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Original was my first tattoo from 20 years ago. Met with my artist to see what would work. He took several photos, did an outline tracing and committed to drawing what might work. The old dragon was 20 years old and tired. Got it on a business trip in Chicago at the Jade Dragon Tattoo Parlor. At the time a group of young, enthusiastic managers went downtown to see the iconic tattoo shop. 6 of us left with new ink. Many years later, I wanted something new, fresh and keeping with the dragon theme. My artist carefully explained what colors would work, what design would work and the size of the new piece to effectively cover the old work. Little did I know this was going to be a journey, a process and commitment of many months. Once I saw the stencil and the pc screen illustrating the color choices. I decided to take the plunge. First session was about four-five hours for outline work. Second session was the beginning of shading. (4-5 hours) Third Session more color. ( five hours) Fourth Session-almost done ( Was coming down with the flu and getting cold chills and shaking thinking I was getting cold) close to 4 hours.. Have been back for two touch up sessions and have the last one scheduled this week. If you notice the yellow areas in the whiskers and scales between the horns, a little more color saturation is needed to prevent the old image from showing through. Comments-Cover work can be very complex. Its a blend of design, choosing the appropriate colors that will cover light and dark and going larger to find a design that will obscure the old work. It may never be completely invisible, however the focus of the new work will draw the eye away from the previous work. Detailed shading and design is never one and done. Plan on more than visit to get the deep color saturation you desire and to cover the old areas. I waited 30 days in between sessions to allow my skin to heal and allow my artist to see what really needed to be done next. Learned a lot about what after care products I prefer. When doing a lot of shading work, some products with lidocaine do make a difference. While you might not experience the same level of relief on line work. When shading and the pores get opened up..there is a difference. At my age-(56) five hours is longest I can sit. Four hours is much easier. Having a cool artist that understands you and the end goal are very important. I wont be doing any more cover work but I plan on lots more ink. Have had a couple more new pieces since this piece was almost done. Hope this helps those thinking about cover work. My artist explained he would much rather work on a 20 year old piece than one done six months ago. Just one old guys experience.

I like it the way it is.

Here is my latest tattoo. Just finished it last Thursday. Four hour ribs session 😬

Many people have said things much more eloquently than I can but I like the tattoo. I've had a few tattoos that I got when I was young that were bad (think home made Walkman motor machine bad). I wore those for over 20 years before I was able to cover them. They were bad, and I hated them, but a part of me misses them. My solution now to tattoos I might not like as much as I thought I would is just more tattoos. New tattoos are fun and they eventually obfuscate the one you don't like. Just my thoughts as reading through, do what makes you happy. If the tattoo causes you pain, get rid of it.

I grew up as a kid that was bullied and did all I could to not stand out or be notice as to not bring down more hurtful things upon myself. I also had a mom that as good as she was, was a child of the depression and wasn't at all accepting of things she wasn't familiar with. Add to that, I spent my adult life working in a profession that no matter how open minded they claimed to be, didn't want any nonconformists. I just admired tattoos and don't really consider them a possibility. I had one coworker with tattoos and occasionally talked to him about getting one. I was fortunate enough to retire early. It took a month or so, but it dawned me that I no longer had any of those restraints and could do as I damn well pleased. First I got my ears pierced and then my first tattoo. It's been very liberating to kinda give the world the bird, lol. I'm currently part way thru a half sleeve and spend most nights cruise the net dreaming of future work and artists.