Rhode Island-based tattoo artist Mark Wade on his watercolor-like work – The Boston Globe

It took two years to complete, but now when she thinks about the piece, she gets chills.

“I have a bouquet of flowers on rainy days and in the middle of hurricanes,” Vance said. “I have this apple that says ‘you’re golden.’”

The Rhode Island-based tattoo artist has built his career — and a platform of over 100,000 Instagram followers — based on his ability to ink hyper-realistic florals. In June, he and his wife, Maia, opened a shop in East Greenwich, R.I., Body Florist, where people like Vance fly in from all over the country to get his work on their skin.

“It feels surreal,” Wade said. “I’ve traveled to other countries to get tattooed. I know how much energy it takes, so I’m incredibly grateful that people would do that.”

The shop is inside an old mill near Greenwich Bay, with exposed brick walls and a “peaceful” interior designed by Maia. The pair decided to put down roots in Rhode Island, where Maia is originally from. The move was largely due to Maia’s challenges with epilepsy and her desire to feel “more grounded,” she explained.

Wade, who is originally from Lubbock, Texas, hadn’t spent more than two years in any one place in over a decade. He moved throughout the country, honing his craft, and gaining a reputation in the tattoo community for his impressive designs and work ethic.

“He was always very persistent, as far as wanting to put in time, staying late, and going to conventions,” said Rember Orellana, owner of Texas’s Dark Age Tattoo and one of Wade’s mentors. “He would always be a friend, in a good way every every show we went to, so it was just fun to see him making that progress.”

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Wade’s interest in floral tattoos came from a desire to become “the best” at something. Early in his career, clients continued to compliment his color tattoos, and Wade continued working from there. He looked up to Phil Garcia Lee, a tattoo artist who also specializes in floral designs.

While he does not have formal art training, he put in countless hours toward mastering his craft. During his first tattoo apprenticeship, Wade remembers not sleeping for the first six months — running on 20-minute naps every four or five hours so he could tattoo more.

“The further I’ve gone with [the style], the more I get into it,” Wade said. “It feels like something I’ve never really mastered. It’s always changing, and I’m always making it better.”

Each tattoo, Wade said, is ultimately a collaboration. He finds that working one-on-one with the clients to hone the design not only makes the process more “real” and keeps him in check artistically, but it creates a more intimate space.

The process isn’t short: Tattooing one 5-inch by 5-inch area takes an entire day.

One appointment with Wade takes 12 hours, Vance said. She called the process “a beast,” where she will sit and get tattooed for 58 minutes, take a two-minute break, and Wade will start again.

“When he tattoos — good God — he doesn’t even know the time, because he’s just diving into it so much,” Maia said.

Carmen Vanderheiden Brodie, another of Wade’s clients, has a full sleeve of flowers from Wade. The sleeve doesn’t represent anything; Vanderheiden Brodie was simply in awe of Wade’s art. They met at a tattoo convention in New Jersey in 2016, and she had been following his work ever since.

“I feel like I have the most fantastic jewelry on all the time,” Vanderheiden Brodie said. “People will wear a necklace or earrings or whatever. My tattoo is my adornment.”

Emily Wyrwa can be reached at emily.wyrwa@globe.com. Follow her @emilywyrwa.