Sabrina is an Italian tattoo artist based in Belgium and the artist behind One Percent Tattoo. Her main focus is black and grey realism, which in recent years has been moving in a more conceptual direction, with references to classical art, sculpture, geometry, and graphic elements increasingly appearing in her compositions.
Sabrina began tattooing professionally relatively recently, but today clients travel to her from Belgium, France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and other countries. Her work often begins with the client’s personal story, but rather than reproducing references literally, she tries to translate the original idea into her own visual system.
In this interview, Sabrina talks about the development of her style, the influence of classical art, working with clients’ stories, and the search for her own visual language. How that language takes shape in practice becomes clear through our conversation with Sabrina and a selection of her work.
Sabrina, how did you first get into tattooing, and how did your journey as an artist begin?
— I first got into tattooing in January 2022, when a tattoo artist near Antwerp came across some of the drawings I was posting on Instagram and really liked my work. That opportunity led to my first apprenticeship in a tattoo studio.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay for very long. At the time, I was already working two other jobs, and since the apprenticeship was unpaid, it became too difficult to balance everything. So I had to put tattooing aside for a while.
In 2023, I decided to start again, this time on my own. I began tattooing friends and family for free so I could practice, improve my skills, and slowly build a portfolio from scratch.
From there, everything started to grow step by step, and in December 2024, One Percent Tattoo was officially born. That was really the moment when I decided to fully commit to tattooing and build my career around it.
How did your current style develop? Was there a particular moment when you realized which visual direction you wanted to pursue?
— My style is still evolving, and I think it probably always will. But from the beginning, I knew I wanted to focus on black and grey realism. It has always been the style of tattooing I am personally most drawn to, and it also felt like the most natural extension of what I had already been doing for years.
I have been drawing since I was a child, and realism has always fascinated me. I loved the idea of being able to recreate depth, texture, emotion, and detail as accurately as possible. So when I started tattooing, moving toward realism felt almost instinctive.
Today, however, I feel like I am entering another stage of my development as an artist. I am becoming more interested in conceptual compositions, where realism is still the foundation but the overall image feels more unexpected and personal.
I really admire artists such as Oscar Akermo and Andrea Pellerone for the way they approach composition, but my goal is not to reproduce what they do. I want to find my own visual language and develop a signature that feels immediately connected to my work.
What pushed me away from more traditional compositions was mainly the need for greater artistic freedom. I wanted to stop simply arranging recognizable elements and start creating images that communicate something in a more individual way.
“I want to find my own visual language and develop a signature that feels immediately connected to my work.”
Your work combines realism with more graphic and conceptual elements. How would you define your own style today?
— Today, I would define my style as black and grey realism with a growing conceptual and graphic approach.
Realism is still the foundation of everything I do. I am very attached to detail, texture, contrast, anatomy, and the ability to create images that feel almost photographic on the skin. But more and more, I am interested in going beyond pure realism and using composition in a more creative way.
The goal is not simply to reproduce an image accurately, but to create a composition that has its own identity and feels designed specifically for the person wearing it.
I would say that my style today sits somewhere between realism and conceptual composition, but I still see it as something that is evolving. I am actively trying to push my work further and find a visual language that becomes increasingly recognizable as my own.
As your style develops, which elements do you feel are becoming most characteristic of your work?
— I think what makes my work recognizable is the way I try to translate each client’s story into the composition.
I spend a lot of time listening to what they tell me — their experiences, emotions, memories, relationships, and the meaning behind the tattoo they want. For me, those details are just as important as the visual references.
Rather than simply creating something that looks beautiful, I try to build a composition that reflects what the person is trying to express and the emotions behind it. I want the final piece to feel personal, not generic.
That emotional connection is a big part of my creative process. I try to take everything the client shares with me and turn it into a visual language, so the tattoo becomes more than just an image. It becomes a representation of their story, interpreted through my own artistic vision.
“I want the final piece to feel personal, not generic.”
What role do classical art, sculpture, and historical imagery play in your compositions? What attracts you to this aesthetic?
