A Cohesive Background Ties Unrelated Elements
Together
Theclientwantedatrucktattooedonhisinnerarm.This
particular truck was the truck his father used in his
business. Below thetruck, he wanted portraits of his
grandparents. Note how the background ties the
elements together into a cohesive whole.
Duringthis initial consultation,youmay findthat the
client has way too many ideas for one piece. Or
sometimes a client may have a specific reason for
wantingtoincludemultipleelementsthatdonotreally
gowelltogether.Ifyoucan,trytogetthemtonarrow
their focus to include only what’s truly necessary to
avoidclutteringthecomposition.Iftheclientinsistson
includingeverything,youcouldcombinetheseemingly
unrelated subject matter into a sort of collage effect.
RecentlyI was asked to do a tattoo that covered the
entirearmwith alotofdifferent imagesthatwere all
familyrelated.Itwastoincludeaneaglewithapurple
heartandanairborneribbon,acargoship,scubadivers,
hisgrandparents’portraitandaspecifictypeoftruck.I
wasabletotie alltheimagestogetherintoa pleasing
overalldesignbyusingbackgroundelementsofskyand
water. It is possible to make just about anything go
together when it comes to art.