"Make it pretty."
- Details
- Created: Wednesday, 01 October 2014 08:00
Tanzi got an anklet tattoo awhile ago; it's in a fairly heavy, "neo-tribal" style. She wanted to cover it or maybe add something to it, to make it lighter and more colorful. "Can you make it prettier?" she asked. I said, "Absolutely. It would be better to add some other, more delicate plant imagery to it, than to try and cover it up, as it is very dark. That's just the style." After some thought, she sent me some photos of flowers and butterflies that she liked and I incorporated them into her drawing. Click on the Read more link to see the drawing, before photo and photos of the outline session.
Periodically, I tattoo people from out of state who want to get a tat while they're on vacation here in Portland. As there are so many tattoo artists in the city now, and so many good ones, I feel honored to be chosen. Sabrina and Kelli are friends who have known each other since 11th grade. They were here to check out Portland and wanted to get custom tattoos featuring waves somehow. They each drew some sketches while they were on the plane and presented them to me when they came in for their consultation appointment. Kelli wanted something small on the top of her upper back below her neck, so for her, we put together a design based on a small part of the drawing I created. Sabrina wanted a right shoulder piece and decided to take the middle out of the drawing, as she liked the simpler look of that better. Click on the Read more link to see the drawing, and Sabrina's photos (I didn't get a shot of Kelli's tat.)
Jim came in to see me about covering up part of a tattoo that he had on his left upper arm. (See the "Before" picture below.) The tattoo commemorates his grandchildren but he felt that the part of it that featured his grand son was not successful and he wanted something that worked with the other images better. We decided that using his grand son's birth flower (chrysanthemum) would work well with the other flowers he had for his grand daughters, whose names include rose and violet. Chrysanthemums also work really well as cover up images, as they are very detailed and colorful. Jim also wanted to add a tree in the background to represent the rest of his family--- a "family" tree. Click on the Read more link to see the drawing, before and outline photos.
For his first tattoo, Ben thought he would like a memento mori piece for his grandparents. For imagery he also wanted to concentrate on his heritage and where his family is from, the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area. So at his consultation appointment, he brought in images of skulls with a crown, Fleur de Lis, a quote he felt was appropriate and his grandma's favorite flower. Click on the Read more link to see the drawing I came up with and photos of all three sessions: outline, gray shading and final color.
Getting a tattoo can be a great way to cover up a scar. Jeannine came to see me about covering over a scar on her left forearm. She says, "I had four surgeries over eight years to correct wrist problems. The last two (and most recent) left a three inch scar on my forearm. I decided to change the conversation from 'How did you get that scar?' to something more pleasant and interesting. Having had a Hindu wedding, I wanted the design to be based on the simple henna tattoo done for our wedding. I showed Victoria the design, as well as a few other drawings I liked. The result was better than I expected. Simple, yet elegant. Even two years later, I'm still getting compliments and it's hard to even notice the scar. From pain, comes beauty." Click on the Read more link to see the final piece.
Last year Aaron came in to see me about a coverup piece he was thinking about for an old finger tattoo. We created a very cool gray work tree with roots growing from his fingers, around his hand and up through his forearm, with a surprise color of leaves on the inside. Trees are such fantastic inspirations for tattoos, as they embody growth, transition, strength, stability with flexibility and endurance. I designed the tattoo with lots of negative space, in case he ever wanted to extend the piece up his arm. Now we are tattooing the rest of his sleeve. This time around, he wanted to include a reference to his daughter, whose name means "Leaping Water". Click on the Read more link to see the drawing and outline photos.
Sharon came in to see me last year for her first tattoo. She wanted a henna-style arm band and brought in several print outs of images that she liked. She gave me tons of leeway on what exactly to include and lots of artistic freedom arranging the henna inspired elements she suggested. Her boyfriend was super supportive and came in with her for her tattoo sessions. After he passed away, she decided to get another tattoo on her other arm but instead of an arm band, she thought a larger half sleeve piece would be nice. She is an avid gardener and has bird feeders in her yard; she decided that a hummingbird was the concept that resonated the best. So she found some new images and I created a synthesis of them for her. I wanted to use similar elements to what we had on her right arm for continuity, and use placement, as well, for balance. Click on the Read more link to see the drawing and outline photos.
