Todd came to me with no idea of what he wanted. He knew he liked my Japanese themed tattoos and wanted to get something to even out his other half sleeve. During the initial meeting, he mentioned that he would like some sort of Oni.
Skip ahead to the actual consultation. During this time he's asking some of the usual questions that the average tattooer has to deal with "What does it mean when...?" "Have you seen the show (fill in the blank)?". However the first question he asked was " Doesn't a portrait mean that the person is dead?" This is one I have never been asked before. The answer was of course "No" along with my 5 minute explanation.
After about 45 minutes of me trying to figure out what kind of Oni he would like, and eventually make a tattoo that will represent his daughter. This is when I remember his first question and it dawns on me. "It sounds to me like you just want a portrait of you daughter?" Not really my thing, but I do them from time to time. He says yes but he wanted something Japanese that will represent their heritage. He wants something beautiful like a Giesha, but without all of the implication that comes with the western ideals of a Giesha Just so happens that I have the answer to this.
That morning while walking to work I was thinking that I would like to combine more realism into my Japanese themed work. So here's what I come up with. A photorealistic portrait of his daughter surrounded by neo-traditional Japanese empress headdress and peonies.
Thanks for checking it out.