I'm so excited to share this week's Tattoo Tuesday with you, it's one of the biggest and best pieces I've gotten in a long time. I am so in love with this new tattoo and with the weather just starting to warm up again, it's healed in perfect timing to show it off - something I can't wait to do!! It all started with the incredible artist Leighderhosen. I've been following her work for a long time, and she creates some incredible illustrations and black velvet paintings. Her work is really unique and inspired but all the things I love - vintage, kitsch, whimsy, tropical, nautical, pop culture, mid century and low brow art. If you aren't already familiar with her work, you SERIOUSLY need to be.

 

 

When I first saw this illustration by Leighderhosen Art I knew one day I would have it as a tattoo. I was in love with it instantly. I love the wording Leigh chose for the banners, because I do believe we all have a bit of a dark side, but also that courageous side that lets us be bold and daring. I've always loved the daredevil attitude of Evel Knievel who, from 1965 to 1980 completed 75 death defying ramp to ramp motorcycle jumps including famous jumps at Caesars Palace, the Grand Canyon and Snake River. Throughout his career he suffered more than 433 broken bones, earning him an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the survivor of 'most broken bones in a lifetime'. As someone who is quite accident prone myself, I love Evel's attitude - his determination to complete some of the most heart-pounding jumps despite the risk involved and despite the fact that he wasn't always successful. He just kept dreaming up new challenges for himself.

 

 

So with Leigh's blessing, I headed off to see my main man Mark 'Suicide' Beatnik at Voodoo Tattoo, knowing he would do this piece justice. He stuck pretty closely to the original illustration and did a killer job on the pinstriping-esque border and all the tiny little details on bike, but added his own flair with the kick ass hot rod flames to replace the cobras and a punchy background with plenty of colour, that made the design pop and is also similar to the background on my chest piece. It took a total of 3 sessions with one session solely for the outline and pinstripe border, another session for colour in the top half of the design (with so much blending and shading we split it into two) and a shorter third and final session to fill in the flames and shading at the bottom of the design.

 

 

I love love LOVE this tattoo and I'm so glad the warmer weather is here so that I can show it off. If there are any tattoo comps in the future I will definitely be entering this piece as Mark deserves to be recognised for the incredible work that he does. If you live or will be visiting anywhere near the Brisbane/Gold Coast area I highly recommend you get some work by Mark. He's done so many of my tattoos and he always does such an incredible job.

 

Swimsuit season is looking brighter than ever before!