Smarter who initially asked me to do one at her studio. I’m forever grateful that she inspired me and asked me to do this.

I’m really passionate about teaching and I think it's amazing that seminars and education are now being shared in the tattoo industry. I've been in the position of just starting out as an apprentice and then the studio shutting down, I felt very on my own and I wish I could of attended things like seminars to help me be a better tattoo artist. So I can relate on wanting that knowledge so badly, even when I started doing colour work I was hungry to learn more but information wasn’t as accessible as it is now. I think tattooing has given me so much over the years and I’m truly grateful for it that I would like to give back to the community.

I would hope my seminars would inspire students - at the moment I’m doing one on “colour theory and my design process” so I would hope they can take elements of how I approach my work and put it into their own.

How do you take care of your own creative energy and avoid burnout as an artist?

Haha I think the honest answer to this is I don’t! I struggle with this, I love tattooing and it's always in the back of my mind. I never really switch off from it. If anyone has any tips on this I would also love to know!

You have professed your love for Olympic weightlifting – what makes this the perfect workout and way to destress?

Yes! This is a fairly recent hobby, maybe the last three years-ish. Again I kind of stumbled upon this and had no idea what it was until I seen some people training in the back of the gym. It looked really cool and intimidating at the same time.  When I first started I would get so frustrated that I was so bad at it, that I would really look forward to the next session when we practiced these lifts. Then I only really started to train these lifts as it's what I enjoyed the most... I hate cardio haha.

Olympic weightlifting is basically two lifts, clean and jerk and snatch. They are both really complicated full body lifts, and I think I love being able to focus on something very niche and trying to “perfect” it.

Happy birthday in advance for your celebrations this month! What is the perfect present someone could get for you?

Thank you so much! Well I was super lucky and my boyfriend's mum got me Chelsea Flower Show tickets. I’m ridiculously grateful and excited for this. I’ve been wanting to go for years. I think I'll be massively inspired after this and take a ridiculous amount of photos.

Tell us about the experience of winning Best Collaboration with Rachel Honeywell at this year’s Shropshire Tattoo Show, and are there any future collabs in the works?

Aww this was such an awesome weekend. Rachel and I are good friends and we took our close friend Rose for her FIRST convention. It was so awesome to see, she did amazing. It's always so scary working your first convention but I really think they are amazing to work as you can learn so much or meet new inspiring people or welcome new opportunities that you would of never imagined.

Shropshire itself is beautiful! The convention is one of the friendliest conventions I’ve ever worked. We were doing a really challenging piece in the time frame we had, we were working right up to the wire and the amount of support from other artists, even artists competing in the same category as us coming up to us encouraging us and keeping us on track for time too. Honestly this sort of support is incredible, One of those moments where you feel really proud to be part of the tattoo community.

I don’t have any future collabs booked but I’m definitely open to the idea of doing more, it was a fun experience. I think me and Rachel really worked well together as we know we can communicate openly and honestly with each other, through the tattoo stage and the design stage.

Are you working any conventions at the end of 2025 or in 2026?

I’ve done all my booked conventions for 2025, I’ve had a lot going on this year with the studio being built, so feel like I’m making up for it next year!

So far I’ve booked North Lakes, York, Shropshire, Lincoln, Locked Up (why is the idea of tattooing in a prison cell appealing?!? I don’t know haha) Dino, and Belfast - I’m really excited to go to Belfast, I’ve never been.

What is next for Bethanie Lauren?

I will always want to learn more and grow as an artist that’s a lifelong journey. Next year I really want to focus on my garden and getting some beautiful reference, as well as doing a lot more artist original designs this is what I am truly passionate about.

I'd love to do some bigger projects like backpieces and leg panels, even body suits that would be the dream.

A huge thank you to Bethanie for taking part in this in-depth interview about her career and, as you can definitely tell, massive love for all things floral. You can keep up to date with all of her work and seminar info by following her on Instagram at @bethanielaurenart, TikTok at @bethanielaurenart too, and Facebook at @bethanie.lauren.wilson - go give her the love!