Tattoo artist Helen Fernandes is not the best at drawing, but that has not stopped her from achieving her dream. Born in Brazil in the city of Salvador de Bahia, the artist has her own tattoo shop, Malfeitona. Although her drawing skills are not the best that is exactly why her clients love her work.
A visual artist, Fernandes has been drawing since she was a child. According to the tattoo artist, her parents would give her a pen and some paper to keep her quiet while at church, and she has been drawing ever since. Outside of her work as a tattoo artist, Fernandes is also a mechanical engineer, works as an illustrator, and teaches art classes.
Initially giving her friends her signature tattoos for free, she found others outside her immediate circle were interested in her tattooing skills. So, in 2017, she created the Malfeitona Instagram account, which has become a showcase of her various tattoo works of art. Here are more of her amazing and unique tattoos.
1) Skinny Shark
Here is a long, skinny shark. And while he does have all of his teeth, I wonder how much could he actually eat with that skinny body? plus, it looks like the poor guy only has one eye, so is he a Cyclops shark?
2) Dende
This little seal has a bottle of what looks to be dende oil. I guess my first question is why does the seal have a bottle of dende oil? My second would be, what is he planning on cooking using it?
3) Lucky Number
I love how this tattoo really drives home the association of the black cat with the number 13, and how both are considered unlucky. Come to think of it, some might even find the two to actually be lucky.
4) Eita Porra Cat
Eita porra roughly translates as OMG in English, though some give it a more crude translation which I won’t go into here. Obviously from the look of surprise on this cat’s face, not the real cat, but the tattoo, that might be exactly what the cat is saying.
5) Mitochondrion Tattoo
Found in most cells, mitochondrion is an organelle is active in the process of energy production and respiration. This must have some significance to the person with the tattoo, because it is beyond me why someone would have one tattooed on their body.
6) The Hero we Need
Here is a cute, little tattoo of the popular hero Batman. Obviously, this is a favorite hero of the person with the tattoo, and seems to be just the tattoo he needs, if not the one he wants.
7) Space Dog 1
Just a dog flying through space. The objects around the pup just add to the uniqueness of the tattoo. I wonder if the dog comes from that spacecraft floating by.
8) Cat on Your Shoulder
Here is a cat on a guy’s shoulder, which is normal enough. I’m really curious about the significance of the numbers 5:12 . Is this a reminder of a time important to this individual? Maybe it is a time he doesn’t want to forget.
9) Extra Cat
This cat in the hat offers something a little extra. I can honestly say that he has the balls for the job. My biggest question though is where did he get that cool hat?
10) Broken Sk8Board
This tattoo must be a reminder of a past incident that left a mark, or at least a broken bone or two. While you might not think it, people are seriously injured while riding skateboards every day.
11) Plant Life
Here is a trio of plants: one flytrap, one prickly cactus, and a normal flower. The person that got this tattoo must be a real plant lover of all types of plants.
12) Octopus
Here is a tattoo of famous Sega video game protagonist, Alex Kidd as he fights an octopus. For his part, the octopus looks very angry. Then again, Alex might be angry too as he fell into obscurity after taking a backseat to Sonic the Hedgehog.
13) Plant Leaves
Unlike her other tattoos, here is a beautiful tattoo of some plant leaves. It’s very normalcy sets it apart from the rest of Fernandes’ art, making it stand out that much more.
14) Coffee
When someone truly loves coffee, they get a tattoo of a coffee carafe. This particular carafe has a personality all its own, including a set of eyes, arms, and some teeth.
15) Bat
Here is a detailed tattoo of a bat in a style that is signature Fernandes. She even put her signature beside it to let everyone know that this one-of-a-kind piece of body art is hers and hers alone.
16) Dragon Tattoo
I love this dragon tattoo. It is very suggestive of Oriental artwork. In Chinese mythology, dragons could do different things depending on their gender. Male dragons had power over the winds and rain, while female dragons had dominion over the waters of the Earth.
