I’m Maria Gaia, a tattoo artist based in Alameda Lisbon, Portugal, specializing in illustrative bold work & fineline tattoos that feel wild and alive. I’m resident at the studio À Flor da Pele, where I create one-of-a-kind pieces for clients looking for tattoos to carry their stories.
“For a long time, I thought I’d work with animals, but it turns out I’ve been chasing other kinds of creatures all along — the inner ones, the ones that live in bone and blood and memory.”
I’ve been drawing since I was two years old — long before I had the words to explain myself, art was how I spoke to the world. I always knew I would end up working in the field, although working with animals was always on my mind too. I have been a freelancer illustrator since completing Drawing in Belas Artes in Lisbon, illustrating book covers, music album covers, D&D and videogame characters, illustrations for board games and more.
In 2020, after a job ended abruptly during the infamous pandemic, I stumbled into tattooing by chance — but the first time I held a tattoo machine, I knew. There was something a bit primal about it: the hum of the needle, the permanence of the line, the thrill and the nervousness rattling my nerves and my bones whilst I did it ; the way art and skin became one living thing.
The way it demanded presence, the way it demanded honesty.
It felt alive in a way nothing else did.
So I stayed.
Now, years later, I carry that same fascination into every piece I create — whether it’s ink on skin or ink on paper.
What I create isn’t just for the surface. It’s for the ones carrying stories too big to stay inside. For those who want something sacred and a little untamed — the kind of tattoo that feels like it grew there with you.
Not pretty for pretty’s sake. Something older than fashion, wilder than trends. A permanent ritual in ink and skin.
It’s all about creating pieces that belong to you.
“Whether bold lines or the delicacy of fineline, I think my art holds both ferocity and tenderness. I draw the places we run to when the world turns quiet or cruel.”