What the client wanted to represent in this piece were the four elements (earth, water, air and fire) and his origins symbolized by the Verrone Tower, whose number of windows also correspond to the number of his family members. The lightning strikes and rough seas represent the adversities in life. Finally, the dragon has a double meaning: it represents protection and at the same time unforeseen events.
I didn’t like the initial idea very much. It simply had to include the cliff, the ocean and the volcano leaving the back of the calf basically empty. Only when we were close to the end did the client realize that having such a wide area made up of sky and smoke alone was not exactly the most attractive solution so he asked me if I could add a dragon. The space was very limited therefore I decided to place the dragon on the cliff exaggerating its size in order to fill the available space.
In this regard, I had suggested adding an element in that area more than once but it was all in vain, according to the client it was fine just as it was. Only during the second-to-last session did he realize that leaving that area empty would have been wasteful so he asked me to add the dragon.
Better late than never, although part of the wings and legs ended up overlapping with areas that had already been tattooed. Too bad he didn’t listen to me right from the start. I would have definitely arranged the work differently and in a much better way. Another “You were right” to add to my long list.
