Tattoos, Paintings, and Family Time
Happy June everyone!
This month was full of healed tattoos, meaningful cover ups, and the kind of large-scale floral tattoo projects that I absolutely love creating in my private Toronto tattoo studio.
There's an update about what I've been up to outside of tattooing below, but before we get into that, here's everyone i tattooed last month!
Tattoos I Made in May...
Taisia // Healed scar cover up
I finished Taisia's cover up a the beginning of May and she sent me a healed photo the other day! So this is all fully healed and settled in. Tattoos that change the way a person feels about their body are what I live for, and when it comes to something like a large-scale scar cover up I feel so honoured to be trusted with something so life-changing 🥰.
Julia // Delicate Ankle Tattoo
This was Julia's first tattoo! And part of her 50th birthday celebrations. How amazing is that. Another tattoo that I'm very honoured to be trusted with is first tattoos!
It's really tricky to show off a delicate ankle wrap tattoo like Julia's in one photo, so here's a slightly strangely photoshopped mash-up of two photos I took. But that's her same leg 😂....
Jennifer // Dahlia Leg Tattoo
Shall I keep on about being so honoured with being trusted with tattoos, because large scale projects like Jennifer's leg piece is another one that hits that mark 🥰. We actually finished this piece at the end of May, so when you get to the bottom of this section you'll see this piece in all its glory.
Christina // First Session Floral Thigh Tattoo
I'm so happy Christina came down from Ottawa for us to make a start on her leg project! This is also going to be a large-scale piece and I can't wait to work on it more in the fall 🥰. It's going to be stunning. I love creating large-scale floral tattoos that can evolve over several sessions and flow naturally with the body.
And here's a quick shot of her chicken bone pile, from her cooking-spired sleeve, all healed up (it was super angry in the fresh photo, so wanted to share it all settled in)...
Krista // Tribal Cover Up Tattoo
Krista came by for a consultation about a cover up, and then the next week a cancellation came up and she grabbed it through my newsletter! I'm so so happy with this piece, and she was so brave going with a big piece. Check my IG post to see it before.
Ivana // Sunflower Tattoo
Ivana had a stunning piece on the inside of her arm by another artist, who's moved onto a different style, so she came to me to add florals that would complement the piece. She loved the idea that sunflowers always turn themselves to face the sun 🥰, and I love the extra depth that adds to a tattoo.
Plus I got to see the tiger tattoo I did for her three and a half years ago all settled in!
Jenny // Peony & Snake Sleeve
Jenny and I are gradually chipping away at her sleeve, we're almost there now! We added this pretty mandala on her inside wrist this month, and also finished up the details in the peony on the top of her arm. The details in the peony in her ditch are all healed and looking marvellous We just have the snake shading and some more background filler to go! So exciting. Sleeve projects like this are some of my favourite tattoos to create because they slowly become something really special over time.
Rochelle // Whale Shark Tattoo
Did you know whale sharks can be identified using the same spot pattern recognition technology that's also used to recognize star patterns?!! Rochelle was pat of a research team photographing whale sharks for this! How amazing is that? I'm so happy she came to me for this special tattoo 🥰.
Courtney // Seraphim Tattoo
A little different for me! I loved making this Seraphim piece for Courtney. I always love to work with subject matter I've not tackled before. We've just got the inside of her bicep to do now, and then her sleeve will be finished!
There's actually a cover up in here too...
Jennifer // Final sitting Floral Leg Panel Tattoo
Art I Made in May...
Rome Rose Garden // Painting...
I made this gouache painting after visiting the rose garden in Rome in April. It didn't turn out exactly how I wanted, but it's still cute.
Ava's Art Work...
Lewis and Kirstyn sent me this photo of Ava's art work up and on show 🥰
In Other News
In May….
1 // My cousins and their children (aka the littles) visited. We did all the usual touristy things, a baseball game, the zoo, the island etc, but seeing all these things through the eyes of a kid was really amazing. It made me realise I need to bring more child-like curiosity into my life. They’re fascinated by everything and ask the most interesting questions. We all need to be more curious.
ROM drawing // Stunts on the Island // Crocodiles at the Zoo
2 // I was away for my birthday in April, so when I got back Stacy (my bff) planned a belated birthday day! We got matcha at Wu Wei in Kensington, then went to to make matcha bowls (we still have to go back and decorate them, so updates soon, then she treated me to new books at Hopeless Romantic, and capped it all off with the MOST amazing dinner at Ten.
Wu Wei Matcha // Pottery // Hopeless Romantic Bookstore
3 // I also went to Lost in Tokyo with J as a belted birthday treat. I got the Strawberry matcha latte and the matcha parfait. Sooooo good! And such a cool spot.
4 // I’ve been swimming! We took the littles to the Pam McConnell Pool in Regent Park while they were here, and I’ve been back a few times for lane swimming. I can’t get over the fact this pool is free. Toronto really is a great city.
5// I treated myself to a new jigsaw. I love jigsaws, they make my brain quiet. I really love these Villager jigsaws, all the art is super cute and is made by real humans (there’s a blurb about them on the back of each box). The packaging, is so good, and actually useful, plus the texture of the pieces is so nice. Highly reccomend. I picked this one up at Bergo in the Distillery District but I know Queen Books has them too.
Lost n Tokyo Matcha // Villager Jigsaw // Crepes at the Underpass Market
6 // I read The Heir of Fire, by Sarah J Maas (finally getting into the Throne of Glass series, thanks to my clients that gently shoved be back towards it. Katabasis by RF Kuang, which was interesting but I was just not that invested in the characters somehow. And The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez, which was well-written but I still don’t like the best-friend's girlfriend trope. There was a couple others too, you can follow my goodreads if you want to see everything I read.
7 // Malone was sooo good with The Littles. I was apprehensive, she’s never been a round kids before and they were sooo excited to meet her, I wasn’t sure where would live up to their expectations. But she was sooo good. They loved going through her toy box and bringing her all her different toys, and building her forts, and playing with her. It made my heart so happy.
Toys // Outfits // Forts
And that's all the news I have for now!
If you're interested in getting a tattoo with me in Toronto, you can find booking information and explore my tattoo portfolio on my website. I specialise in custom floral, botanical and blackwork tattoos, including large-scale projects, tattoo cover ups and meaningful custom pieces created in my private Toronto tattoo studio.
Have a wonderful rest of your June!!!
Talk soon,
Lu
Ps. Read more monthly tattoo recaps: