Memorial Tattoos in Mesa, AZ

Last updated 2 September 2026

We are at 2735 E Main St, Suite 9, on the East Main corridor a few minutes east of the Mesa Temple. People make the drive from Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe, Scottsdale and Apache Junction to sit for this kind of work, because it is not the piece you hand to whoever has an open chair that afternoon.

Bring the photo, and bring more than one

For a memorial portrait, choose a sharp photograph taken in good light, with the face large enough in the frame to give the artist a clear reference. Printing a blurry, distant shot at a small size leaves the artist little detail to work from; missing detail cannot be invented at the tattoo table.

Here is the part that matters for memorial work specifically. If the person has passed and the only photo you have is an old one, bring it anyway. Then bring a few more if you can find them, because two mediocre shots together often tell an artist more than one on its own. One might show the shape of the jaw, another the way they actually held their face. Between them the artist can build something that looks like the person you remember instead of the person in a single bad frame.

There is no reshoot on a memorial piece. Every photo you can put in front of the artist is information he does not have to guess at, and guessing is exactly what makes a portrait land as almost-right.

Size is not a style choice here

A face needs room. Room for the eyes, for the shadows under the brow, for the transitions across the cheek that make skin read as skin. Shrink a realistic portrait down to a couple of inches on a forearm and those details collapse into mush as it heals and the lines spread.

The artist will give you an honest floor on how big the piece has to be to hold up over the years, and that number is usually bigger than what people walk in picturing. It is worth hearing the artist out. A memorial tattoo that has gone muddy at year six is a hard thing to live with, and going a size up at the start is the whole fix.

What sets a memorial piece up, and what works against it

Booking a memorial piece at Tagz

Memorial work books by the artist, not by whoever is free, so call and ask for a memorial consult. We are open Sunday noon to 6, Monday through Thursday noon to 8, and Friday and Saturday noon to 10, and it is worth calling ahead so you are not making the drive on a day your artist is not in.

Every piece here is quoted individually. Size and detail set the number, so bring the photo to a consult and get a real quote rather than a figure off a menu. A deposit holds your date and comes off the total of the tattoo, it is not an extra charge on top. For bigger multi-session memorial work we run Get Tatted NOW, Pay LATER, a soft credit check that does not touch your score, paid monthly or every couple of weeks. Start with a free tattoo consultation and let the artist tell you what the piece needs before you sit down.

The gallery on this memorial page shows archangels on forearms, including one carrying a spear. It also shows an angel lowering a sword in a paired forearm photograph. If an angel is part of the remembrance you are planning, save the image that is closest to the figure you mean and bring it to the consultation. Explain what you want carried into your own design. The artist can discuss your references and the size of your piece before you book.

The other half of that paired photograph has praying hands with a rosary and cross. Further along, there is a Virgin Mary with a rosary and roses on a forearm. These give you particular religious details to point to when explaining an idea. Tell the artist which symbols belong in your tattoo and bring the whole arrangement you have in mind. The photographs are references for the work shown here; the meaning of your remembrance comes from what you bring to the conversation.

For a piece that includes words, our gallery has Old English style lettering with wings across a forearm, and lilies with script across a collarbone. Bring the actual name, date or line you want written, separately from the tattoo photograph that shows the lettering style. A style reference and the words to be tattooed serve different purposes. Our memorial checklist asks for spelling and numbers exactly as you want them, on paper or your phone.

At the stencil, read that text yourself.

The process on this page says the artist reads names and dates back before they go in. Check each digit in a year against the written version you brought. If your memorial combines a face and words, discuss both at the consult; our sitting description gives the lettering its own attention rather than squeezing it around the portrait at the end.

When the memorial is a portrait, gather the available photographs before visiting the shop. Start with the sharpest, best-lit image that shows the face clearly. Our memorial photo guidance gives a specific reason for bringing more: one older shot might show the jaw, while another shows how the person held their face. Bring both for the artist to look at. You can explain which expression feels like the person you remember as you go through the references together. Our size guidance explains that the eyes, brow shadows and cheek transitions need room. Hear the recommended size before choosing a small space for the whole remembrance.

A pet can be the subject of a memorial too; our FAQ includes pet portraits. Bring the clearest photograph you have of that pet's face and any backups you can find. Put the name or dates you want alongside it in writing. The same memorial checklist covers the photograph, written text and an open mind on size, so the artist can consider them together.

Ask for a memorial consultation when calling the shop. Our booking section treats this work as an appointment with the artist, and says a free consult gets you the plan for the piece. Bring your photos and written details to that conversation. If it is a larger portrait with lettering, ask how the sittings will be arranged; the process here describes shading in passes and larger memorial work split across sittings.

Visitors from Queen Creek, Chandler, Tempe, Apache Junction, Gilbert or Scottsdale can read driving directions to the shop on that town's page.

A memorial tattoo has a harder job than looking good. Move the eyes a fraction and it reads as a stranger with a familiar haircut.