What better way to memorialise my Dad than a tattoo with Tori Li!
After several sessions had to be rescheduled, the date was finally here! Tori’s tattoos deliver a combination of fine line perfection and colour wizardry.
I think a friend was the one who said that every time someone gets a tattoo, the dates between each one get smaller every time. I think that friend was Veronica. Thanks, Veronica, that idea is very much true now! :P
My original idea for my shoulder was to add a comic-style pin-up astronaut wielding a space gun. There had been about two years since the Catsronauts were inked on my body and since then, I’d adopted another cat, so it seemed appropriate to have him added to the gang. I also changed my idea about the astronaut, deciding on a memorial tattoo for my Dad. Many years ago, I had both my parents write their names in their respective languages. Dad’s handwriting was wild and free, while Mum’s was a bit more contained and neat. I had the sheet of paper scanned and saved onto my drive for when the time would come.
Instagram: @thirteenfeettattoo
Once Tori had all the materials and references, she captured Dad’s likeness pretty well, and my big boy Meowington was drawn holding onto a planet. Tori’s has a great tattooing technique that to me, it feels quite light-handed, but I know that the ink is being pushed in. I’ve rarely had any colour or ink fallout during the healing process. Big, bold and saturated will last much better than fine line, but as long as one takes care of their ink with tonnes of sunscreen, keeping it moisturised and staying hydrated, fine line and colour will hold up just as well.
Tori is a very busy and popular tattoo artist in the scene, so we didn’t have enough time to complete the background. But I returned for a quick touch-up session about a week after and it was finally complete! I’m absolutely delighted with the result and the experience. I’m kind of at the point where I’m happy to get tattoos because it looks cool and doesn’t necessarily have meaning, but this one is very special to me and I can’t thank Tori enough. I’ll be seeing you again soon!
Just chilling
Have fun in the stars Dad!
Artist: Tori Li
Instagram (Main): https://www.instagram.com/torilitattoo/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tori_petportraits/
Shop: Thirteen Feet Tattoo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thirteenfeettattoo/
Locations: Newtown and Haymarket, NSW