Some brilliant tattoo artist has hit white girl gold.
Travel back with me to the year, 2012.
Tattoo technique is running like a well-oiled machine with all the momentum of its own industrial revolution. The Pinterest cannons are getting ready to fire another round of infectious silly string at the screens of hipsters everywhere, while visions of Coachella plums dance through their heads.
Come 2014, the feeds of ‘tweens are awash with pale, skinny arms adorned with melted Skittles. Kids everywhere are sold — signed, sealed, and delivered; the darker-skinned (and those with sense) need not apply.
By 2015, the shot is heard around the world in the buzz of coils revving up to the clitter-clatter of plastic Hello Kitty bank cards. The results are in: some brilliant tattoo artist has hit white girl gold.
The watercolor technique rebels wholeheartedly against traditional ink, particularly because it defies the very machine with which it is applied.
You’ll know the kind of piece I mean if you’re walking around with that faded splash on your arm from when you inked up a couple of years ago.
At best it’s probably functioning as an oddly colored coffee stain (like mine,) or at worst it’s looking more and more like something you spilled on yourself at lunch (like leprosy.)
The “watercolor” technique is so attractive because it rebels wholeheartedly against traditional ink, particularly in the way that it defies the very machine with which it is applied.
Indeed, this trend requires its artist to feign the reckless abandon of a child slinging a paint brush, in the hue of rainbow, against a wall. Of course, this could not be more fundamental to a brush, or more at odds with a tattoo machine, because the latter uses needles and not bristles.
In essence, the “watercolor tattoo” lets our audience know that anything they can imagine can be printed into skin these days, without limits.
“How mysterious..” We said. “How do they do it?!”
That’s counter-intuition, folks. What better way to show off how far we’ve come?
How to fall in love with watercolor tattoos
I remember when it happened.
My favorite color was rainbow, my skin was virgin (mostly. ) At first glance, that simple innovation of the watercolor splash was hypnotic to someone like me.
I witnessed feathers, hearts, and birds as they joined up with a spectrum of Lisa Frank’s tears (we hadn’t been so entranced with her work since she reinvented the dolphin.)
At bedtime, I would hold my phone over the face of my in-house/in-bed tattoo artist whilst trying to decide which I would get. My library was a cascade of pre-fab combinations, like a veritable set of used hair scrunchies.
But these scrunchies were tie-dye and I was looking to tie down a sleeve.
“Meh.” David would say to my utter bewilderment. To him, it was trendy at best, boring at worst, and he was tired of it already.
But this one has a watery rainbow texture in the background, and in the foreground, a dandelion dissipating into inky splatters as the wind makes a wish!
What’s not to love?
How to fall out of love with Watercolor Tattoos
The watercolor tattoo is tired despite its short life because it dated itself immediately. That’s not what you want for something you have to wear forever.
The day finally came when I saw it in person for the first time. No special lighting, no filter, just splashes on a leg.
It was the quintessential rainbow watercolor tattoo, intersected with black inky lines and adorning the thigh of a pasty blonde. I studied it closely after introducing myself and offering my sincere admiration. Then I walked away.
It was then that knew I was sick of the thing once and for all.
I could finally see why my husband was so lukewarm on the idea. Like anything that explodes into existence with swagger but no substance, I loved it, and then I hated it. Just like that.
Like The Spice Girls (I don’t actually hate them.) Or the Dorito taco (actually I hated that and then continued to hate that.) It’s like something we never knew we were missing, only to look back one day and wish it was the one that got away.
This is the biggest problem I have: the rainbow watercolor tattoo is tired despite its short life because it dated itself immediately. That’s not what you want for something you have to wear forever (actually, your skin might not hold onto it for long anyway.)
The point is, it’s a fad and it looks like a fad.
It’s a fad that looks like chalk left out in the rain, and that does not belong on anybody old enough for a Hello Kitty bank card. Or anyone really.
Are you with me so far? Does it seem like I’ve been drinking the haterade? Then allow me to backpedal just a bit.
How to achieve beautiful Watercolor Tattoos that are Timeless
If you want to show off, present your vision in a multi-dimensional statement, because that’s how art should present.
The rainbow splash might be a passing fad, but that is not to say this technique is going away anytime soon. Maybe ever.
Just like with any trend (even one that begins as a gimmick,) a technique evolves. This technique isn’t easy to do well, but it is accessible nonetheless. So the question becomes, “What will you do with it?”
Here’s one answer: @FindYourSmile.
http://instagram.com/p/Y7s60JNqMA/
You can get a great look at the evolution of this style via the personal evolution of Russell Van Schaick. See where he began according to his insta profile.
Let’s see where his technique has taken him…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhT1Ei7haWZ/?taken-by=findyoursmile
Bravo, Russell.
Good watercolor paintings are timeless and as such the watercolor technique can be used outstandingly. If you want to show off, present your vision in a multi-dimensional statement, because that’s how art should present.
Simply put, the novelty isn’t in the medium, it’s in the application.
Acrylic, watercolor, oil, or ink, the medium should be listed to the side. This is information that appears in the little white square next to the canvas under its title and price. Unless it’s a groundbreaking medium, it’s not the focus.
So unless you’re designing the graphics for Mickey Mouse’s Clubhouse Paint and Play, maybe rethink splashes of rainbow paint, which are at best, a tired exemplification of vision and skill.
Furthermore, your design should be balanced in terms of light and dark shading. This will strengthen the look of the tattoo as well as ensure longevity since a pastel rainbow will wash out in a matter of a few years.
Your piece just shouldn’t be memorable for being a “watercolor tattoo,” any more than any painting should be remembered simply by its medium because when the fad washes out, you’re going to want to be left with something with a little more substance.
Luckily for us, there is no shortage of artists doing it right.
P.S. Lisa Frank is totally making it in the tattoo world. In fact, check out this Lisa Frank watercolor tattoo. Shrug. Maybe I could come back around on this one.
Note: We mean no offense to any artists or tattoo enthusiasts. This is an opinion piece. Here’s another opinion I hold strongly: Do whatever makes you happy!
Am I wrong? Tell me in the comments below!
Featured image: Cover up by Aaron Reed @aaronreed_tattoos