Memento mori tattoo sketch

This has been in the works for at least 7 years now. I have gone through a ton of concepts sketching and tossing the ideas out over the years not being able to find something that fit my concept. Sat down a week ago for 2 hours and I was feeling inspired with some ideas in my head. I was able to finally sketch something out that nailed the concept perfectly.

The words, "Memento Mori" is Latin for, "Remember that you [have to die]" or "Remember one's death". The idea is to combine a skull representing death with an hourglass that represents the passage of time. These two together with the phrase, "Momento Mori" is a play on the artistic idea that life is too short, and you should prioritize all the important things that make you happy in life because time is finite. This also pairs really well with my other tattoo on my right ribs I got 12 years ago—The art of life is to live in the moment. That one represents the same concept, but in a more uplifting way while this one is the more macabre version of this concept. While it's still healing I couldn't help sharing so quickly.

More by Ryan O. Hicks

View profile