40+ Blackwork Rose Tattoos You’ll Instantly Love

There’s something about a blackwork rose tattoo that just oozes elegance and sophistication. Instead of your traditional red or pink rose, the absence of color let’s the mind concentrate on the artist’s lines and overall design in a way that’s usually overlooked when viewing vibrantly colored works. After searching the web high and low, we’ve put together a collection of what we feel are some of the most amazing black and grey ink rose tattoos around. We hope you enjoy this list as much as we enjoyed creating it.

This creative stem.

There aren’t too many abstract rose tattoos out there but this design shows us just how beautiful designs can be that stray a tad bit off course from the norm. The hard lines of the geometric shapes provide for a wonderful contrast with the soft curved lines of the rose. (Photo: Heidi Kaye)

This delightful dotwork design.

This piece was created entirely out of dots placed so closely together that they’re nearly indistinguishable from one another in some areas. It’s the pointillism style, or “dotwork” as it’s referred to in the tattoo industry that creates that wonderful textured appearance so many adore.  (Photo: Vatis)

This thorny rose.

We often forget how unwelcoming the stem of a rose can be. It’s sharp thorns are there to warn off hungry predators and would be pickers. Most rose tattoos feature only the blossom, sometimes a stem, but rarely if ever the sharp thorns. However, this piece displays a rose as would be seen in its natural habitat—thorns and all.  (Photo: Amy Shapiro)

This gorgeous tricep tat.

(Photo: Doctor Woo)

These creative petals.

Here we have a unique blackwork rose tattoo design that features different patterns on various petals. The entire design is an aesthetically pleasing mixture of dots and lines which combined to create a delightful overall appearance.(Photo: Barb Rebelo)

This elegant rose.

(Photo: Gara)

This back piece.

(Photo: Zihwa)

This beautiful blackwork design.

(Photo: Magdalena Hipner)

This forearm piece.

(Photo: Brain Woo)

This triangular glyph.

Here we have a stylish blackwork rose confined to a triangular borderless outline. These glyph designs are widely popular, often incorporating various shapes, the most popular being triangles, circles, and diamonds. (Photo: Thiago Oliveira)

This dotwork shoulder piece.

This gorgeous dotwork rose sits upon the shoulder like a floral badge of honor. This goes to show you how much a great design can benefit from the right placement. (Photo: Aimee)

This delicate back piece.

This small detail driven work sits perfectly along the upper portion of the spine. (Photo: River)

These neo traditional blossoms.

Two stunning blackwork rose tattoos done in the neo traditional style decorate the lower forearm. (Photo: Eric Worx)

This blossoming rose design.

Here we have three rose blossoms illustrating the various stages of bloom from x to x. (Photo: Ben Doukakis)

This epic shoulder piece.

Who says roses are for women? This awesome blackwork rose was executed with a dark, ominous tone that gives it a strikingly bold appearance. A single drop of dew can be seen showcasing the artist’s keen eye for detail. (Photo: Julius Cesar)

This tiny ankle work.

Because who doesn’t love a tiny rose tattoo? (Photo: Abi)

This fantastic foot tattoo.

Love this. (Photo: River)

This spectacular neck tattoo.

Talk about your show stopping attention grabbers. This back-of-the-neck tattoo design is as beautiful as it is bold. (Photo: Dom Wiley)

This magical sternum tattoo.

Or should we say stomach piece? This stunning blackwork rose tattoo is about as much motivation to stay in shape as you could possibly ask for. Richard Simmons video not needed. (Photo: Marshall Smith)

This tiny rose tattoo on finger.

Instead of a wedding ring? Yes please. (Photo: Califas)

This dotwork rose on shoulder.

One of the coolest places to get a tattoo no matter what sex you may be. Something about this shoulder placement just oozes awesome. (Photo: KaliMa)

This sketch style rose on forearm.

This blackwork rose tattoo starts out soft in the center before transitioning to harsher sketch style lines on the perimeter. (Photo: Witold Waleński)

This elegant rose on collarbone.

Black and white hyperrealism takes this rose tattoo every where it needs to go and then some. Still a little red from the needle, we’d sure love to see this piece completely healed. (Photo: Chris Carter)

This fantastic forearm piece.

Another gorgeous blackwork rose from the uber talented Dom Wiley. The contrast Dom’s able to achieve in his works is simply divine. (Photo: Dom Wiley)

This blackwork rose hand tattoo.

Elegant to a fault, these linework leaves really bring an extra level of interesting to the table. (Photo: Salome Trujillo)

This sprawling pectoral piece.

Go big or go home. This stunning floral corsage features completely unique petal work accented by lightly drawn lines. (Photo: Alexander James)

This monochromatic hyperrealism work.

This almost looks like it’s a glossy page in a magazine. Extraordinary work. (Photo: Nathan Hamilton)

This dotwork rose on thigh.

Fun fact: Did you know you can actually grow black roses? It’s true. There are several varieties that will produce seemingly black roses. Well, technically they’re not completely black but to the casual eye they appear so. The most common black rose variety is called Black Baccara and can turn almost pitch black under the right conditions.  (Photo: Raine Knight)

This epic forearm work.

Notice the triangular shape in the background. (Photo: Rocky Horror)

This negative space rose glyph.

Here we have a blacked out diamond-shaped glyph filled with five beautiful negative spaces roses. (Photo: Simon Mora)

This pair of dotwork roses.

There are blackwork rose tattoos and then there are blackwork rose tattoos. These are definitely the latter. The sophisticated dotwork shading of the petals is enough to make anyone do a double take. (Photo: Point Blank)

This gorgeous shoulder piece.

Perfect in every way. (Photo: Saschi McCormack)

These matching ankle tattoos.

Whether they’re sisters or just friends we’ll never know. But it’s safe to assume that these lovely ladies know each other. That is, unless there was some sort of blow out buy two get one free sale at the shop that day ;). (Photo: Blackman Tattoo)

This tiny rose behind the ear.

(Photo: Kevin Soto)

This blackwork rose on thumb.

Here we have a tiny rose tattoo complete with thorns and all that starts on the thumb and makes its way up onto the hand. (Photo: Alexander James)

This decorative linework design.

And a few dangling chains just because they’re pretty. (Photo: Lenn Awe)

This creative portrait.

We’re pretty sure this tattoo was inspired by one of Carrie Bradshaw’s hats but we can’t be certain.  (Photo: Tripps)

This striking blackwork rose.

Depth, beauty, contrast, this stunning blackwork rose tattoo definitely has it all. (Photo: Dom Wiley)

This black and grey ink foot tat.

Not the best photo but the beauty of this design is still undeniable. (Photo: E Lisa Betha)

This beautiful blackwork rose on hand.

We’ve been dreaming of a sleeve that ends with a rose like this for the better part of our life. Someday. Someday.. (Photo: Ian Carder)

These layered petals.

A beautiful almost surreal rose tattoo that captures the intricate array of petals we’ve come to love so much. (Photo: Alessio Favre)

This spectacular shoulder piece.

The perfect pair. (Photo: Fred Flores)

This dotwork arm band.

Maybe it’s too much to assume that this design connects around back but if it doesn’t, it should. Absolutely amazing. (Photo: Tiago Oliveira)

This delightful duo.

Black outlines for added depth. (Photo: Salar Tattoo)

This deep blackwork design.

By far the heaviest blackwork design on the list. Bravo. (Photo: Jason Barresi)

This cool finger tat.

(Photo: The Black Rooster)

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