A Leeds man by origin, Phil Denby now resides and works in Norfolk, beside the sea. He's got himself down as an artist with a good business in tattooing – he's also got projects with graphic art and graffiti. His 2-D artwork has very strong street-art and J-pop flavours, all sprawled manga girls, pink fluffy foxes and integrated letters and images. There are almost definitely walls in Gorleston that bear his mark!
It's plain to see the carry-over effect in his tattoo work, too: Mr Denby does some very pretty cartoon girls. And, er, manga-ized vampires and zombies – hissing at each other – clearly, more than a few of his clients are video game enthusiasts and Japanophiles. The comic book feel to his work is strong, and it's all the better for the entirely unique feel it lends to all his tattoos. You won't see others like it. Phil can knock out some traditional images and icons without difficulty but his best stuff is his custom stuff.
It's also interesting to note he's got a very large amount of skill when it comes to full colour girly tattoos – a decorated pink ribbon tied with a safety pin seems to pop off one girls' ankle in three full dimensions, and red buttons glitter and shine on the back of another. He's also down with quirky – think photo-realistic professional swimmer portraits, apple-mac logos and pin-up girls carrying rugby balls russian dolls popping open to reveal a green jewel? Cute little bobble headed Egyptian mummy? Winged, pink, heart-shaped diamond? Phil Denby is who you want to go and see.
Our favourite, though, has to be the rendering of a “butterfly” which upon closer inspection is in fact two girls fellating a floating phallus. Classic. We vote you go and check him out if you've got a J-Culture soft spot and a great idea for a custom tattoo
