Old Rose Tattoo

I get some random things said to me about my tattoos. One thing that really drives me nuts, more so than the "plainskins" term, and more than a "tattoo gun" ( Im a tattooer so that really urks me), is when someone calls a tattoo a "tat". I usually have a thermal under my T-shirt so my tattoos arent shown very often, but when a little bit poke out of my shirt I get the "wow you have tats?" or " can I see your tats?" that really bugs me. As far as the typical meaning questions, people are shocked with my answers. I tell them most of the tattoos are just because I like it, or one in particular I got it because "Im NOT supposed to like it" I have a hello kitty day of the dead. I am a guy I am straight, but I got it because "Only girls like hello kitty" I dont always go with the grain of life hahahaa

Check out Big Mike at Skin Art Gallery in Addison Texas! He is a buddy of mine and he does great traditional! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.524806170934589.1073741844.134694236612453&type=3

ya it would help hide some of that! again Id have to look at it in person to tell you for sure. but it could possibly hide them

No It wont be a muddled mess down the road. But in some of the spots where there is darker orange and darker yellows I would just put a lighter orange or lighter yellow over it and it would help to lighten it up a bit. but not to over do it so the tattoos looks odd.

There could possibly be a way to lighten up the ones on your foot so its not so dark. but that would all have to be something to look at in person! Thigh tattoos are awesome! they look really good in a bathing suit too! Especially if you have something that goes with the curve of a bikini line like the top of your girls head! Yes please do take some pix Id love to see them

As long as no one really asks about it. Its not all the noticable. I love to do cover ups so I can usually spot a cover up when looking at tattoos. Not always b/c they are not always any traces of the old tattoo! Theres nothing left you can do to cover up the little bit of lines that are showing through a bit. Just get used to it lol. It is a good tattoo over all though so be proud of it! The best colors to use are blues, greens, purples, teals, pretty much any color that isnt red, orange and yellow. Dont get me wrong you can use yellow and orange to cover something up, I have done done it, but it doesnt always work. Above your knee would be awesome! Do you have a pic of the 20 year old rose? or the dragon and tigger? I wouldnt cover any of them as long as you still enjoy them. Redoing them is fine. I love to redo tattoos and bring old tattoos back to life. Too bad your not in Cali Id love to do some work on ya!

It would look good down on your ankle! and easy to show off! I remember you saying in the beginning of this thread that you dont like how your cover up on your feet turned out b/c you can see the old tattoo under it and dont want your arm to be this way. I went back and looked at your picture, and the reason you can still see whats underneath is b/c of the colors used. Reds and oranges are some of the worst colors to use for cover ups. If you notice where there is green you cant see any of the cover up, at lease not in the pic.

I have my back tattooed and I always forget its there lol. I never see it so I forget. as far as placement, just go with what your artist says. If you dont have a good idea where you want it then itll look good. As far as me, I have all the ones I want planned and where they are going so when I think of something new I want I have to rework my ideas on where things are going.

I have always wanted to get my hands tattooed. I wanted to wait until I have kids, because I want my kids tattoos the tattoos that are not easily hidden. I have one on the way and have 3 step kids. So hands and neck will be filled soon. I also didnt want to get them done until I knew I would be making money and able to take care of my family. I'm not tattooing full time anymore, I do it part time and have another job that I work full time and luckily for me tattoos arent an issue since its a manufacturing plant. I predict that in the next year I will have at least one hand done, however I wont get my hands until my sleeves are done and they are almost there haha.

The thigh would be a really nice place for her. Or you could take her and change her a bit and make her more Japanese influenced and use that in between. Even your rib cage would be a good spot for her. I went back and looked at your pic of your back again, and putting her on your back wouldnt look right. Only because she wouldnt be centered between the two. Your blossoms go over more than half your back and she would sit funky back there.

Yes you are correct, that is a very traditional piece. I personally would find a different place to put her. Only because she would not mesh well with your blossoms or your frog since neither of them are traditional. She would look great on a shoulder or a thigh! The blues in the water will cover up the arm band. Typically when doing a cover up in color its best to use cool colors rather than warm colors. Blues, greens, purples are the best colors to use for cover ups because they have more white in them and white pigments are thicker which helps cover up the blacks and other colors. I have done many cover ups using those colors and they look great you cant even see the old tattoo under it. That is why I recommended going with the waves. Here is a tattoo I covered up using blues about 3 years ago.

You could still do the lady head as well, but make it like a geisha head. If you dont already have an image planned for the lady head. Just another thought. But as long as you are with a good artist that artist will take good care of you! But personally I think going the Japanese route would be the best looking way to go. Would love to see pix when you get it done!

The line work on the Peony needs to be redone, It looks horrible (Sorry for being so blunt, but its the truth), The color needs work too. I agree that it does look washed out, but putting a black and grey Koi behind it doesnt help at all. That whole tattoo needs to be redone. With better lines and bolder colors that tattoo could be amazing! Im not sure where your located, but If you were in Cali I could fix you up nicely on that tattoo. It would only take about two sessions to revive that tattoo! There are so many ideas that I could see to do to that tattoo to get it lookin good. Feel free to PM me and I can help you out. Def look for a better artist though!

Wind bars would work good for covering that up. It would flow with the Peony and If eventually you want to bridge the tattoo over to your cherry blossoms. Both the Peony and the Cherry blossoms are used often in traditional Japanese pieces. With tying it in with your frog, there are frogs in Japanese pieces as well. You can make it fit and look like a Japanese piece. However, instead of wind bars I would look into waves, would cover the band better than wind bars. Wind bars are black and grey wash that fades to skin. Where there is open skin youd see the old tattoo. But with water bars and waves there is more ink coverage on the skin and would cover the old tattoo better. Peonies are often drawn with waves and since you have a frog which comes from the water, the waves would be able to depict its immersion from the water into a frog, and the peony could be getting taken away by the water. I think your best bet would be to take it the Japanese route since there is a lot that you can do that way, and to bridge the gap to the blossoms it would be seamless. Paisley would work too but I think the Japanese would look really good. The Peony you have is beautiful I would keep that theme going!

I get both of those questions a lot. Mostly because of the town I live in. There are a lot of tattoo shops in town but not a lot of "Tattooed" people. I have a full lower half sleeve and almost a full sleeve on the other arm. I always have a thermal on, one because I am always cold but also to protect my tattoos from sun. When its warm i push up the sleeves and thats when people always ask. They will first ask who does my tattoos, and it depends on what tattoos they are looking at. My lower half sleeve I did myself, the others are artists from all over. Then the next question is how much was that. And I tell them nothing. Most of them are in shock over that answer but then I explain to them how shops work, in shops we trade tattoos with the other artists. I haven't paid for a tattoo in years, I do tip however but we don't charge each other. Then everyone asks what does this mean and that one, Well if I was going to take the time to explain what each tattoo "means" to me then we would be there for a long time as there are 63 tattoos on my body thus far. I also get the question, "Which one is your most meaningful?". That question I have a genuine answer and I just lift up my shirt and show my ribs, I have a portrait of my grandmother. I dont say anything I just show them. These questions do get annoying, but it comes with the territory. Being a tattooer I hear about everyones tattoos and the meaning to them. I never ask they just share, probably because they see it on the TV shows that your supposed to spill your guts to your artists but it is what it is right?!?