Absolutely. Aside from the supreme protection against possible infection getting into the fresh wound, it minimizes healing time for sure. I only leave mine on for 4 days, but my regular tattooist says he leaves his one for at least a week.
Doesn't look infected to me, just really overworked. As long as it doesn't get red and hot my recommendation is to leave it alone for 6-8 weeks and see how it comes out.
Hopefully you'll let us know, too.
Yep. Some people have more trouble with ditches than others, especially legs - but if I'm reading you right = DON'T put numbing cream on your healing tattoo.
^this.
Way more important to find an artist who is totally capable of nailing an exceptionally fine line and simple (read: impossible to hide mistakes) drawing like you're currently interested in.
If you're going to reproduce old art as a tattoo then find a tattooist who is very good at photo realism.
On the other hand, if you're looking for a one-of-a-kind piece of art - then don't even think about a "design service". A truly good artist will make a truly good design and then be interested in tattooing it. A large percentage of tattooists who might try to reproduce someone else's original work of art will do so only because they're hungry - not necessarily because they are capable.