Art Nouveau Locust

by Conan Lea

Published May 10, 2013

This client has a fascination with the tiny things in nature: bugs, frogs, dragonflies, tadpoles, microorganisms, and pond life. She is also an accomplished artist, and holds a master's degree in painting. Later, she achieved a master's in geology. Then she went to study for a PhD. Calling this full-spectrum thinker an overachiever would be like calling the moon a rock in the sky. There is no limit to what she can do. She has collected more than 75 hours of tattoo from me, all the while delighting me with her ability to speak from both hemispheres of the brain. For this tattoo, she gave me free reign on her skin and I created beautiful, glowing bugs, much to my pleasure. Our first one, in purple and orange to the rear of her hip, is a cover-up of an old tattoo that will probably receive more embellishments later, in the form of bright jewels and elegant filigree. The fantastical insect on the front of her hip features an exciting blend of hand-wrought gold and gems for the head, thorax, and abdomen, and is crowned with soft wings that simultaneously resemble glass and echo real insect wings. She has the skin of a milkmaid, which is ideal for this sort of explosive color. I love this tattoo, I love this client, and I love her themes. Ideally, she will hurry up with this silly PhD of hers so we can get back to tattooing in 2013.