This project had no special meaning, it was basically a series of elements that appealed to the client.
The client told me that he has always been very attracted to tattoos but that he never found the themes and artists that motivated him to the point of getting one, at least until, after putting some money aside, he decided to get his first tattoo in a serious way, decorating his skin with something extended, special and unique. Eventually he came across me while doing a search online and decided that I was the right person for the task 🙂
I remember that during the preliminary meeting we talked about biomechanicals, orchids (his favourite flower) and other possible subjects. I honestly don’t remember what led me or us to choose these particular subjects but I remember that by the end of the meeting, although there weren’t any reference images, we had chosen both the placement and subjects: a Venetian mask, orchids, plenty of gears and a clock, everything had to start from the colour of the mask and then fade into the black and grey of the gears.
All that was left to do was start drawing hoping that my work would meet the client’s taste, which, allow me a moment’s smugness here, always turns out to be a success and the preliminary design was immediately approved also this time round.
I usually start my work by quickly outlining the various elements and define them during the following sessions. With this piece I decided to proceed in a sequential manner instead, dedicating each session to a well-defined section of the tattoo with the intention to complete it. This worked only in the first session. During the second sitting, however, I had to revise the size of the drawing, in particular the arrangement of the elements near the base of the arm. I also had to reposition the stencil several times before obtaining the desired result, this stole precious time and I wasn’t willing to go through the same kind of stress in the following sitting, so I decided to draw all that we were able to place and postpone the colouring to the next session.
But in the third sitting the client asked me to finish the outlines of the entire tattoo instead of proceeding with colours. I honestly don’t know the reason behind his request and I didn’t bother to ask, and since it didn’t cause me any problems I decided to fulfill his request. Postponing the colour to the following sitting actually allowed me to get rid of the stress of the stencil and outlines in advance.
In the fourth sitting I started colouring the flowers. I counted on finishing them in a single sitting but it didn’t turn out that way. Sometimes it happens that there is an affinity with certain clients so one ends up wasting too much time talking instead of working and this was one of those cases.
In the fifth sitting we worked a little more and we were able to finish the flowers, but the most significant progress was made in the following sitting. Finally, the last sitting was entirely dedicated to completing the shading of the gears. With works this large I often find myself having/wanting to do some touch-ups but in this case, thanks to the exemplary care that the client gave to his tattoo, there was no need for any retouching.
I originally thought of naming the work Spring Time , the Carnival of Venice takes place towards the end of winter, the flowers bloom in spring, the clock symbolizes time. I know, it was an ordinary idea, so I decided to change it to Steampunk Carnival , not because it has some kind of meaning, as a matter of fact I believe it’s just as ordinary but it sounds more exotic 😛
Look at the images of the working process below.
