Hello everyone,
Welcome to my round-up of the longest month to have ever existed! January felt like it was about 11 years long, and I have truly reached a point of semi-hibernation. I am now raccoon. I only leave my nest for food 😂.
Seriously it has been so cold in Toronto, we've had a big snow dump (53cm!), and then it's just stayed freezing (I think we hit a record for most consecutive days below 0) and it's been as low as -27 Celsius .... so much fun!). After 10 years of Canadian winters I can safely say I'm over the novelty of snow.
So I've literally been entering the outside world only to get to and from the studio. I've made the trek out the my favourite bagel spot Purple Penguin like once, and that's about it.
Now you might think, oh she's spent that time inside productively... right? Maybe she's been drawing a tonne, or painting, or even just watching the movies on her to-watch list, but noooo. When I say hibernation I mean hibernation. I've been sleeeeeping. I've been napping and I've been playing Zelda totk and that's really about it 😂. Well tbf I have done a lot of reading, but that's mostly thanks to my heated rivalry obsession and I smashed all of the books series, and yes that was intended ifykyk.
So I basically have no news for you except for the weather and the tattoos I got to do in January!...
TATTOO TIME
Cindy // Skull & Peony Tattoo
Isn't this cool! This tattoo fits between some existing pieces (including her crow I did a while back). So we played around with the positioning on the day and I just love what we came up with. So cool.
Anna // Deer & Florals Tattoo
Anna wanted to extend her tattoo by another artist, so we blended in some new flowers and a deer! I love how delicate this one is. Here's a reel that shows the freehand drawing, before we tattooed 🙂.
Kelli // Azalea & Thanksgiving Cactus Tattoo
Kelli asked me to design this azalea and thanksgiving cactus thigh tattoo for her. We played around with adding more of the cactus foliage, but decided it worked best with just the flowers. Such a pretty tattoo 🥰.
Joanna // French Smoker Tattoo
I drew up a set of flash a while back inspired by a series of photos by Jacques-Henri Lartigue (you can see my reel about it here!) and I finally got to tattoo one for Jo! Even more exciting is this is going to be a matching piece with her bestie, I'm doing it in February so you'll see it in my next newsletter 🙂.
Also I got to her snap of her other tattoos all healed and settled in 🥰. This rose piece is 8 months healed...
And her fern piece is 2 years healed. Here's a comparison to when this one was fresh. I know I say this all the time but I loooove my tattoo work a couple years settled in, I think they look better than when they're fresh 🥰.
Abby // Fig Tattoo
I've had the pleasure of tattooing Abby a couple of times now, and I always have the best time chatting to her. This time we did this lil' freehand fig tattoo, which she chose because of their significance in Jewish culture. She also made me a beautiful bowl, because she casually makes aaaamazing pottery in her spare time 🤯.
And I got to check out her foot cover up, one year healed!
Ash, Devon and Michelle // Matching Butterfly Tattoos
I love doing matching family tattoos, like these pretty butterflies for Ash, her sister Devon and her mum Michelle. So so sweet. You can also just see Ash's pomegranate & snake piece and elbow web & moth that I did a few years ago now.
Allegra // Bunny & Florals Tattoo
I tattooed Allegra for the first time 6 months ago, when she got a matching tattoo with her two best friends (you can see that one below). And she came back this month to add a bunny and dahlia tattoo to her collection!! I loved creating this for her, we included a thistle, acorn and forget-me-nots, because they are all important to her 🙂.
Her other tattoo I did 6 months ago...
Quiet Tattoo
As always, if my client would rather keep their tattoo personal, I don't share. I really really loved tattooing this piece and was so happy she chose me for this important project 🖤.
Nansy // Delicate Wrist Tattoo
Nansy took advantage of my winter special for little tattoos and had me freehand this pretty floral vine around her wrist. It's so sweet, you can see more angles of it in this video.
Lauren // Freehand Peony Tattoo
Lauren also grabbed a small winter special slot and we freehanded this pretty peony. I love how it sits, she wanted it to all be on view below her tshirt line 🙂.
Cydklaire // Ipil Flower & Ylang Ylang Tattoo
I tattooed Cydklaire for the first time 3 months ago, when we did her crocus knee tattoo. And she came back for this very species specific florals! It was a fun challenge working with unusual shaped flowers that I've not drawn before. I drew this in advance and then we made adjustments on the day for fit.
This is her knee tattoo settled in, and here's a comparison of her knee tattoo when it was freshly tattooed. So lovely 🥰...
Colby // Vase & Flowers Tattoo
I got to spend a couple days with Colby working on a matching rib piece to this vase we did 9 months ago. We didn't quite finish, but should have it all wrapped up in March, for now here's a look at his existing tattoo all settled in...
Jacky // Water Lily & Delphinium 'July' Tattoo
Jacky wanted water and delphinium for herself and her daughter as they are both July babies 🥰. So so pretty and delicate...
Galen // Roses & Filigree Tattoo
Galen wanted to extend the rose tattoo we did 7 months ago! This piece is going to look like it was always planned to be like this once it's healed 🙂. I love the challenge of blending in and extending tattoos!