I've been working with Johanna on her tattoos for several years-- cover ups and new ink, all custom tats. She is an artist (a film maker) and is very articulate. Working with her is easy and enjoyable; we share the same artistic language. Now we are doing another cover up piece, this time on her lower left leg. She says, "For this cover up piece I want something pretty, something with a strong visual aesthetic. Peonies are my favorite flower and I like the Japanese style. I had several tattoos prior to finding Victoria and got a cat tattooed on my leg before I knew about how to choose an image and tattoo artist. I will never go to anyone else again. Victoria is a great artist (she was a graphic designer for many years prior to becoming a tattoo artist). She is careful and thoughtful and truly interested in her craft. She is thorough and her shop is immaculate. And she's a great conversationalist to boot!" Click on the Read more link to see the drawing, before and outline photos.
Last year Ron came in for his first tattoo. He said this about the experience, "I got my very first tattoo a couple of months ago. After deciding what I wanted, I googled top tattoo artists in Portland. Victoria's site, Floating Lotus Tattoo.com, was the third one I looked at. When I saw the beautiful artwork on her site, I didn't need to look any further. When I met her, I felt an instant connection with Victoria. She made me feel completely at ease and welcome with her warm, inquiring personality. After our first consultation, it was immediately clear that Victoria was emotionally invested in my vision and completely understood the spiritual aspect. She has a calming, patient demeanor and, understanding that this was my first tattoo, explained carefully each step of the process. I was very much impressed with her understanding of anatomy and how the tattoo will react and flow with the body's movement." Now we are working on Ron's second tattoo-- an upper arm piece based on Steampunk aesthetics. He says, "My father passed away, with little warning, in May of 2013. Until that day, I do not believe I ever really had a true sense of my own mortality. Also, I've always been fascinated by the parallels between the human body and timepieces. Both are a measure of and evidence to man's arbitrary construct of time. Both 'wear' over time and require maintenance to function. Both play a role in shaping history; neither time nor man is immortal. A tattoo with a steam-punk theme would allow the perfect representation of the idea of the fragile state of man evolving into something lasting--mechanisms replacing organs--that would be more than a reminder of my own mortality and a desire to perpetuate it. It would reinforce the permanence of 'possible'. For my second tattoo, I showed up with only an idea and a few pictures showing samples of some of the elements I wanted to incorporate into the piece. Victoria took my 'vision' and created a series of sketches that completely blew me away! Everyone I have shown Victoria's custom artwork to is very impressed, as am I. I can't recommend highly enough, Floating Lotus Tattoo Studio. Victoria is a true artist in every sense of the word." Click on the Read more link to see the drawing I created, and the outline photos.
After waiting many years and after much consideration of her first tattoo, Eileen came to me with the idea that she wanted the imagery of lotus flowers located on her lower and mid back. She was drawn to the Japanese tattoo style, and so I created a piece for her showing water in the form of a wave, as well as two lotus blossoms. As she explained to me during our consultation, the timing and imagery for her first tattoo was perfect. She says, "This year has brought increased focus and importance of spiritual path for me. I was ready to use my body as canvas for art, to express something beautiful and meaningful. Lotus flowers have great meaning in both the Buddhist and Hindu faiths. A fully opened lotus blossom symbolizes enlightenment and self awareness, while the closed bud represents potential for growth. Each opening of the lotus petal is the gradual unfolding of the consciousness on the path of enlightenment. Victoria understood the importance of the imagery, and drew the perfect art showing both a fully opened and a budding lotus. I love the result. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Victoria, and am thankful to her for listening and creating a piece for me that is even more beautiful than I could have imagined." Click on the Read more link to see the drawing I came up with, and the gray shading photo.