We all know tattoos last a lifetime, but even if they didn’t, we would always keep Kat Von D tattoos, since they are true works of art! Hers are the most original, exclusive designs, and everyone would like to wear them proudly on some visible place… at least, if everyone could afford them (but by then, they wouldn’t be so exclusive, would they?).
In case you have been living in a bubble and you still don’t know who is Kat Von D, let’s just turn on the TV and watch! Ok, ok, don’t fetch for the remote, I’ll be a good girl and tell you LOL Kat Von D is a Mexican-American tattoo artist and a TV star. Kat Von D was born in Monterrey, Mexico, in March of 1982 (no need to do the maths, she’s 29, and yes, she’s one of the youngest tattoo artists that becomes world wide famous). Her actual name is Katherine Von Drachenberg and both her parents are Argentinean, but with German and Italian ascendance. Is all this ethnical mixture the reason for Kat Von D’s originality and artistic vision? Perhaps!
By the time Kat Von D was 4, she moved to Colton, California. From a very young age she learned to play the piano. She was 14 when she got her first tattoo (a J, dedicated to her first love), and that same year, she quit school to pursue a career as a tattooist. She worked in many different tattoo stores and became quite known. Her big break was the show Miami Ink, because it was because of it that she became a celebrity. Now she hosts her own TV show, very similar to the previous one, but as she moved to Los Angeles in 2006, the show is called LA Ink instead.
The TV show is a reality show that takes place in her own tattoo shop in West Hollywood, High Voltage. Not only she is a celebrity, Kat Von D is also the tattoo artist that celebrities choose for themselves! So far, she has tattooed many, including Dave Navarro, Mira Sorvino, Jason Mraz, Papa Roach, Gas Lipstick, Kerry King, Nikki Sixx, Sebastian Bach, Lady Gaga… is anyone keeping the count?
Kat Von D has shared her life experience with the world through two books. High Voltage Tattoo was the first (published in 2009). It is “a graphic perspective on today’s global tattoo culture”. By reading this book, fans got to know all about her life and career, as well as artistic vision. Kat Von D also explores her influences and what inspires her. Many pictures of her shop and work tools, and her tattoo designs, were also included. The book turned out to be a best seller since it is a true tattoo Bible. A year later she published The Tattoo Chronicles, a diary in which she gives her personal insights about the whole tattoo phenomenon that had her as a main character. As for business, everything is going so well for Kat Von D. She has extended her creativity into a line of cosmetics of her own, created together with Sephora.
It is hard to imagine Kat Von D without tattoos. Of course, many of her fabulous designs are inked on herself! Some of her tattoos are the inscription T.a (meaning True love always) on the fingers of her right hand; “mi vida loca” on her back; Hollywood (her favorite city) on her stomach; on her left hand there’s the Heartgram (symbol of her favorite gothic rock band, HIM); the ray of High Voltage Tattoo. She also has tattoos dedicated to her loved ones: her mother, her father, her sister Carolin, her ex-boyfriend Nikki Sixx, her brother, a flower with Oliver written on it (her ex-husband’s name)… There are more, of course, and there will probably be still more until Kat Von D runs out of space!
We may all agree, even those who don’t have any tattoos, that Kat Von D without tattoos wouldn’t quite be herself: for a tattoo artist, tattoos are her life. In some way, she has turned her skin a picture of her whole life, filling every little corner with memories and tributes. Tattoo fans claim that it is hard to stop: once you’ve had you first tattoo, there’s no reason for not adding a new one.
If you like tattoos and you visit LA, then you’d definitely have to stop by High Voltage. Of course, if you want to get a tattoo from Kat Von D’s own hands, you have to get ready to wait! Make an appointment some months in advance and be ready to pay what you would pay for a true work of art. Unlike jewelry, no one will ever steal thin one from you!
How about you? Do you like Kat Von D Tattoos? Would you get a tattoo of one of her designs? Do you think she has way too many tattoos on herself, or does she look perfect the way she is? Which of Kat Von D Tattoos would you pick for yourself, and where would you place it?
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