Jojo // Dahlia, Rose & Mandala Tattoo
Jojo came back to get the details in her inner arm finished this month, and I got to see her rose and elbow mandala settled in too! We did the mandala in grey wash which is why it's lighter 🙂. Her dahlia details are very angry in this photo, Jojo has very sensitive skin here...
Emily // Dragon Backpiece WIP
I got to spend some more time on Emily's dragon backpiece in February!!! We added more rubble, a broken widow and some towers to the right side and made a start on the details too. I love how this one is heading. Also you can just see the badger tattoo I did on her left sleeve a few years ago in these photos...
Laura // Medusa Tattoo
Laura braved the Toronto winter storm to get her medusa finished 🥰. This is half healed / half fresh because shins are very painful. Love this placement though, so worth it, right!!
Sheryl // Lily of the Valley Tattoo
I freehanded this pretty lily of the valley tattoo for Sheryl! They grew in her Grandma's garden and always remind her or her. I love the flow and the meaning of this tattoo it was so much fun to create with her 🙂...
Katie // Decorative Backpiece WIP
This is the first sitting of Katie's backpiece, and there's tonnes of stencil still stuck to her in this photo, sorry! Her other tattoos were not done by me (expect the left side rib piece!), so it's a fun project tying this pieces into a more unified backpiece. Can't wait to get this finished in March.
Simran // Full Leg Floral Tattoo!
SO MUCH FUUUUNNNN!!!! I am so happy with how Simran's extension turned out. If you caught my last newsletter you'll know we started this last month but didn't quite get the details finished. And the top part of this piece is 3.5 years healed too. Look how well it all blends together despite the age difference 🥰...
Colin // Paw Print Tattoo
Colin also made the most of my small tattoo winter special and added this very meaningful tribute to his beloved dog Toby 🖤. The american robin and mountain laurel flowers are 2.5 years healed...
And this song sparrow and pine on the back the same arm is almost a year healed...
Kim // Freehand Peony Ditch Tattoo
Last but not least I got to add to Kim's awesome collection of tattoos!!! We freehanded this peony to fit between some of @deerxhounds work (no pressure 🙃😂). I love how we made this one fit the space...
IN OTHER NEWS:
I've been doing...
- I made some pinned posts on my IG - thrilling 😂
- I design three new big pieces that I'm excited to start this spring - actually exciting!
- I got a lil' new tattoo by my friend Jenny @Jayinky_tattz
- I made this sunflower - hoping for some sunshine 😂
Malone...
- Has a new strawberry toy she likes very much.
- Is basically glued to her heat pad, which is relatable, and has been enjoying lots of naps with me 🥰.
- Helps mama do jigsaws, it's very fun. Especially hiding some of the pieces from her 🙃.
I've been Watching...
- Marty Supreme // Cinema - I saw this right and the beginning of January, which feels like a lifetime ago, annnnd I hated this movie. Hated it. Like I said in my last newsletter I must be a low-brow cinephile because the Oscar noms this year are just not doing it for me. But this is at the lowest of the pile. It's excellently made, but I hated it.
- Heated Rivalry // Crave - Multiple times 💀. I said in my last newsletter that this was going to get me through the winter and I wasn't lying.
- The Residence // Netflix - I really enjoyed this series! I'm surprised it wasn't more talked about when it first came out. Lots of levity and intrigue, plus birdwatching.
I've been reading...
I read 13 books this month, I think that's a record for me!!! I did say January was eleven years long 😂. If you want to see everything I read check out my Good Reads, but the highlights were....
- The Game Changers series // Rachel Reid - Role Model and The Long Game were my favourite, can't wait for Unrivaled in September!
- Binge // Douglas Coupland - Such a great read. I was worried the audiobook wouldn't work because there are so many voices, but they did a great job.
- Hello Stranger // Katherine Centre - So every time I read a Katherine Centre book there are a bunch of reviews on GR's that say one of her other books is waaaay better, but IMO they're all exactly the same standard 🤷🏻♀️. Cute and light-hearted with interesting enough storylines that are not just focused on the love story, but also could totally be pulled apart if you think about them too much. This is probably my favourite but only because of the occupations of the MCs 🥰.
I've been listening too...
- Olivia Dean - Just what I needed, feels so classic but modern at the same time.
- Buckle // Florence and the Machine - Obsessed with this singular track. It's been on repeat.
- The Heated Rivalry Soundtrack - Have you noticed how much this has come up yet 😂💀, but seriously some great artists I've not heard of before.
Matcha...
Like I said I haven't been out much, but I did grab...
- Dubai Chocolate Matcha // Starbucks - This was ok, probably not a recurring order for me, too heavy.
- Blueberry Matcha // Chatime (again) - my favourite current favourite
- I've been making matcha at the studio, Stacy got some sugar free white chocolate syrup and it's a game changer.
And that's all I've got for you now!
Thanks so much for reading! Stay warm,
Lu
Ps. I just googled semi-hibernation to double check that raccoons actually do that, and the technical name of it is "torpor", just thought I'd share 😂.