17) Too Dead to Die
Here is a morbid little tattoo. As it states, whoever lies here is too dead to die. Referred to as “darkzera,” this style of tattoo is usually dark with little color. Fernandes has turned this expectation on its head by adding the red in the words and the flower by the graveside.
18) Double Dog
This tattoo reminds me of a cartoon long ago called Catdog, except in this case it is Dogdog. I am taking from the tuft of hair on their head, tails, and around their feet that this double dog is of the Chinese Crested dog breed.
19) Magic Cat
This cat seems to know magic. I just wonder if the pentagram on his head means he is a pagan or does he worships Satan. Hopefully it is the former.
20) Cat Scratch
Here is a tattoo of a kitty who has scratched its owner’s knees. I wonder if this is a remembrance of a real life mauling by this person’ cat. Sort of a monument to the terror suffered at the hands of this kitty.
21) Raining Love
If only real clouds rained love down upon the masses. This cloud looks so happy, I bet she has never been a thunder cloud in her life. Tattoos are said to be a look into the heart of a person and what is important to them, so I assume this person is very loving.
22) Taking the Plunge
Aeeee indeed. Poor guy in the barrel. I wonder if he knew what he was getting into when he decided to go over the falls. You know what they always say, fortune favors the bold!
23) Friends, Not Food
This tattoo owner is an obvious animal lover. He prefers animals as friends, not food. Maybe if we all took this stance, this world would not be such a savage place.
24) Cat Love
This is the typical pose of a cat that is happy, at least for the moment. A red heart rises up above the kitty’s chest as it rolls around on the floor, at least until it gets bored, gets up, and walks away.
25) Crafty Coyote
I know this is supposed to be the Looney Tune favorite Wile E. Coyote, but something looks a little off. All I know is he better get rid of that dynamite before… oops, too late. He’s not so crafty after all.
26) Minion Roast
Here is a tattoo of a minion roasting over a fire. Funny how he has a smile on his face, so he is at least happy about it. Even the fire seems to be happy for him as it roasts him alive.
27) Bacteriophage
This tattoo might be familiar if you watch “Rick and Morty.” It’s the bacteriophage from the episode, “Anatomy Park.” There is also bacteriophage in real life, which is a virus that infects and reproduces inside of bacterium.
28) Aries
While this might look like some satanic representation, it is actually Aries the Ram. Aries is one of the 12 Zodiac signs. People born under the sign of Aries tend to be very ambitious, optimistic, and natural-born leaders. On the other hand, Aries can also be aggressive, a little pushy, and blunt in their opinion.
29) Space Dog 2
Here is another space dog. This one looks like it might be from the old Soviet Union. He even has his own rocket ship to fly around among the stars.
30) The Cat and the Rooster
Here is a tattoo of a cat and a rooster. There must be some significance for the person who got this tattoo, combined with the numbers and words around them.
31) Gandalf
If you’ve ever watched the first Lord of the Rings Movie, “The Fellowship of the Ring,” then you know what this tattoo is referring to. And while I won’t give away any spoilers, this tattoo does look a lot like the old, gray wizard.
32) Spined Beast
Here is a weird tattoo of a spined beast. And while you can never expect to encounter such a fantastic beats in the real world, the design is pretty cool.
33) Unicorns and Rainbows
Here is a tattoo for anyone who likes unicorns and rainbows. Even the clouds are happy in this cute tattoo.
34) Risus Tiger
I find it funny that the word risus in this tattoo translates to laughter from Latin, So in essence, this ferocious looking tiger is laughing. Maybe it is laughing at life in general or its foes who think they can escape its grasp.
35) Clippy
This is a tattoo of Clippy, the old Microsoft Windows assistant. I always wondered what happened to the old paper clip, now I know he is hanging out on someone’s foot.
36) Crow
This looks like one of the crows from the Disney animated movie, “Dumbo.” In the animated feature, the crows talked about how they had seen about everything, but they had never seen an elephant fly. I wonder what all this tattoo has seen.
37) Crocodile
Here is a friendly-looking crocodile on this person’s arm. It kind of looks like the big crocodile in the movie “Hook,” with Robin Williams as Peter Pan and Dustin Hoffman as Captain Hook.
