The Peacock Tattoo is probably one of my most traveled designs having been shared globally. The project was actually a cover up of a tribal tramp stamp as well as absorbing a previous lettering tattoo the client was no longer a fan of. So the project had to create a full scale peacock but also cover a dark tribal tattoo and merge a lettering concept into a new creation.
Shown above the tattoo project was about two years into progress. This is not the finished tattoo however. Part of this project that is unique is that the client switched art styles from ornate and with a jewelry flair to one of painted illustration. So some of the photos that have been shared most are actually at an unfinished stage of the project.
Here we show the before picture of the tribal cover up and lettering.
At the early stages you can see how our freestyle drawing started to take shape. You also notice how we took the "Z" and incorporated it into the new head of the peacock. The "Z" is for her husband's first name, however wanting a lettering tattoo was just not in line with her desire. So the lettering had to go. Incorporating it into the head, well that is where the magic is at.
In this shot we start to address the tribal cover up. Using the shapes, we created circular waves so as to dissipate the old tribal work. The old tattoo was very badly scarred as well showing raised skin. We also have the task of removing a tramp stamp. That means we have to change the direction of the older tattoo as well.
We now started to recreate the wings into a more painterly style. This is the change in design direction I spoke about earlier. We also show further detail sessions and the peacock reaches its completed look and feel.
One might think that this is where the journey ends, but we are not quite finished. Our next stages will be to bring the tail section down further onto the hip and to add more water as part of the tribal cover up. In our next session we will be really popping the blue color of the water designs.
Each person is unique and each tattoo journey is as well. The Peacock Tattoo is on its 6th year of evolution and as such this is living art. I think that is what a lot of people don't get. Large scale tattooing is not always about a finish line. It is more about a lifeline. A tattoo of this size is usually an invitation into a new lifestyle. The human body is the ultimate temple. How we decorate them is entirely up to you.