Steve Butcher – The King of NBA Tattoos

NBA fans are known for their loyalty and expressing their fandom in as many ways as possible. Whether it’s by collecting cards, jerseys or attending every single game, NBA fans know how to support their team. Some, however, take it to the next level by getting tattoos of their favorite players. New Zealand based tattoo artist Steve Butcher made NBA portraits his specialty and people travel to the other side of the world just to get tattooed by him.

Butcher got into tattooing about seven years ago after finishing his degree in Fine Arts and has been making a name for himself ever since. He specializes in color portraits and photorealism; in which you can really see his background in oil painting.

Butcher (artist name “The Kiwi”), became famous for his hyper-realistic designs of NBA superstars and other pop-culture icons. His tattoos have been featured on different sports networks like SportsCenter, ESPN and pretty much all sites that are dedicated to basketball. The tattoos are super detailed and take about 17 to 18 hours to finish.

“Tattooing is the ultimate form of self-expression, and as an artist, I can create pieces that the customer and I both have an interest in, which makes the whole process a lot more enjoyable. I discovered this when I got my first tattoo when I was 19 and since then I knew I wanted to create art on skin.”