Non-representational composition, brushstroke effects and deliberate distortion. The style where you are buying an artist's judgement, not a design.
What it is
Abstract tattooing drops the requirement that the image be of something. It borrows from modern painting: gesture, mark making, negative space, deliberate imbalance. Some of it is sparse and graphic, some of it is dense and chaotic.
Because there is no subject to judge it against, the composition is doing all the work.
Choosing an artist, not a design
In most styles you arrive with a reference and the artist executes it. In abstract that usually goes badly, because copying a gesture is not the same as making one.
The better approach is to find an artist whose existing abstract work you would happily wear, and then give them a brief rather than a picture. Expect to hand over more control than you are used to.
How it works on the body
Abstract work often responds to the body it is going on: following a shoulder blade, running along a forearm, using the natural shape as part of the composition. That means a design drawn for somebody else genuinely will not fit you.
Ageing
It depends entirely on what the marks are made of. Bold black gesture ages like blackwork and lasts. Fine spatter and pale washes age like watercolour and will soften. Ask which one yours is.
Reference work
This gallery fills up with real abstract work from studios in the directory. We would rather show you nothing than show you somebody else's tattoo and call it an example.
Find someone who does this
Browse the directory and check healed work before you book. Every studio in it has real Google ratings and reviews you can read.