— Being Italian, I have always felt a very strong connection to Rome, classical sculpture, and the art of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. It is an aesthetic that has fascinated me for as long as I can remember.
To me, those periods produced some of the most poetic, powerful, and timeless forms of art ever created. There is something in the proportions, movement, symbolism, and emotion of classical sculpture that still feels incredibly relevant today. Personally, I think it would be very difficult to surpass the artistic impact of that era.
That is why classical imagery naturally finds its way into my compositions. When you work with these references, there is already a sense of harmony, strength, and elegance built into them.
Reinterpreting that aesthetic through tattooing is a way of bringing something timeless into a contemporary medium. It gives each composition a certain power and balance while still allowing me to transform it through my own vision and the story of the person I am tattooing.
You often combine realistic imagery with lines, geometry, and more abstract elements. How do you balance these different components so the composition still feels cohesive?
— For me, it is mostly a question of feeling rather than following a specific rule.
When I add lines, geometry, or more abstract elements to a realistic composition, I am not thinking in terms of a fixed formula. I am looking for the point where every element feels connected to the others and nothing feels added just for the sake of it.
I need to feel that each detail has a reason to be there, that it belongs exactly where it is placed, and that it supports the rest of the composition rather than competing with it.
That is really how I keep the work cohesive. I trust my eye a lot, and I keep adjusting the composition until everything feels balanced, complementary, and in the right place.
How important are meaning and symbolism in your work? Do you usually begin with an idea and build the composition around it, or does the visual concept come first?
— Meaning and symbolism are very important in my work, especially because most of my compositions are built around the client’s personal story.
Usually, I start with the idea first. I listen to what the client wants to express — the emotions behind the project, the memories, people, or experiences they want to represent — and then I begin translating all of that into a visual composition.
The aesthetic side is obviously very important to me, but I do not want a tattoo to be beautiful only on a visual level. I want the composition to have a reason behind it and for each element to contribute to the overall story.
Sometimes a strong visual idea can also influence the direction of the project, so the process can go both ways. But most of the time, the meaning gives me the foundation, and the visual concept grows from there.
How does your process usually work with custom projects? How much of the initial idea comes from the client, and how much creative freedom do you need?
— With custom projects, the starting point usually comes from the client. They bring me their story, the meaning behind the tattoo, the elements they would like to include, and sometimes a few visual references to help me understand the direction they have in mind.
From there, I need a certain amount of creative freedom to translate that idea into a composition that works visually and fits the body properly.
I do not like simply reproducing a reference exactly as it is. I prefer to understand what the client is trying to express and then reinterpret it through my own artistic vision.
The more freedom I have with the composition, the more I can play with balance, flow, contrast, and the relationship between each element. The best projects usually happen when there is trust on both sides: the client brings the story and the intention, and they allow me to find the strongest visual way to represent it.
“The best projects usually happen when there is trust on both sides: the client brings the story and the intention, and they allow me to find the strongest visual way to represent it.”
Are there any projects in your portfolio that feel especially important to you? What tends to make a project stand out for you personally?
— I do not think I have just one favorite project in my portfolio.
The projects that usually mean the most to me are the ones where the client gives me complete trust and total creative freedom with the composition. When someone comes to me with an idea or a story but allows me to interpret it in my own way, that is when I feel I can really push myself creatively.
Those projects stand out because I am not limited to reproducing a specific reference or following a very strict visual direction. I can focus entirely on creating the strongest composition possible while still respecting the meaning behind the tattoo.
That level of trust is extremely valuable to me. It allows the project to become a true collaboration between the client’s story and my artistic vision, and those are usually the pieces I feel the strongest connection to.
What role do tattoo conventions play in your career, and what do they give you beyond meeting other artists and audiences?
— Tattoo conventions have actually been part of my life since before I became a tattoo artist. I used to visit them quite often simply because I loved the atmosphere, and I also had several of my own tattoo projects done at conventions.
Since I started tattooing professionally, however, I have only had the opportunity to participate as an artist once, at the Brussels Tattoo Convention in 2025, and I am planning to take part again in 2026.
