Inked Talk

Not all tattoos turn out quite you how expect, and many just don’t stand the test of time. Sometimes an idea that sounds magnificent in your head looks terrible in ink. And while the mooning Tasmanian Devil may have been the coolest tattoo in the world when you were eighteen, you may feel less love for ol’ Taz at age thirty. Even though laser tattoo removal is becoming more affordable, the cover up is still the preferred method to forget about unwanted ink.

Cover-ups are usually needed on people who made a quick, spontaneous decision with little thought.

- Greg Foster, Custom Tattoo, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Tattoo artists see a lot of bad tattoos, and consequently they get a lot of requests to do cover up work. This week, Inked Talk spoke to two artists about the challenges involved with doing cover ups. In Part One of this feature, we will talk to Greg Foster of Custom Tattoo in Milwaukee, Wisconsin about his experience on cover up tattoos. Part Two will feature an interview with Studio of Darien, Wisconsin.

As a professional tattoo artist since 1996, Greg Foster has had extensive experience in cover-up work. He estimates that about one in every twenty customers that he sees is there for cover-up work.

Inked Talk: In your experience, what kind of work is most likely to become a future cover-up or regret?

Greg Foster: Cover-ups are usually needed on people who made a quick, spontaneous decision with little thought. You know, the walk-in client who says “I want a tattoo… I don’t know what I want, but I’ve got an hour.”

IT: As an artist, do you step in and redirect a customer who is set on a tattoo idea that you feel is going to be a future regret?

GF: I feel it’s my responsibility as an artist to steer them in the right direction, so yes, I do try to talk people out of a bad idea or improve it so they won’t regret the tattoo. I always try to schedule consultations with people so we can discuss their ideas. If something is obviously problematic, I will not hesitate to tell them it won’t work or it’s not a good idea, but I’ll also give them alternatives. The challenge is when someone clings to an idea of what they want and you know it’s a bad idea. Sometimes, it’s a sentimental attachment, too. This happens all the time with names of significant others or a drawing that the client drew up (and if the composition sucks, you don’t want to offend them, but you don’t want to give them a bad tattoo either). With names, I try to convince people not to get them on their neck or hands, because it’s a very visible area and you can’t do a whole lot with a cover-up in those areas, if they’re not willing to go much larger, which is typical.

One of Greg’s cover-up pieces. Before:

And after:

IT: Cover up work is clearly different from an original tattoo. What considerations do you have to take into account when doing a cover up? To what extent does the color and size of the tattoo play a role in what you can and can’t do for a cover up? What about the age of the tattoo being covered up - does that make a difference?

GF: You have to consider the size of the original tattoo, the colors used, whether or not there’s a lot of black in it, and the placement of the tattoo. Sometimes, there’s other tattoos near the one getting covered up that you have to work around too, and that can be difficult. If it’s a lightly colored or very faded tattoo, it’s easier to cover up, because a lot of colors will go over an old, faded or washed-out piece.

If the tattoo has a lot of black or dark colors, I usually suggest white-out sessions. This is basically applying several applications of white ink over the course of several sessions on top of the old tattoo. It works similar to a primer coat of paint. However, you can’t eliminate the original color, but it will lighten it to allow the new colors to go over it. The tattoo with the tiger coming out of the fish is an example of the white-out process. It’s a little more costly, but the best solution for dark-colored tattoos.

Covering up a darker piece:

IT: What is the most extensive or challenging cover up you have done?

GF: Probably on a friend of mine who needed extensive cover-up work on his arm. He had several small-to-medium sized tattoos all over his arm, scattered about. So we decided to cover them up with a full-sleeve with Egyptian scenery and subjects. It turned out great and I surprised myself. He’s very happy with the work (as am I) and it looks much better, because it looks intentional and there’s very little trace of the original tattoos. If it’s difficult to find the original tattoo, that’s when I know I’ve done a good cover-up.

Greg Foster tattoos at Custom Tattoo, located at 1956 N. Farwell Avenue, Milwaukee Wisconsin.
You can see more of his work at the Custom Tattoo website and the Custom Tattoo MySpace page.

Thanks for the great interview, Greg. Amazing work!

Please check back with Inkedtalk.com later this week when we see another artist’s take on cover up work.

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