I was growing to truly dislike the old(ish) bat tattoo on my left shoulder, until my husband and I were brainstorming over a bottle of wine and stumbled upon a solution. Remembering how much I liked it when I first designed it, and talking over what I didn’t like about it now, it dawned on us that maybe I should just have it re-done.
My main point of discontent with this piece was that it had faded so badly. I have other tattoos that are older, but maybe because of the amount of motion this part of the body undergoes, or the amount of sun exposure, this one looked the oldest. There was a halo all around it where the ink was seeping badly, and the whole thing was a bland grey. Maybe worst of all, I regretted having the center part done in red, as people inevitably ask me if it’s supposed to be a spider. It is not. Spiders don’t have wings, last I checked. :)
We went to the tattoo shop the next day. We didn’t change the tattoo at all; just had a fresh coat of paint applied on an otherwise badly faded, blurry 11-year-old mess. Now that it has new life, I love this piece just as much as I did the first time it was executed. Best of all, once the black was re-blackened, the red became almost unnoticeable. We didn’t have the red redone, leaving it subtle and hopefully clearing up any confusion in the interpretation.
In talking to the artist as he performed my re-tattooing, I learned that apparently I’m the only fool out there who wants to go through that pain, hassle and expense just to re-apply the exact same tattoo I had before. I had decided after my last tattoo (a matching piece Mr. Kitty and I got right after we were married two years ago) that I wouldn’t get any more “new” ones, but would focus on keeping the ones I have looking fresh and clean. Good decision, I think.
Do you have any good tattoo re-do (or cover-up, or repair) stories?
PS: Don't forget that Monday is Movie Monday, hosted by Still Dark @ Heart. I have my post all ready to go. So excited! Check out Sal's blog for the details.
12 comments:
Have fun at the tattoo shop,touch-ups are such a great way to restore the beauty of a tattoo.The outfit is stunning as always.
D'oh. Guess who also has a bat tattoo on their left shoulder. o.O
I'm surprised your tattooist hasn't seen more people in for touch-ups. I have a friend who is an apprentice and the only thing she did for the first few months was preform touch-ups and re-dos.
Anyway, a lovely outfit for the purpose and I love all your bracelets together.
Arm party!! I have exactly the same bangle that you have on nearest your wrist! Those are the best kinds to pile on!
Can't wait to see the new ink job. :)
You look very pretty in this dress. Can't wait to see the tatoo all touched up.
The lace bands are a very interesting touch. At first I thought maybe you had some sheer footless tights on that you had added the lace edge too - I didn't realize they were stand alone. Very creative. (for what it's worth, I like the shoes)(and I like the dress a lot too)
I've been wanting to get one particular tattoo touched up for years, but then I've prioritized getting new tattoos over touching up old...
I've only had one of my tattoos retouched, and I'm glad I did. It's also a bat (based off an Edward Gorey illustration) on my foot, but after a year or so it was getting patchy. Now, I'm completely anal about keeping it safe from sun, not letting anything potentially harmful near it, but patches of the black were fading to grey or nothing at all. I went back to the same artist and he redid the whole thing free of charge. I'll probably get it touched up again in a few years, but right now it still looks pretty good.
But I'm told it's a pretty common problem with all-black tattoos--my colours have never needed retouching, and no one else I've talked to has experienced patchy fading on theirs.
I love tats so much and I would go through all the possible pain ever just to keep mine in fab conditions :)
btw, just stumbled across your blog and I LOVE it!!!
xxxx
Very excited to see your bat touched up. I have some serious blurring going on that I would like fixed. Your post gives me hope.
I would have thought this to be a huge market in the tattoo industry. But maybe not.
I love the shoes by the way. They would probably be fabulous with spats.
CookingChinchillas, I agree! I'm totally thrilled with Mr. Bat now. :-D
ultimategothguide, I wanna see it!
Sabayon, Hmmm. Maybe I went to the wrong place. :) That makes sense, though, that the newer people would get some practice in on the somewhat easier jobs (not that any tattoo work is *easy* - I sure wouldn't be able to do it!).
Hexotica, we both have good taste in bracelets. :) Mine came from Dillard's. New ink will be visible on the blog this week!
Sunduri Das, thanks! New tattoo photos coming soon! :-D
RubyAlison, the lace bands are supposed to be something you wear around the ball of your foot with slip-on shoes. I saw them at Target for like $2 and while I don't have any shoes that they would work with, I knew they would make great arm / ankle bands! You'll see them around my biceps at some point as well. :) Do you have photos of your tattoos online? I looked to see if you had a blog but it said "Not available." :(
Luna, that is unfortunate! I've never seen a tattoo fade patchy. maybe some parts of the body just wear differently, or maybe somehow they didn't go deep enough? (I don't even know if that is possible; just kinda guessing). Very awesome that they re-did it for free.
wobblinbetty, welcome to my blog, and thank you! I totally agree; they look so nice when they are fresh and new, so it's worth it.
Siouxsiel, maybe my town is just different and the residents just don't care. ;) I think re-dos are well worth it, but others feel that if they are going to do it they want a whole new piece instead. Good idea about the spats... Maybe I need to pay Hexotica a visit!
The quality of the ink has vastly improved over time as the artform has gained popularity (ergo, become profitable). Despite as careful as I'm certain you were, things just fade (think, too, that the skin cells that were colored black do eventually fall off, shedding layers and layers of skin over time). I have a piece that desperately needs to be touched up on my forearm and one day I'll actually get around to that.
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