Looking for an artist who can tattoo over black/blue/purple

[kvaz]

I had a really bad tattoo done on my ankle of an angel and I went to someone to cover it up. His portfolio had many cover ups in it of people who didn't include laser on their first work and the results were amazing. He assured me that he could cover the existing tattoo with ease since one of the problems with the first one was that it had faded pretty badly and was only an outline. The work he did is extremely dark, and unless you're looking up close, looks like a black sock and I'm extremely unhappy with it. I went back to him with my concerns and he continued to tell me that it was dark because it was a cover up (which I understand) but we went bigger and even the new ink is very dark. He also told me he couldn't do anything to make it appear lighter.

I've done some research and I've read that some artists have used white to add accents to a dark tattoo or even artists who have tattooed over all black to which ended in some pretty amazing results. But I've also read that the white won't hold and will eventually blend in with the dark and make it darker (which is also what the artist who did the cover up said). I've also seen a post on here with someone who's had success with this but that it takes a certain ink/technique to be successful. I'm so confused!

I'm looking for an artist in the bay area who might specialize in using white over black, blue and purples to add detail. But also I'm curious of all of your opinions on this? Am I out of luck? What should I do? I've attached the picture, of what it looks like now below.

[Pete tattoo freak]

don't think that can be covered. btw who did the cover up?

[kvaz]

I'm not trying to cover it. I want to add to it (on top) to maybe draw the eye from the dark, but I want to see if I can find someone to add white (or whatever they can) within in it to lighten it by giving it some lighter detail throughout as well.

[CABS]

I'm looking for an artist in the bay area who might specialize in using white over black, blue and purples to add detail. But also I'm curious of all of your opinions on this? Am I out of luck? What should I do? I've attached the picture, of what it looks like now below.

First off, I'm not a tattooer. I highly recommend going to the best shops in The Bay Area and asking their expert advice. Check out any of those shops that @9Years recommended.

But as a collector that doesn't know anything about tattoos, I feel like you should get it lasered first to lighten it up a bit.

[Pete tattoo freak]

I would go to a reputable shop such as temple or tattoo 13 in Oakland, and see if they could do anything with it. did you happen to get the cover up at ace tattoo?

[kvaz]

@Pete tattoo freak Ok, I'll try and research and see if there's anyone willing to try. Thanks for your help! No it wasn't at ace tattoo... it was at a shop in Fremont.

[marley mission]

listen - take this advice for whatever but if you are into continuing to get tattooed and plan to increase your overall coverage then I would say leave this tattoo go for a little awhile and get some other tattoos by artists you might trust a little more - after awhile this tattoo will get lighter anyway and your other tattoos will 'pick up the slack' for this guy - just my 2 cents

[kvaz]

@marley mission Thank you for the honesty!! That was my first idea. I wanted to just add to it (above) and make it so it wasn't such a blunt line at the top. My next post was going to ask everyone's advice about what they think might look nice to make it flow a little better. I wanted to add a butterfly to help soften the whole thing a little. I'm just not sure what would look best. I'm nervous bc after two tries It's going to be hard for me to trust anyone, but I hate how it looks by itself and feel like it's going to need more.

[SStu]

Invest some time, money and pain in 3-4 laser treatments. It will infinitely open up possibilities for a reputable artist to cover it properly and neatly.

[kvaz]

@SStu is laser even an option for a tattoo that is already a cover up? I read that laser doesn't do much if there are two layers of ink. I haven't actually called to inquire about laser because I kept reading that it wouldn't work.

[SStu]

It definitely will, as it did on mine.