Blackout With Lotus Tattoo
Heavy blackout fill carried across the canvas, photographed mid-peel, with a lotus flower left in negative space toward one end. I document the healing stage because peeling and flaking are normal for fresh blackwork, and the final colour settles into an even ground over the following weeks rather than the patchy surface you see here.
The lotus draws the eye to a single focal point so the saturated black doesn't read as a flat slab. That one break in the fill is what separates intentional blackwork from a simple cover-up. If you're booking blackout work, expect the surface to look uneven during the first month, then come back to its proper tone. Blackwork consults and aftercare guidance at my Whitetail Tattoo studio in Wellington.
By Rhys Thomas at Whitetail Tattoo, Level 3, 41–47 Dixon Street, Te Aro, Wellington, New Zealand




