She's a Cutie!!

For a while, I was all about doing black and grey portraits. I have done quite a few and have got to do some interesting pictures. Elvis, John Wayne, Kurt Cobain, and a slew of family members on their kin. But the one that really sticks out was a tattoo that I did of child’s portrait on a young lady some years ago. She came in with a picture that was just big enough for me to use and still get enough detail out of. After we decide on price, payment, and placement we set up a time and got going on the tattoo. Kids pictures can be difficult since they don't have a lot of distinguishing facial features, but we get it going and added a little lettering at the top, above the cute little girl. “Lil’ Cutie” it says, in a nice fancy script arcing just above “Lil’ Cutie’s” little cute head.

Once we get it all placed out *on her arm, right at the top by her shoulder (prime real estate)*, the tattoo was underway and she was handling it just fine. Well, about halfway through the tattoo, it’s coming along just fine and we start talking a bit more. You know, when you are tattooing someone, you get to hang out with that person for a good amount of time, depending on what they are getting. After studying this picture for a good few hours, I say to my client, “Yeah, this is cool, she IS a little cutie!”.

She looks at me funny and says, “Who?” Baffled, I reply, “Your daugh-ter!”, as I point to the tattoo that is half done on her arm.

“Oh, that’s not my daughter.” She paused, then continued, “That’s me.”

Now, is it just me or is that a little conceited? First off, unless you are Steve-O, who gets a self portrait tattoo? And second, the audacity to add “Lil’ Cutie” above it? Is it just me? Because if not, I want a portrait of myself with “Gnarly Little Surf Machine” above it, holding a double neck guitar.