As tattoos become more commonplace trends are beginning to emerge. Much like fashion, they vary depending on a person’s aesthetic. Some prefer the traditional American stylings of the infamous Sailor Jerry, while others enjoy bolder designs fashioned from religious or ethnic sources. But the style that has every studio buzzing with new business is the watercolor tattoo. This up and coming trend is undeniably gorgeous, but it isn’t without its flaws.
While a lot of time and effort almost always goes into a tattoo design, it doesn’t always matter who does the actual work. So long as the artist can prove that they’re proficient in the style you’re looking to capture you’re free to choose whoever happens to be in the area with enough five star Yelp reviews. But when it comes to watercolor tattooing, your artist needs to be skilled enough to pull off this fine art skill. Like a traditional artist with a canvas and a set of watercolor paints, each stroke and dab of color is unique to the person who creates it. The same can be said of this beautifully intricate, flowing tattoo style. The abstract patches of paint transform the body into a work of art, and a talented artist can make the design seem like it’s ink actually painted on by a brush. Getting a watercolor tattoo is a way to carry around a piece of fine art on your skin that’s unique. Even if someone else gets the same tattoo it can never be duplicated exactly, giving you a piece of creative narrative that’s yours and only yours.
After a tattoo your ink looks crisp, fresh and perfect. Once the redness and the swelling reduces your design is officially at its best and clearest, and if you take care of the skin in the area and keep it away from sunlight as often as possible it’s going to stay like that for a while. But most people know that tattoos age. We’ve seen tattoos on former marines and children of the 60’s and 70’s that are blurred at the borders and look a little faded. This is because the ink spreads over time, which is the reason why tattoo artists don’t generally recommend getting designs with small text. As it turns out, you may be at an even greater risk of your tattoo fading in time with a watercolor design than any other one. The watercolor style is defined by flowing colors and patterns that blend in with each other, so when the design starts to fade will it just be one brown, indistinguishable lump? That’s one of the risks you run with this particular tattoo trend. Since watercolor tattooing is new there’s only speculation, but it’s worth considering before you end up needing to laser off a random looking blob of distorted color on your skin in the next decade.
As is the case with any tattoo style, your results may vary when it comes to the tradeoffs of a watercolor tattoo. It also may be harder for you to remove watercolor tattoos, though new innovations in tattoo removal technology like Pico Technology can help. The amazing artistry of the ink may well be worth the chance that it may fade oddly with time to those who are willing to get it touched up, or even those willing to get it laser removed or tattooed over in a few years’ time. But for those who are a little more cautious, it may be worth it to wait a couple of years to see how these exquisite designs age.
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