Watercolor Roses
- Details
- Created: Tuesday, 01 December 2015 08:00
For his first tattoo, Henry brought in a beautiful watercolor painting of some roses. To create a tattoo from a watercolor original, I used a light gray outline instead of black and very little gray shading to simulate a watercolor look and feel. Henry says, "I went to Victoria because she was highly recommended by a friend for her skill with nature images, and I am very happy with everything about my experience! The image I had was painted by someone close to me who passed away, so I wanted the tattoo to be as faithful to the original painting as possible. Victoria did a great job at keeping the integrity of the image and gave great advice on the best placement for the tattoo. I would highly recommend Floating Lotus Tattoo!" Click on the Read More link to see the original painting, my drawing, outline and gray shading and color photos. (The final color looks dark because I took the photo right after tattooing it, but it will heal down much lighter.)
Andrea came in to see me about a cover up piece; she had gotten a tattoo to remember her brother-in-law by but was not happy with how it turned out. She wanted something that complimented the ankle tattoos she already had on her lower legs-- something more feminine and flowery. Flowers work wonderfully for cover up/camouflage tattoos, as they are organic, detailed and colorful. (See my FAQ's page for what type of imagery works best for cover up tattoos.) We chose a sunflower and dahlia for the design and it worked beautifully. Click on the Read More link to see the drawing, before, outline and gray shading and final photos.
Becket's tattoos are about her family. I've been lucky to work on all of her tats and always enjoy my collaborations with her. The two tattoos for her children are on her upper outer arms. This latest one is a tribute for her mother (who recently died) and it's on her left wrist. Becket chose plumeria because it was one of her mom's favorite flowers from Hawaii, which was one of her favorite places. The five blossoms represent her mom and her four children. "Makuahine" means "Mother" in Hawaiian, so Becket chose that to underpin the design. She wanted a particular font, but after she saw the drawing, she thought that the lettering was too complicated, so we simplified it. Click on the Read More link to see the drawing, outline and final photos.
For her second tattoo, Becca wanted something that represents peace and serenity to her. She also wanted to include the people she loves. She decided on a giraffe for herself, an Enso for her husband and butterflies for her children and grand children. We decided to tie all of the separate elements together with Red Lotus tree branches and flowers, which grow in her yard. She says,"I found a great quote that describes my feeling of what a giraffe represents and how it relates to me, 'The giraffe has the largest heart of any land animal, is tall enough to look into the future and lives it's life with gentility and strength.'" Click on the Read More link to see the drawing and outline photos.
I performed Natalie's first tattoo (a left flank/lower back piece) and am grateful that she came back to me for her second, an upper right arm tat. She is very articulate and knew just what she wanted--- a combination of a gray whale, a woman floating in a boat, reaching down to touch it and butterflies. There was some leeway as to design, but we settled on the connection between the woman and the whale and the way that the breath of the whale should turn into butterflies. I also thought it would be neat to have the whale's tail wrapping around her inner arm a little bit. She wanted the style to be illustration-like, rather than too realistic and we played around with the idea of color for awhile. After I did some color sketches, we both decided that the tat would be stronger as a gray work piece. Click on the Read More link to see the drawing, outline and final gray photos.
Molly came in with an old tattoo that she wanted covered up. She says,"I didn't dislike my dove tattoo, it just wasn't me and no longer resonated with me. I have had this affinity for Red Tail Hawks since I was very young. I was going through an amazingly transformative time in my life, with so much change, and I knew I wanted this tattoo to be really powerful. The hawk is a reminder to myself to be fearless and authentic. I have found that when we have the courage to live an authentic life, that's when things start to manifest really effortlessly and gracefully. This tattoo is honoring that and reminding myself to live that way." Click on the Read More link to see the drawing, before and outline photos.
A referral from another client of mine, Sarah came to me with a unique tattoo project. She says,"I wanted a dancing Sandhill crane because it represents my home town. Sandhill cranes migrate from the Northern US and Canada to Southern US and Mexico, stopping in Kearney Nebraska for about a month to recoup and mate. The position that my crane is in is called "The Dance" which is what they do to attract mates, but it is also a beautiful figure. They have been a part of my life since I was born and there has not been a year that I have not gotten to see them, until this year. I moved to Portland a year ago and in April suddenly got very homesick and I finally figured out why; the cranes usually land in mid March and early April. I knew that even though I'm not in Nebraska anymore, I will always be thankful for where I came from and remember it because of these magnificent birds." Click on the Read More link to see the drawing, outline, and final photos.
When she was 17, Haley had a small tattoo of some colored wings performed on her upper back. Now that she is older, she wanted to cover up the old tattoo with new imagery that better reflected where she is in her life at this time. She wanted to use Sak Yant tattoos (the "t" in Yant is silent.) They are sacred Yantra (prayer) tattoos originating in Cambodia and are practiced in that country, Thailand, Laos and Burma. Like all "tribal" tattoos that feature imagery that use only positive or negative space, they don't work very well for true cover ups. (See my FAQ page to read about successful cover up tattoos.) But with the addition of some gray shading, they can be customized to work better. She says,"At each life milestone I have gotten a tattoo. Each one has meant something to me; whether it's to remain strong, keep growing, keep learning, etc. The meaning behind this tattoo is pretty self explanatory for the person who knows what Sak Yant tattoos represent. They will remind me to live courageously, love fearlessly, and dream endlessly." Click on the Read More link to see the drawing, before, bare outline, and filled in outline photos.
Christina had gotten some tattoo work awhile ago and was thinking about getting some new ink. She says,"I began thinking about another tattoo recently after about 20 years since my first tattoo. I had a lot of questions and a design in mind, and wasn't quite sure how to find the right artist to make it happen. I looked at a lot of portfolios, and found Floating Lotus online during my search. I knew right away that I wanted Victoria to do my work and contacted her to begin my custom piece based on some designs I liked. I wanted a pink lily flower and also to incorporate the letter 'M' into the design to honor two ladies in my life who have passed. Victoria worked with me to include all of the things I wanted in the design, and incorporated the lettering in perfectly without making it glaringly obvious. Now I can see it every time I look in the mirror. I love my new tattoo and the work Victoria did, and enjoy that I can honor and remember my ladies every time I see it. Victoria is a true artist, and I'm already thinking about designing my next tattoo-- without waiting 20 years this time. Thank you, Victoria!" Click on the Read More link to see the drawing, outline, gray shading and final color photos.
Jack came in to see me last year for his first tattoo, which was a leg piece. This winter, we've been working on his second: an upper arm piece that features the famous Hokusai Wave. He says,"I came to Victoria with some fairly disconnected ideas for this tattoo. First, I wanted a wave; a big wave. To me, waves are symbols of power both destructive and regenerative. I like a lot of Japanese art and wanted something in the style of a classic wood block print. There should be a lotus flower that would remind me of my wife's tattoo. The outline should imply an Enso or circle shape. This reinforces the notion of regenerative power that I associate with waves. It should be big and bold and colorful, taking up all of my shoulder. I showed Victoria some pictures that I liked from the Internet and we talked. Before long, she worked out a design based on Hokusai's Great Wave with the boats, people, and mountain removed. A couple of back and forth emails later, I had my design." Click on the Read More link to see the drawings, outline, gray shading and final color photos.