The Temple and the Dogs That Weren't Supposed to Be There
The Temple and the Dogs That Weren't Supposed to Be There
I have a confession. This tattoo started as a technical exercise. A client came in with a reference photo of a specific, ornate temple. He wanted it rendered in pure black and grey realism, a style I know inside and out. He also mentioned, almost as an afterthought, that he loved the idea of Fu Dogs, the traditional guardian lions. "Maybe incorporate them somehow," he said. My brain, the one trained for years to replicate light and shadow with surgical precision, immediately started calculating. How to place them. How to shade them. How to make them look "real." But my gut, the part that's been itching for something else lately, had a different idea entirely. It whispered: what if they weren't just statues?
When Realism Isn't the Right Answer
The temple itself was the anchor. We built it from the ground up in shades of graphite and smoke, capturing every intricate eave, every tile on the sweeping roof. It felt solid, ancient, and permanent on the skin. It was a beautiful piece of architectural tattooing. And then we got to the Fu Dogs. The moment I went to sketch them in the same photorealistic style, the whole piece went flat. They looked like museum pieces placed in front of a photograph. Technically correct, but emotionally dead. The client felt it too. We stared at the stencil, and the air went out of the room. That's when I heard myself say something I didn't plan: "What if they're not guarding the temple? What if they are the temple?"
The Neo-Japanese Intervention
We scrapped the realistic dog sketches right then. The plan was out the window. I knew we couldn't just slap some Japanese-style art next to a grey realism temple; it would look like two different tattoos fighting on the same leg. The bridge had to be the treatment. We kept the temple in black and grey, but we let the style of the Fu Dogs dictate the energy of the entire scene. Flowing, bold outlines that didn't just contain the dogs but seemed to emanate from them. A limited, symbolic color palette—deep blues and vibrant crimsons—that we then subtly echoed in washes of color around the temple's foundation and in the distant trees. The dogs became these massive, energetic forms, their traditional poses charged with a modern, almost surreal vitality. Their manes weren't fur; they were like stylized flames or ocean waves. The realism of the temple now served a new purpose: it was the stable, earthly realm these mythic guardians were bursting forth from.
Guarding the Idea, Not Just the Image
This tattoo stopped being about replicating a photo and started being about honoring a feeling. The client didn't just want a picture of guardians; he wanted the feeling of being protected, of having a fierce, ancient power in his corner. The realistic temple grounds that idea, gives it a place to live. The Neo-Japanese Fu Dogs are that idea incarnate. They're not sitting politely on plinths. They're in motion, a split second from a roar, forever protecting something sacred. The collaboration shifted from "can you copy this?" to "how do we build this world?" My job became translating his connection to these symbols into a visual language that had one foot in tradition and the other in a more personal, dreamlike space. We found the truth of the piece not in the fidelity of the reference, but in the friction between the two styles.
I have really been enjoying these deep dives into the mythological and surreal worlds. After years of focusing heavily on realism and reference based work, shifting into storytelling and symbolic imagery feels like a creative rebirth. Thank you for being part of the journey. If you are interested in collaborating on a project, you can explore my work and reach out through UnorthodoxTattoo.com or visit my personal site at MickeySchlick.com or visit the shop at MontanaTattooCompany.com. For more insight into mythology inspired surrealism, visit the Neo Japanese Surrealism page at this link. Book a consultation, explore portfolios, and bring your idea to life. The studio is fully automated with aftercare, directions, booking options, and consistent customer service available 24 hours a day at 406-215-4321. If you would like to talk with me directly, just ask and I will connect with you as soon as possible.
