The temple

* to people that may stumble on this image: this is a custom design that I drew for a specific person. Please respect their self-expression and do not copy this tattoo (I know this happens because I have people bringing pictures off the internet in every day at work). All rights reserved! Thank you.*

Aimee drove up on Friday night to get some more work done on her backpiece. It started as a small peacock feather (one of my early tattoo suggestions, executed by Zack at Lovedog Tattoo, I think we were about 18) that was badly faded from years of not using sunblock on it. She still got compliments on it, but wanted to touch it up and add to it. That's where I came in.
Since I've known Aimee for 24 years I have a really good idea of her personal style and asthetic (it's very close to mine, since we developed our taste together) and so I designed something for her completely from scratch. I also made the feather bigger and redid the eye. You can see the changes, though the "before" picture is pretty dark.
I am going to fill in the Indonesian temple/henna/lace design all in dark burgundy red so it will contrast with the green in the feather fronds. I love having the freedom to design this kind of work- for women especially. I think there are so many options for flattering and meaningful tattoos that really accentuate and celebrate the shape of the body.
I am working (ever-so-slowly) on a sketchbook of flash; absolutely my art-nouveau-inspired drawings, and nothing else. I want to mainly explore mixing realistic images (like the peacock feather) with flat non-representational designs. I think one will set the other off, and incorporate the realistic design more smoothly into the shape of the person's body. Does this make sense? Maybe I will just have to SHOW you in the future!

before after (in progress)