Bryson worked with Logan Square Tattoo from 2023 to mid 2025, focusing on his blackwork and woodcut style designs. Follow him on his instagram to see what he's up to these days.
Check out our Blackwork section in the style guide to see which current artists are working in this genre
Blackwork tattoo engraved to fit
Woodcut, weaponry, metal and black ink
These are the things the inspire Bryson's macabre dark art. His imagery could be found in a 500 year old text detailing the Spanish Inquisition as well as a modern day Black Metal Band logo. His blackwork tattoo designs are bold and stark. Like the spikes and patches on his battle vest, his work looks dangerous yet alluring. Like something you want to wear, but aren't quite sure you have the guts to. It looks damn cool, but it might hurt. Well, it will definitely hurt... it's a tattoo... don't worry though, under that studded jacket and black metal imagery Bryson is one of the nicest tattooer's you'll meet, and his bedside manner and customer service is absolutely top tier.
Bryson.ai is a tattooer out of the mountains of North Carolina. He found a love of Chicago through the city’s receptiveness to the art he envisioned himself producing within the tattoo medium. He loves that Chicago is largely influenced and surrounded by Historical Design elements and DIY Punk and Metal Culture.
Bryson works in Illustrative Blackwork or Abstract BLVCK and the .ai at the end of his name stands for Artificial Intelligence, Adobe Illustrator, & Anti Icon.
Black metal and blackwork tattoos
Bryson enjoys being a professional tattooer because he feels that his art was never meant for pretentious gallery showings, so he uses the streets of any city as the gallery, the bodies of those who walk it are the walls the art is presented on. It’s full self-expression and an identifying factor of strangers with similar interests. Those whom he works with and who wear/support his art are now a part of this internal community of people he cares for and help become one step truer to the way they imagine themselves without any inhibitions. The tattoos are bold and statement pieces, designed to speak the language of those who love the metal and darker subcultures. They speak to the dark fog filled clubs and layers of grime of Chicago's dense music scene and the fashion styles that have evolved out of it.
Bryson’s most significant influence is music and the graphic design that helps market and brand it. He graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design because he wanted to illustrate logos and merchandise for extreme music acts; That very quickly subsided into a hobby after realizing how tight the art budget in the music industry can be. He stayed connected to the music world though, and now tattoos and creates directly for the members of those bands on a personal level. His woodcut and blackwork tattoo style art simultaneously inspires and is inspired by some of his favorite metal bands.
If he’s not tattooing or drawing, you may find Bryson spinning fire on a dragon staff, singing and playing the drums in death metal bands, or maybe just enjoying a boulevardier at the local pub! His latest hobby is record collecting and reviewing limited releases. Be sure to check out his instagram to see what he's spinning today, and catch his newest design drops!
IG @Bryson.AI