I really love the energy of conventions. Beyond meeting other artists or connecting with a new audience, there is something very inspiring about being surrounded by so many different styles, techniques, and creative personalities in the same place. It creates a very particular atmosphere that you do not really experience in a regular studio setting.
The main reason I do not attend more conventions is actually quite personal. I have a dog that I take everywhere with me, and it is difficult for me to be away from her for several days at a time. So travelling regularly for conventions is not always realistic for me.
It is definitely something I enjoy, though, and whenever I have the opportunity to participate in one under the right circumstances, I really appreciate the experience.
You are planning to compete at the Brussels Tattoo Convention this year. At this stage of your career, what kinds of achievements or recognition feel most meaningful to you?
— I have not won any awards yet, but I would really love to change that this year. I am hoping to compete at the Brussels Tattoo Convention in the Best Black and Grey Tattoo category, and of course, winning something there would mean a lot to me. That being said, the achievements I am most proud of are not necessarily competition-related.
What means the most to me is seeing how far people are willing to travel to get tattooed by me. I have clients coming from different countries and travelling for hours just to sit in my chair, and I am also booked almost a year in advance.
To me, that kind of trust is an achievement in itself. I care deeply about my work, but also about the people who choose me and the experience I give them from the beginning of the project to the final tattoo. Seeing that people value that enough to travel, wait, and trust me with something permanent is probably the most meaningful recognition I could receive.
Of course, I would still love to add a trophy to the story one day.
“To me, that kind of trust is an achievement in itself.”
As your style has developed, have you noticed changes in the audience coming to you? Are more clients now travelling specifically for your work?
— Yes, definitely. As my style has become more defined, I feel like my audience has become more specific as well.
At the beginning, most people were simply discovering my work locally, but over time I started attracting clients who were specifically looking for my approach to black and grey realism and the way I build my compositions.
Today, people travel from different countries to get tattooed by me, sometimes spending several hours on the road or organizing an entire trip around their appointment. I have clients coming from Belgium, France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and beyond.
For me, that is one of the strongest signs that my work has developed its own identity. People are no longer choosing me only because of location or convenience; they are willing to travel because they connect with my style and trust the way I interpret their ideas.
That means a lot to me because it shows that the artistic direction I have been building is starting to reach people far beyond Brussels.
What does One Percent Tattoo represent to you today — a personal brand, a studio identity, or something broader?
— Today, One Percent Tattoo is mainly my personal brand and the artistic identity I have built around my work.
For me, it is not really about being a studio. It represents my vision of tattooing, the way I approach my clients, the attention I give to each project, and the direction I want to develop as an artist.
Over time, it has become much bigger than just a name attached to my tattoos. It represents everything I am building around my work — my style, my values, my relationship with my clients, and the way I want people to experience my art.
I also see it as something that can keep evolving with me. As my artistic direction becomes more defined, I want One Percent Tattoo to reflect that evolution and eventually become something people immediately associate with a certain aesthetic, quality, and way of creating.
So for me, it is really a personal brand, but also a broader artistic concept that continues to grow alongside me.
Where would you like to take your style next? Are there ideas, formats, or larger-scale projects you still want to explore?
— I would like to push my work much further into conceptual realism and continue developing a visual language that feels increasingly personal to me.
I want to experiment more with unexpected compositions, stronger contrasts between realistic and graphic elements, and ideas that feel less conventional. My goal is to create work that is not only technically realistic but also immediately recognizable through the way it is composed.
I am also very interested in working on larger-scale projects. Full sleeves, full legs, backs, and more complete body compositions give me much more space to tell a story and create something that feels truly immersive.
What excites me most is having enough space and creative freedom to build a complete visual world rather than just a single isolated image.
I still feel like I am at the beginning of discovering what my style can become, and that is probably what motivates me the most. I want to keep experimenting, taking risks, and pushing my compositions until I reach a point where someone can see a tattoo and immediately know that it is mine.
“I want to keep experimenting, taking risks, and pushing my compositions until I reach a point where someone can see a tattoo and immediately know that it is mine.”
