POSTED UNDER Tattoo Removal Reviews
Q-Switch on Half of my Black Linework Sleeve - Halifax, NS
ORIGINAL POST
I've got a heavy black linework sleeve of...
$3,000
I've got a heavy black linework sleeve of geometric and floral designs, and a large portion of it (the whole upper half) I've decided has to be faded to be properly covered up with a better tattoo. Mulling my decision, and being driven sometimes to some seriously dark mental places - I've lurked these forums for months now. It's really helped me get to a place where I could decide to do this.
It all started when I was 16 (I'm now 24). In my angst, and my need for pushing boundaries, I went to get a tattoo - for the cheapest price possible - from the brother of my then boss at his place in the town I grew up in. I ended up with an extremely poorly done tattoo of a maze on my upper left arm, a full wrap-around band. At the time I thought it was badass, but years later when I actually desired some fantastic artwork on my body (and could afford it), it sank in how poorly done it was. But this is just the beginning.
I then had a series of small additions to it, a fantastic stick-and-poke artist who has done some gorgeous mandalas on my other arm (which I love) added a ill-placed sunrise atop it; another great artist in town thickened the lines to try and give it professional definition. But it was all for naught, as you can put make up on a pig - etc etc.
Forward another two years, I heard tell of these guys who had opened up a shop in town and were offering a seriously good deal on tattoos for promotional purposes. I am always weary of cheap tattoos (for obvious reasons), but after seeing some of their work on some of my friends I was impressed and decided to go in for some ink. They completed a half sleeve (above the mentioned maze) of mandalas and floral designs. I loved it. But the next morning - when they rung me on my phone and told me they had figured out a way to "fix the maze" - this is where it all went wrong.
I went in, and they had a sketch of this sort of neo-tribal looking geometric triangle. It was extremely dark, lots of blackness and shading - essentially to cover the maze and bring it down (further then I was comfortable with) on my arm. For some reason, and I can't to this day grasp what I was thinking; I said to hell with it and let them put it on my arm - STUPID MISTAKE. And yes I learned the hard way, it looked terrible; no amount of convincing would tell me it didn't, and I felt they thought the same but were trying to save face by saying it "looked alright". Over the following month, we added more floral mandala designs beneath it to complete the full sleeve in an attempt to draw the eye away from this one terrible piece and the way it emphasized my old nemesis the maze. Granted, I like a lot of what we did on the lower portion of the sleeve - I had a vision for one; and they were great at mandala/floral designs. But now a huge amount of my arm is covered in un-reworkable dark blackwork. The coverup on coverup on coverups are almost indistinguishable, just looks like messy paint in my opinion.
I apologize for how long this is. I'm just letting on the full saga in written words which I have never done before. Having this tattoo really jogged my confidence. At the time when it was done, I was at what I considered to be the peak of my existence until that point. I know this sounds silly but I think this manic sort of happiness I was experience is what lead me to such a rash decision. My visual art business doing stage design was just REALLY kicking off, I was faced with massive opportunities I had never imagined before; and just feeling generally awesome about myself. The higher they fly, the harder they fall - they say. And I fell. But I've maintained some sort of composure. I'm still myself. I feel better now. But it's time for this tattoo to fade and be properly covered with what I really have wanted all along.
It all started when I was 16 (I'm now 24). In my angst, and my need for pushing boundaries, I went to get a tattoo - for the cheapest price possible - from the brother of my then boss at his place in the town I grew up in. I ended up with an extremely poorly done tattoo of a maze on my upper left arm, a full wrap-around band. At the time I thought it was badass, but years later when I actually desired some fantastic artwork on my body (and could afford it), it sank in how poorly done it was. But this is just the beginning.
I then had a series of small additions to it, a fantastic stick-and-poke artist who has done some gorgeous mandalas on my other arm (which I love) added a ill-placed sunrise atop it; another great artist in town thickened the lines to try and give it professional definition. But it was all for naught, as you can put make up on a pig - etc etc.
Forward another two years, I heard tell of these guys who had opened up a shop in town and were offering a seriously good deal on tattoos for promotional purposes. I am always weary of cheap tattoos (for obvious reasons), but after seeing some of their work on some of my friends I was impressed and decided to go in for some ink. They completed a half sleeve (above the mentioned maze) of mandalas and floral designs. I loved it. But the next morning - when they rung me on my phone and told me they had figured out a way to "fix the maze" - this is where it all went wrong.
I went in, and they had a sketch of this sort of neo-tribal looking geometric triangle. It was extremely dark, lots of blackness and shading - essentially to cover the maze and bring it down (further then I was comfortable with) on my arm. For some reason, and I can't to this day grasp what I was thinking; I said to hell with it and let them put it on my arm - STUPID MISTAKE. And yes I learned the hard way, it looked terrible; no amount of convincing would tell me it didn't, and I felt they thought the same but were trying to save face by saying it "looked alright". Over the following month, we added more floral mandala designs beneath it to complete the full sleeve in an attempt to draw the eye away from this one terrible piece and the way it emphasized my old nemesis the maze. Granted, I like a lot of what we did on the lower portion of the sleeve - I had a vision for one; and they were great at mandala/floral designs. But now a huge amount of my arm is covered in un-reworkable dark blackwork. The coverup on coverup on coverups are almost indistinguishable, just looks like messy paint in my opinion.
I apologize for how long this is. I'm just letting on the full saga in written words which I have never done before. Having this tattoo really jogged my confidence. At the time when it was done, I was at what I considered to be the peak of my existence until that point. I know this sounds silly but I think this manic sort of happiness I was experience is what lead me to such a rash decision. My visual art business doing stage design was just REALLY kicking off, I was faced with massive opportunities I had never imagined before; and just feeling generally awesome about myself. The higher they fly, the harder they fall - they say. And I fell. But I've maintained some sort of composure. I'm still myself. I feel better now. But it's time for this tattoo to fade and be properly covered with what I really have wanted all along.
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