Taking the Studio Outside - Plein Air Painting

I’m a colour realism tattoo artist based in Manchester. But recently, I’ve been stepping away from the tattoo chair to learn something entirely new: plein air oil painting.

  • If you just scanned the QR code next to my easel, thanks for stopping to say hi. If you found this through my website, welcome to my newest obsession.

    For the last 15 years, my creative life has been spent indoors - mostly working full-time as a colour realism tattoo artist here in Manchester, and painting at home. I’ve spent thousands of hours studying how light and colour behave on human skin.

    But I realised I needed to get out of the studio. Scroll down to find out more…

  • In a way, yes. My plein air painting is a direct extension of my artistic practice. It's about constantly refining my understanding of light, colour, and composition in the real world. And that of course improves my abilities as a tattoo artist.

  • For now, I'll be releasing collections for sale directly on this page as they're completed. For tattoo work, my books open periodically. The best way to stay updated on both is to follow my journey on Instagram, where I announce all availability.

What is Plein Air painting?

'Plein air' is a French term that simply means 'outdoors.' It's the practice of leaving the studio and painting directly from life in the open air. I picked it up because I wanted to challenge myself to capture real-time light and atmosphere, something you can only truly learn by being out there, observing the world as it changes around you.

Meet Tibor

Hi, I'm Tibor. For the past 15 years, I've been a colour realism tattoo artist in Manchester, focusing on creating detailed, lifelike pieces on skin. Outside the studio, I've always had a passion for traditional art, which led me to oil painting. It's a different canvas, but the same drive for realism and capturing light remains.

FIND OUT MORE
FIND OUT MORE

Studio Painting

Before I started taking my easel to the streets, I spent a lot of time in the studio working on oil paintings. These pieces are where I explore different subjects and techniques at my own pace. If you're interested in owning a piece of my studio work, you can explore the current collection and purchase prints directly in the shop section of this site.

Death in Paradise Death in Paradise
Quick View
Death in Paradise
£3,000.00

“Death Of Paradise”

31.5×31.5In (80x80cm) oil painting on deep edge canvas.

Anger
Anger
£4,500.00

“Anger”

Oil painting on deep edge canvas.

Touch - Oil painting Touch - Oil painting
Touch - Oil painting
£1,500.00

“Touch”

Oil painting on deep edge belgian linen canvas.  

19.6 x 11.8In (50 x 30 cm) 

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Tattoo Work

While painting outdoors feels very different from tattooing in the studio, the skills I'm building directly feed into my tattoo work. Whether it's understanding how light hits a subject, mixing colours to create depth, or composing a scene, these artistic fundamentals are crucial for the hyper-realistic tattoos I create. It's all about seeing the world with an artist's eye, and then translating that vision onto skin.

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Follow my journey on Instagram

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View fullsize A lot of people think a sleeve is just picking 5 or 6 designs you like and finding space for them. That’s how you end up with an arm that looks like a sticker book. A real sleeve project is about flow. It’s about how the darks drop into
View fullsize A lot of you know me for my tattoo work, but I’d like to get a bit more into all the artwork I keep making alongside. I spent long months on this oil piece. It’s actually a part of a larger series that I am slowly working on in the backg
View fullsize Two days in the chair. When we have two full sessions to work with, we can start pushing the boundaries of scale and detail. This is where we can really start layering colours, building deeper contrast, and focusing on those micro-details that make
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View fullsize
View fullsize
View fullsize Most people see the finished tattoo. And of course that’s kind of the point. But there’s a lot that goes into it that I feel like never really gets talked about - the years of practice, the self-doubt, the hours spent on work that has no
View fullsize „What can we actually get done in one day?” Well, although I focus mostly on large-scale work now, a single full-day sitting is still enough time to create something really impactful if the composition is right. Swipe through to see a fe

Want to see what I'm working on next?

The best place to keep up with my latest paintings, tattoo projects, and behind-the-scenes updates is on Instagram. Give me a follow to stay in the loop.