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Tattoo Talk Thursday: Blackwork! A Year & A Half On!


As some of you know, last summer I got blackwork done on my hand. Yes, it was a cover-up. Actually, after I got it done I no longer thought of it as a cover-up, but just a blackwork tattoo. Before I talk about how it's healed up a year on, I'd like to give a bit of backstory of why I got the blackwork done in the first place. If you already know that part, you can just skip below.
Some people have asked what I've covered up. It was a date that I covered up. At the time the date was so important to me and I wanted it in a place I could always see it. Per usual with the things that I do, it came to backfire. The date is in reference to someone I fell in love with and an adventure I went on with that person and some friends. While the date itself doesn't bring back the painful memories, the tattoo does. It's a reminder of how I was used, abused and treated like garbage. The blackwork was a way to cleanse myself in a lot of ways. 
Why did you not want to laser the tattoo off? Well, lasering doesn't always completely remove a tattoo for some people. Also, laser removal, if not done properly, can cause scarring, tissue damage and it being on my hand could damage my knuckles. I didn't want to risk that, especially on my hand! I didn't want to add another regret to my list, you know? So I went with my only option, tattoo over it.
Why did you choose blackwork rather than another sort of cover up?
Honestly? It's because I was impatient. I didn't want to have to try and work out a design that would cover up and hide the date. I knew it would be extremely challenging because of the location, the space and the original design. I really just wanted the tattoo gone. I'd loved the idea of blackwork and wanted to try it and this was just an opportunity. Maybe I was just preparing myself for a future in blackwork tattoo experimentation when I got the date inked on me a year and a half before the cover up.
Do you regret your cover up? NOOOOOO. I fucking love the tattoo. I love the way it blends in with the eye above and gives me the appearance of wearing a fingerless glove. I used to have an obsession with black fingerless gloves in my teens. It was an emo thing, don't judge me.
Are you doing to do any white-work tattooing over the blackwork on your hand? No. Never. I don't like the idea of white tattoos. Sometimes on black, they are beautiful and awesome, but they're really not for me. White tattoos on people, no matter the skin tone except really dark ones often look sallow and gross to me. Sorry if you've got one, just how I see it. So no white work for Danny.

((Getting my blackwork on. It looks like it would be painful, but it actually wasn't that bad. It got a bit sore on the sides of my hands and close to the crevices between each finger, but that's it.  Actually, getting the tops of my hands done weren't really painful. I got both hands, the rose and eye tattooed on the same day then we went on to do the first set of knuckle tattoos.)


Freshly finished blackwork. I wish it could stay that beautifully black forever. As dark and captivating as my soul. Actually, I'm not even sure if I have one. Does anyone know if you can find out? And no, I don't want any bogus religious suggestions. I've tried that whole bit and it's just not for me. I've written a few blogs about my tussles with faith/religion. I've got another one coming up soon, so keep an eye out for that gem. 


And here we have my hand today. I think it's held up pretty good, especially since I use my hands a lot. I'm always typing, scrubbing or baking. I bang my hands around a lot. I drop shit all the time too. Butterfingers. You can't see the date underneath unless my hand is RIGHT up under your eyes.


As you can see there's only a little bit of fade on the tattoo, mainly in the areas where it comes into contact with things. The outline is pretty packed in there except in one tiny spot that you can see below on the other side of my hand. I expected that on the side that I'm always rubbing against paper or the keyboard, but it was on the other. Leave it to be to bring more weirdness to things. 

 
There's that little spot I mentioned. It drives me right up against the wall. I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I need to book in and have this re-touched. I'll probably do that when I'm away next month. I've got other tattoo plans that I can't wait to start on. Despite all the tattoos that I have, I feel like I don't have enough. It feels like I still have miles of bareness to me and that I'm not really tattooed, despite knowing that I am. Everyone says it. 


After the experience, I'd have to say yeah I'd love more blackwork done. I love the aesthetic of it. I'm looking at doing a similar blackwork piece on my other hand around the rose and covering what the knuckles say. They're overrated, childish concepts that I once believed in and had them tattooed on me. Now that I've realised the truth, it's time to wave goodbye to childhood notions and embrace the real truths that have been mulling beneath the surface for so long. 
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