An Abbotsford tattoo artist performed under pressure to win the Best Floral Tattoo at the recent Vancouver Tattoo and Culture Show.
The show, which ran from May 31 to June 2 at the Vancouver Convention Centre, is a celebration of all things in the tattoo industry.
Tanya Loewen, who works at Grey Tide Tattoo in downtown Abbotsford, decided to enter the Best Floral Tattoo competition on day two (June 1) of the event.
Loewen's piece was created over several months at Grey Tide Tattoo and it was fully healed when it was entered into the competition.
Her work and other finished tattoos were then judged by a panel of talents that work in the industry and all tattoos were shown on-screen of the main stage to the surrounding audience.
Loewen was recognized as the Best Floral Tattoo at the event and thanked everyone involved with the show.
"Thank you to my clients, for being so brave, and allowing me to enter work in competition, and to everyone who stopped by our booth at the show, bought merch, prints, and flash," she stated on Instagram. "I really appreciate your support and enthusiasm, and I wish I had been able to visit more."
Aside from the competition, Loewen was completely booked for the first two days of the event and accepted walk-ups on the final day.
Loewen previously operated out of Van Bree Tattoo in Abbotsford, which closed in 2022. She made headlines in the past for competing in the Inked cover girl search and offering free cover up work to anyone with hate speech or racist tattoos. She still offers that service to this day and plans on continuing to do so.
The Vancouver Tattoo and Culture Show also featured artists booths, vendors and seminars related to the industry.
For more information, visit vancouvertattooshow.ca.