Hi there,
Welcome to my blog about life as a tattoo artist!
Just in case you're new here, I'm a Toronto tattoo artist specialising in custom floral, botanical and blackwork tattoos, created in my private Toronto tattoo studio. I work with clients on everything from delicate botanical tattoos to larger floral sleeves, meaningful tattoos and selected cover-ups.
Here's a round up of my September....
September tattoos, art & studio life
I love September. I'm not going to lie, it's my favourite month of the year. I really do love the temperature starting to drop and the nights drawing in closer (don't hate me!). There's something about it that makes me want to get cosy, drink approximately seventeen cups of tea, go for long walks and start planning all the things I'm going to do when it gets properly cold.
It also feels a little bit like a reset after the chaos of summer.
So this month's round up is a bit of a mixed bag, as usual. There's a whole lot of tattooing, including some new floral and botanical tattoos, a few cover-up projects, some lovely ongoing pieces and lots of healed tattoos that I was very excited to see again. I've also got a couple of paintings to show you, plus what I've been reading, watching and drinking this month.
Basically, here's what I've been up to in September 🖤...
Art Things
Mushroom painting // Glen-Oro
This month Stacy and I took a BF trip! We usually go to a cabin somewhere but this time we tried glamping. Well tbh I think it was like a level above glamping.... Fancy glamping.
We went to Glen-Oro Eco Retreat and stayed in one of their 'Stargazer' domes. Which has a clear roof so you can see the most amazing stars at night. We went trail riding, and hiking, and had campfires and all that good stuff, but one of the highlights for me was spotting soooo many amazing mushrooms right around the campsite (dome site?). Seriously I've never seen so many species in such a small area. So I had to paint some of them, obviously.
Amelie // Gouache painting
I also attempted a fan art painting of Amelié (one of my favourite movies). It didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted, I think I lost a lot of charm somewhere between the sketch and the final painting, so maybe I'll try this one again someday.
Every tattoo I made in September...
Sara // West Coast-Inspired Botanical Sleeve
It's been three years since I last saw Sara, because life happens. I was so happy to get to work on her sleeve again after so long. She travels all the way from Portland to see me, and her tattoo is an ode to the West Coast.
She also brought me some gifts from Portland!
Meaghan // Healed Floral Leg Tattoo
Meaghan and I started a super fun cover-up project in September, but we still have a little way to go on it, so I'll show it off when it's done in October. In the meantime, here's a look at her leg piece six months healed. I love how we incorporated the thread veins she didn't love into the pattern of the lower tulip. It was her idea and it worked so well!
There's more photos in this IG post.
Jess // Rose & Acanthus Blackwork Tattoo
I got to tattoo Jess for the second time. She grabbed a cancellation space and sat like an absolute rock. I'm so happy with how much we got done in one session!
And I got to see her leg tattoo almost 1.5 years settled in! How time flies, huh?
Check out the comparison photo on my IG!
Walker // Magpie Botanical Sleeve in Progress
Walker and I managed to get another good chunk of her sleeve finished in our September tattoo session. Hopefully one more session and we should be all done with this one. I love how this one is coming along so much.
The linework was done almost a year ago, and we added the lower arm details just last month.
Kaitlin // Shears & Hummingbird Patchwork Tattoos
I hadn't seen Kaitlin for like six years, so it was so much fun to tattoo her in my "new" studio (not really new, but new to her)! She's a hairstylist, so we added this pair of shears to her collection, as well as a hummingbird for her patchwork sleeve and some little gap fillers between her healed work.
Her hummingbird is slightly desaturated because her skin was very upset with us and hadn't had time to calm down. I didn't take any photos of her healed work (so silly), but hopefully I can when I see her again 🙂.
Sylvia // Whale Rib Tattoo & 5-Year Healed Tattoo
I last tattooed Sylvia five years ago, so it was so lovely to see her again. Plus, she sat like an absolute dream for her whale rib tattoo. What a hero! You can see more photos on Instagram.
I also got to photograph her five-year-healed tattoo, which is always one of my favourite things. There's something very satisfying about seeing how a tattoo has settled into someone's skin over the years.
Meghan // New Leg Tattoo Project & Healed Blackwork
Crystal // Healed Blackwork Backpiece
Laura // Floral Butterfly Cover-Up in Progress
Laura and I have been working towards her cover-up for a while now. She's had Stanley the gorilla for a long time, and although he was an amazingly well-done tattoo, he no longer worked for Laura. She had three sessions of laser to lighten him enough for us to begin this cover-up project.
I can't wait to show it off all finished next month!
Julia // Eastern White Pine Tree Tattoo
I tattooed Julia for the first time four months ago, with a pretty fine-line ankle wrap, and now she's back for her second! This time she wanted something to represent her childhood camping trips in Ontario, but also loved the deeper meaning of growth.
We used a white eastern pine tree, which is the national tree of Ontario. I love when we can take something meaningful from someone's life and turn it into a tattoo that also looks beautiful on the body.
Excuse the glare!
Kaitlyn // Anemone Tattoos for Her Daughters
I haven't seen Kaitlyn since 2018 and in the meantime she's made two little girls! How amazing. So this tattoo is for them.
We decided on anemones, one for each of her daughters. I love tattoos like this, where there's a really personal meaning behind the design but it doesn't necessarily need to be obvious to anyone looking at it. They're just two beautiful flowers, but Kaitlyn gets to know exactly who they're for. 🥰
It's always so lovely when old clients come back after years away and I get to see how much their lives have changed in the meantime. Although apparently I have not changed at all, because I totally forgot to take a healed photo of her peony tattoo 😫.
