Chrysanthemums are my other favorite thing to tattoo. I love drawing them, I love tattooing them.

Mine are based off of real photos my friend Heath Rave sent me years ago. Twenty-five or thirty pictures of some chrysanthemums from a bunch of different angles. Ever since then, I’ve drawn my chrysanthemums that way.

They pair nicely with peonies in a floral sleeve. The peonies are big and bright and open. The chrysanthemums you can stretch out, have them reaching and pointing where you want the eye to go. You can use them as motion in the piece, which is super fun.

They’re a symbol of nobility in Japanese culture and associated with long life, longevity, renewal. Symbolic for the emperor to have chrysanthemums around constantly. You’ll see them associated with royalty a lot in Japanese culture still.