38) Sky Bison
Here is the sky bison Appa from the Avatar cartoon series, along with Momo, the winged lemur. Both are companions of series protagonist Aang, and accompany him on his journey to learn the other element-bending traditions and defeat the Fire Kingdom.
39) Shrug
This tattoo is called a shruggie and is used when sending text messages. Also known as a text emoticon, the shruggie indicates a lack of knowledge about a subject or that the person sending it doesn’t really care. My guess is the person with this tattoo is making the statement that they don’t really care what anyone says.
40) Dark Yoga
This is a tattoo of someone doing yoga, though in their case it seems to be a little bit darker than usual. The spiral symbol in the tattoo is an indicator of creativity and the underlying organizing principal at work in the universe.
41) Animal Pile
Here is a tattoo of an animal pile. In the pile you can find a bear on the bottom, a rabbit, a goat, and a pig. What people have tattooed on their body can depend on a lot of different circumstances. Some get a tattoo to celebrate an important event, while others might do it in remembrance of a special date or lost loved one.
42) Heart Ache
Here is a beautiful tattoo of a broken heart that is on the mend. What exact heartbreak this tattoo refers to is known only to the owner of the tattoo. So, before judging someone’s tattoos, ask them what the tattoo is about. Now, whether they tell you or not is up to them.
43) Crab
This tattoo of a little crab shows the cutie trying to put on a scary front. Chances are many will simply laugh at his attempt to intimidate them. He is just too cute for words and scares no one.
44) Charmander
Here is a tattoo of the popular Pokemon, Charmander. And while he looks cute now, eventually he can become the fearsome Pokemon Charizard. I wonder if as this person grows mentally and spiritually if they will eventually get a Charizard to signify their evolution.
45) Kitty
Here is a happy little kitty tattoo on this person’s leg. I’m curious as to what spurred them to get this tattoo. Did they want a happy-go-lucky tattoo as an indicator of them as a person, or does the tattoo have a deeper significance?
46) Black Cat
Here is another cat, this one black. I wonder if it is one kitty in particular due to its large ears. The look of surprise on this cat’s face is priceless too almost like the cat wasn’t expecting to become a tattoo.
47) Unhappy Planets
It would seem that according to this tattoo our universe is unhappy. Even the sun and stars have a frown on their faces. I wonder what they are so sad about. Maybe it is the thought that we are destroying one of their own, the Earth.
48) Birdwoman
Here is a tattoo of a birdwoman tattooed on the urban artist Aracaju by Fernandes. I just wonder who does the birdwoman’s hair. It actually looks better than some real hairstyles I’ve seen.
49) Boo Boo
Here is a band-aid tattooed on this woman’s leg along with some hearts. Often, people will get a band-aid tattoo over a previous injury, usually signified by a scar.
50) Wishbone
This woman has a wishbone tattooed on her side over her rib cage. Why does she have this tattoo? Who knows, it could be for luck, or maybe this specific tattoo has some significance to her.
51) Potted Plant
I love the colors of this tattoo. The tattoo is of a variety of plants in a pot. The pot looks happy about it as signified by the big smile on its face. I can see a variety of plants in the happy pot, including a cactus, a fern, and a few others.
52) Pop Star
Here is a tattoo of a pop star. I think it might be Brittany Spears as Fernandes is a fan of hers. Here she is all dressed up and singing into the microphone. She also has a snake around her neck.
53) Vulgar Cat
This cat must really be a pain to deal with. By the look of the tattoo, he seems to not really care about what anyone thinks. Even the look on the face of what I assume is the model is “leave me alone.”
54) Pink Floyd
While a little crude looking, this tattoo of the Pink Floyd prism gets the point across. Plus, this tattoo obviously has a big significance to the person it is on, and that is what really matters when getting a tattoo.
55) Tiny Cat
There is something about cats that people love to get them tattooed on their body. Here is a tattoo of a happy little kitty. Now, whether it is based on a real cat or not is up for debate, as only the person with the tattoo really knows.