Blood, sweat and ink fueled the Brighton Tattoo Convention held at the Racecourse last weekend.

As the busy turn out proved, tattooing is an art form that has leapt from the margins to the mainstream.

Once the adornment of ex-cons, sailors and general lowlifes, tattoos now colour the flesh of everyone to Premier League Footballers, social workers and bank clerks.

More than a dozen tattoo shops will give you the needle in Brighton and Hove, and many of the city’s most gifted tattoo artists showcased their talents at the convention on the 28 and 29 of January, holding their own alongside world respected contemporaries.

Among them was Mickey Clarke (32) of Diablo Ink in Preston Street who has been tattooing for 16 years. His needle gun saw little rest over the convention’s duration: ‘More and more people want artwork, the best way to get art work is to get yourself a tattoo'.

'The industry’s changed loads, it used to all about sleazy back street parlours without too much bother for hygiene and comfort. These days it’s far more legit, safer and people are more imaginative in what they want. It can also be good money, even a lesser-known tattoo artist can charge around 300 quid for a piece of work’ said Mickey.

Money certainly was changing hands at the convention, as the downright out-there to the more modest and curious put their skin on the line for a more permanent reminder of the weekend.

In it’s fifth year, the convention looks to become a permanent feature in the City’s calendar.