Odita // Sunflower Cover-Up Tattoo
Odita is planning on having a half sleeve, but she had a tattoo on her inner arm she didn't love anymore, so we started with her cover-up. It's very swollen in this photo because it's fresh, but I'm excited to see how this one settles!
Victoria // Blackwork Knee & Leg Tattoo
Victoria and I had another session on her blackwork leg sleeve. She sat like an absolute angel. We basically did a whole session over her knee and she didn't complain once.
She's got wings.
Aby // Tulip Cover-Up Tattoo
Aby had a hummingbird tattoo that she just didn't love and asked if I could cover it up. We had a consultation and came up with this idea of tulips, as the long stems would take care of the tail perfectly. It would also have the flow and boldness she was looking for.
She also loved that tulips mean "I declare my love for you" in Victorian floriography, so her new tulip tattoo is a declaration of love for herself 🥰.
I love cover-ups like this because we're not just hiding the old tattoo, we're using what we already have to create something that feels completely intentional.
In Other News...
This September I…
- As I mentioned before I went on a BF break with Stacy. And this time we went eco-glamping at Glen-Oro Eco Retreat. It was so so beautiful, we stayed in a stargazer dome that has a clear roof so you can see all the stars at night. We went trail riding, hiking, had campfires and toasted marshmallows, there was even a sauna. And we saw soooooo many amazing mushrooms (hence the painting). I would highly recommend if you're looking for a break away.
The stargazer dome // Trail riding // Inside the dome
- Went to TIFF - Toronto Film Festival is the only time of the year I allow myself to fully fan out. I love celebrity spotting, but this year there was really only one person I had on my hit list (sounds so sinister). Hudson Williams. And I did get to see him! I didn't get there early enough for the fan zone area (I'm too old for that now) but there is really something lovely about being surrounded by fans of the thing you love. It's so silly but I love it. Buuuut the highlight was unexpectedly seeing Rachel Reid (the author of Heated Rivalry) too! I was so much more excited to see her than anyone else 😂. I also spotted Gemma chan, Channing Tatum and Javier Bardem at their premieres while I was wandering Festival Street on the Sunday. And I didn't see a single movie this year, oops.
- Checked out WOTS (Word on the Street Festival) - This is a big book festival that happens in Toronto every year. I got there a little late this time round, so I missed some of the talks and signings, but I still picked up some books by local authors! I'll read it before I recommend 🙂.
Gemma Chan // Hudson Williams // Rachel Reid
Malone…
- Is still perfect.
- Has discovered the back of 'her' drawer and knows I can't get her out of there 🙃. She's too clever.
- Has a cute new toy from Janet, who brought it along to her consultation this month. She loves it, and she hasn't chewed off his claws yet!
Look at those perfect crossed paws // Hiding spot // New toy
I’ve been reading…
Follow me on Goodreads to see everything I've been reading, but these are some highlights....
- Sociopath // Patric Gagne - fascinating. There was a lot of debate in reviews I came across over the 'validity' of Gagne's credentials (I think mostly because she has phd after her name and people have feeeelings about that) but this is a memoir, not a scientific paper. I found it so interesting to read the POV of a person whose brain works so differently to mine.
- First and Forever // Lynn Painter - This was super sweet! I've only read her 'just like the movies' books before and they were too YA for me, but she writes really well, so loved finding she doesn't just write YA.
- Empire of Storms & Tower of Dawn // Sarah J. Maas - I finally finished tandem reading these (glad I did it that way) and I'm now onto Kingdom of Ash, nearly done!
- A Hymn to Life // Gisele Pelicot - Heavy but important reading. It's wild how many men were never identified, I didn't realise.
- I Will Never Call Him Dad Again // Caroline Darian - Gisele Pelicot's daughter's book, I think if you are reading one of these you should also read the other.
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Fossil Feud // Maggie North - on a waaaay lighter note. This was ADORABLE!!!!
I’ve been watching…
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The Love Hypothesis - urgh I HATED this. I normally don't talk about things I don't like in these newsletters, but I was so excited for the adaptation of one of my favourite romance reads, and it let me down soooo badly. Where was Holden! We needed Holden. Adam comes across so badly without him having a friend. Like, why on earth would she even like this guy?!?
- Rewatching Gilmore Girls - It's September, so obviously this is happening.
- Still watching Vanderpump Rules - I've lost some momentum with this one now I'm 6 seasons deep 😂. But it's still good to have on in the background while I draw.
I’ve been drinking (matcha update)…
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Matcha Haus // Nitro Jasmine Cloud - Ok so I have mixed feelings with Matcha Haus, I've had some great ones from here (case in point - this might have been the best matcha I've ever had, tbh) but I also went back the very next day for another and it was nowhere near as good.
- Bready // Biscoff Banana Bread Matcha - I went here for the first time during TIFF, the whole place is super cute, and the Biscoff matcha was beauuutiful. It's a seasonal special though. Their fig & pear salad is also very good.
- Dark horse Espresso // Honeycomb Pumpkin Spice Matcha - Soooo good. No notes
- Starbucks // Banana Bread Matcha - also never good, way better than the 'banana protein' matcha they did
And That's All...
Yup, that's all the news I have for now! But don't forget to check out my Summer Round Up.
If you're interested in getting a tattoo with me in Toronto, you can find booking information and my tattoo portfolio on my website. I'll next be taking bookings on 6-7th November.
Have a wonderful rest of your October!!!
Lu 🖤
Ps. You can read more monthly tattoo recaps here: