Advice on a badly executed tattoo

[katlorine]

So last week I got my second tattoo, and apparently my artist did not understand what I wanted at all, despite showing her reference photos and the style of my first tattoo. I wanted some violets in a very abstract, watercolor style.

The first 5 photos were my references (first two for the fade style, next three for the water color/abstractness), the sixth is my first tattoo (that I love), and the last two are my new tattoo.

Turns out, I absolutely hate what I ended up with. Like, have to take my glasses off to clean it, hate it. One way or another, it has to go. Is there any possibility a cover up or rework of it could even work? It's a lot bulkier than I wanted originally, so I'm kind of inclined to think it couldn't without being much, much bigger than I want. I'm tempted to just call it a complete loss and start researching tattoo removal, but I wanted to check if there's any chance to save it first. 

Thank you in advance, I would really appreciate any thoughts you might have.

P.S. Also, I know it's technically a beautiful piece of work, I'm not criticizing the quality of the piece out of context. It's just very much not the style I wanted or like for myself.

[SStu]

A cover is possible, but would highly depend on how large and dark a piece you'd be expecting . . . 

[oboogie]

It would be much bigger, darker coverup. It is possible, but it won't be a watercolor.

[Hogrider]

You can't do anything until it heals, so wait it out and see how you feel in a month or two. It's a nice looking tattoo and looks well done. You've got a better chance of turning it into a mess than improving it, IMHO.

What exactly don't you like about it? 

[katlorine]

Like I said in the ps, I know it's technically well done, it's just almost the exact opposite of what I asked for. Maybe if I was seeing it on someone else I would be able to think it's pretty, but on me it makes me want to cut it off myself as I wanted all of my pieces to match, and I already love my first one. I wanted something delicate, abstract, with no hard edges, everything smoking out, and that frames my side well, and instead I got bulky, realistic, mass that has some weird watercolor added to the edges as an afterthought and doesn't fit my body at all. I know I can't really do anything in this moment, I'm just trying to feel out my options, as I need to know if I have to start saving for a removal.

[Hogrider]

I would do a lot of research before you start removal so that you have realistic expectations. That's some really delicate skin where you have that tattoo and I'm sure that factors in.

I would also do a lot of research on coverups. Coverups are darker and heavier than what they are covering. You aren't going to cover up what you have with a light, wispy tattoo. Even with a ton of laser removal, I'm not sure you'll be able to do that.

It's your body and your tattoo, but when I read, "I got bulky, realistic, mass that has some weird watercolor added to the edges as an afterthought and doesn't fit my body at all" I'm thinking you are just really determined to hate this tattoo. No one else would describe that tattoo like that.

Good luck. Most of us have a tattoo or two that we aren't crazy about. It comes with the territory.

[oboogie]

The truth is that both of your tattoos will fade anyway with no black outlines. They will probably both just be blobs of colors in a few years. 

[Tsam]

As has been said, there's nothing at all you can do for a little while in any event. I've had a knee jerk reaction to a piece before that I was convinced would never settle into my collection and after a bit of time, it looks just fine to me. 

Hope you come to like it more, it's a nice tattoo.

[Gpots]

I say if you hate it, give it a year or two to fade a little and then cover. Should be relatively straight forward to add to achieve what you initially were looking for.

Sent from my MI 6 using Tapatalk

[ughanxiousppl]

Going forward I would seriously consider steering clear of watercolor tattoos or any tattoo without an outline. They will never age as well as other tattoos. I know a few artists that won’t do watercolor tattoos for that reason.