I posted this two weeks ago.  From concept to outline… and then…

The completion of the piece!  Here it is:

This NY Times article (1.26.10) reports an estimate from the Food and Drug Administration that an estimated 45 million people have tattoos.  The author also states “that it is unlikely that the ambitious professional… will ever have… a full chest or back ‘panel’ or a tattooed arm or leg.”  Now, of an estimated 45 million Americans that have tattoos, I’m gonna bet that number includes ambitious professionals.  In fact, a majority of my clients are ambitious professionals with tattooed arms and legs, and yes… even pack pieces.

Throughout the documented 5300 year history of tattooing, tattoos have been used to reflect changes in life status.  This remains exactly why so many people continue to choose to wear tattoos.  They are acknowledgements.  Bookmarks.   And while the media may continue to reinforce old stereotypes about tattoos and the people who wear them, assumptions about individuals cannot reasonably be made.  Really – we have no idea what mind blowing tattoo sleeve is under that suit coat or what captivating back piece is under that dress.  (Okay, sometimes I do because I put it there…but you know what I mean.)

And while its feasible that an estimated 17% of tattooed Americans “regrets it”, I find that statistic vague.  What in life doesn’t change?  The person we are at 40 will be (hopefully) different than the person we were at 18.  Life changes and we change with it.  And your tattoos can change with you as well.

Here’s a photo of a cover up I completed yesterday on (you guessed it) an ambitious professional.  There’s an old saying that goes, ” The only difference between tattooed people and non-tattooed people is that tattooed people don’t care if you don’t have a tattoo”.

And thanks to the art and inspiration of  Jim Lee, Cooter has this sweet new tattoo!  On top of being far out, this design is also a cover up.  I was so stoked to get going on this piece that I completely spaced taking a “before” photo of the previous tattoo… a bull.

Cooter and I had all kinds of fun hanging out, talking music (Cooter is a touring bassist), generations of Batman comics, kids, art and ink.  You rock, Cooter!  And props to Jim Lee!

Now for the thought of the day… an old school Batman quote:

Batman: One: “What has yellow skin and writes?”
Robin: A ballpoint banana.
Batman: Exactly! Two: “What people are always in a hurry?”
Robin: Rushing people? Russians!
Batman: Right again! Now, what would you say they mean?
Robin: Banana… Russian… I’ve got it! Someone Russian is gonna slip on a banana peel and break their neck!
Batman: Precisely, Robin! The only possible meaning!

Here it is… drum roll please… the last tattoo of 2009… freshly inked!  And a coverup too… complete evolution of pics to be posted soon.  (Postscript… the completed photos of this cover up are posted in the 1.28.10 blog.)

Hey everybody, have a safe and happy New Year!  See you in 2010…

Nothing is permanent. Life changes and so do we. Will the tattoos I have when I’m eighty be the same tattoos I have now? Not a chance… I’ve already covered or transformed several of my first tattoos into new designs that better reflect where I am now on my journey.

Cover ups offer many options ranging from the ability to cover an existing tattoo with an entirely new tattoo, to breathing life into the old tattoo by reworking lines and color.  Cover ups also facilitate consistency by preserving elements of an existing tattoo while smoothly integrating the old with the new in an expanding, extensive piece.

The previous tattoo will always remain with us, a bookmark from years past woven invisibly into the updated expression of who we are and where we are at present.

Stay tuned for part three; in the meantime forward this message to a friend and then meet up and share your own stories, ideas or questions about cover ups on the Art With a Point FaceBook page.