The client's request was to create an abstract work while incorporating birth dates and names of their children, their partner's name, the wedding date, and palms and mountains-based wedding scenery. I have been entrusted with the overall creative process and given total artistic freedom over the tattoo.
Coincidentally, this was one of my first pieces based solely on factual dates. I presented the client with custom art, and after seeing the draft, they agreed enthusiastically.
When designing a tattoo, I believe it is in the client's best interest to protect the personal data of their own and their children. Such info is too personal to be seen on your body.
The only exception would be when the client has these dates already tattooed. In that case, I aim to follow up on what is already there and make the best of it. You can evaluate the results for yourself :)
Near the wrist, you can see the mountain depicting the wedding location. And continuing towards the elbow, the ceremonial marquee, accompanied by a sunset, can be identified. Under the sun itself, there is the exact shape of Mauritius Island, where it all happened.
Across the island shape, there is an outline of the heart. One of its lines is the initial of the partner - R. And, subsequently, inside the island, there is the wedding date, May 9th.
On the left side of the island, there is a line representing the daughter's name - I. Her birth identifies by calculating the petals (days) and stems (months) of the pink flowers next to it. Pink because it is her favorite color.
On the right side of the island, the S-shaped line symbolizes the initial of the son. His favorite sport is football, so the ball is pictured by the circle there. His birth date gets calculated from the number of lines creating the outline of the ball (days) and the half-circle inside (months).
Next to the elbow, above the island, the age of the children can be calculated using the petals.
During this project, I reinforced my belief that tattooing needs to be done with intention and thought. Only by that one achieves its maximum potential and, as a result, make clients happy and satisfied even more.
Thoughtless designs diminish the impact of tattooing since the customer's happiness is directly related to their connection with the artwork and the motivation behind it.
This particular project was one of the first, after about five years of work, to assure me that following my instincts regarding designs is the best way to go. Nevertheless, gaining this assurance was a long journey.
Besides knowing how to compose a tattoo on a human body, the key is to follow your vision standing behind its quality and the composition itself.
Part of my realization was confirming how different of an impact this artistic freedom and valuable idea-driven tattoos can have compared to what I have been doing previously. Which were predominantly designs casually chosen by clients. At that time, there was less thinking through the motivation behind the tattoos on their part.
I was passionate about working with the skin but less able to persuade clients to go with personalized designs based on their life journeys. I have always strived to have meaningful tattoos on my body. Yet translating this to my art and making clients want the same was the hard part.
Working with clients presents its sets of challenges based on each customer. Sometimes it involves some argumentation. Yet standing behind what you believe is the right design decision is in the client's best interest, after all.
Since this project, I have stopped fearing being in opposition when feeling I am right. And the tattooing process, as well as the results, have considerably improved.
This project has assured me that, personally, the only meaningful tattoos are those worth creating.
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