She is a wealthy superstar with millions and a following too large to count.  With 20 million albums and 60 million singles, four Grammy awards, five American Music awards and eighteen Billboard Music Awards under her belt, she is one of the best selling artists of all time.  She is Barbados’s native, Rihanna. Even with all this, it appears as if there is one thing that this young superstar did not have, at least until recently.  A tattoo of the words “Thug Life” etched on her oh so feminine knuckles.  We saw it, along with millions of others in her tweet.  Sporting a John Lennon T-shirt, and looking proud, Ri displayed her knuckles for us all to see. Is it Authentic or a Fake? The jury is still out as to whether or not the rock superstar Rihanna’s new tattoo is real or an exceptionally keen imposter.  The tattoo, created by tattoo artist BangBang is apparently in honor of the late slain rapper Tupac Shakur, who had the same words imprinted on his stomach.  Bold and bright, this tattoo or tattoo look-a-like, is a truly strong pink statement.  Some say that this cannot possibly be real but who knows for sure. Eye Witness There may be an eyewitness who could speak to the authenticity of Rihanna’s latest work of art.  Apparently, Machetestar Danny Trejo happened to be in the tattoo parlor when Ri was getting her new tattoo.  He noted: “[She] didn’t stop saying thug life the whole time she was getting it done. [She is] one of the downest female thugs in the world. If I was 40 years younger she would be in a lot of trouble.” Tattoos Here, There, Everywhere Rihanna is no beginner when it comes to body ink.  With fifteen other inked designs on her body, we would not put it past this tattoo loving diva to do such a thing.  After all, she rocked her followers in when she proudly displayed her ribcage inked with a gun in 2009.  This followed shortly on the heels of her public fiasco with her ex Chris Brown.  The superstar’s hip also bears a Sanatana Dharma Sanskrit prayer, a musical note charms her ankle, and the word “love” is on her middle finger.  She has a tribal tattoo on her hand and a Pisces symbol hiding behind her right ear.  Tattoo master designer BangBang gets the credit for star tattoos on her back, and the word “Shhh” on her finger.  She even pays tribute to her line or perfume with her neck tattoo “rebelle fleu,” meaning rebellious flower.  As if this were not enough, Ri also sports star tats in her ear, an Arabic phrase on her ribcage and an anklebone inking of a skull and cross bones. Time Will Tell But who knows for sure about the authenticity of her latest design, more pictures and time are needed to confirm.  Anyway, it has people talking, people watching and people guessing.  Maybe that is what this is all about.  Sometimes it just gets too quiet!

We are all aware that tattooing is an ancient method of body decoration which carries with it ties to a wealth of heritage and tradition.  However, these days’ tattoos are more about self expression and the quest for individuality.  When you think about how tattoos came to our shores from the South Pacific islands, Australia and New Zealand it was the sailors on these exploratory vessels that brought the passion for tattooing back with them.  Sailors would often get a tattoo as a souvenir from the places they visited rather like a stamp on a passport.  They became symbols of experience and fortitude.  The tattoos that they would get would be rich in symbolism and meaning, generally relating to safe journeys and protection whilst they travelled the world’s oceans. Superstition Though not always obvious or visible, even today’s modern sailors will have tattoos that celebrate superstitions that have followed mariners down through the centuries.  For example one of the oldest sets of tattoos that offer sea farers protection is the pig and rooster.  The pig is tattooed on one foot and that rooster on the other.  Both of the animals depicted fear the water, therefore by having them on your feet; you should never be in the position of getting them wet and sinking, combined with the desire of the animals to be far from open water they would also influence the safe and swift return of a vessel to port. Polaris, the North Star is another traditional tattoo, generally representing the theory that a sailor will always find his way into port and never be lost at sea.  The traditional image of an anchor with its cable or chain entwined around it is known as a ‘fouled anchor’ and was traditionally used to illustrate that a sailor had successfully crossed the challenging Atlantic Ocean.  Other anchor tattoos are symbols of strength and power, which when considering how much weight an anchor holds in place is a very good illustration. A sailor with a set of blue stars on his hand has probably sailed around Cape Horn several times, adding a new star for each safe trip completed.  In recognition of long distance travels and the immensity of the oceans, sailors who have crossed the equator during their journeys will be tattooed with a sea turtle.  Images of swallows on the shoulder symbolise crossing the tropics of Capricorn and cancer.  There are probably others whose meaning has been lost over the centuries too. Tradition Non sailors may claim traditional sea faring tattoos for their own without realising the significance of them at all, adopting them because they look cool or want to present a certain image to their peers, which is a shame.  Like many ancient cultures the tattoos of centuries of sailors have marked milestones and events in their lives, signifying transitions and achievements, overcoming immense danger and peril.  Just like the ancient cultures of the South Pacific from where the original sailing expeditions took their initial inspiration.

Many tattoo artists have a reputation for being slightly more creative than most people, and being able to visualise things that others would have difficulty with.  It could be called thinking out of the box, though in some cases the box doesn’t even picture, the thought process is that creative!  But it is this kind of inspired genius that can lead to some incredible artwork being produced on let’s face it, what is not the easiest canvas to work with. Many of the world’s iconic art masterpieces were created by inspired genius’ that also suffered from a touch of madness, whether that was in the form of depression or other mental illness, but however they managed to produce their works they left behind an artistic legacy that is inspiring a new genre of artists, tattoo artists.  Their life’s work will now live on in new and interesting ways through body art. Artistic Praise They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery.  No matter what the original artistic masters were thinking when they created their master pieces, they could never have believed that it would be replicated as body art on generations of colourful individuals, hundreds of years down the line.  Artist works by Alfred Gockel (View Through A Window), Salvador Dali’s ‘Melting Clocks’ and ‘Elephants’ and Vincent Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ have all been successfully replicated on skin. Van Gogh’s style of painting lends itself well to tattooing as it is not about fluid lines and picture perfection.  Dali’s work is popular more because of its quirkiness and obscure subject matter than the style of painting.  Other artists whose work has made the transition include Wassily Kandinsky, Pablo Picasso, Rene Magritte and the old masters, Rafael and Michelangelo.  Pablo Picassos ‘Peace Dove’ is incredibly popular by people looking for a small yet poignant statement piece to wear. Statement Piece Though an ancient and long standing masterpiece represented in a tattoo may be seen by some as pretentious, in reality is there anything more suitable as a choice than such fabulous artwork as a statement piece?  Everyone looks for originality in the search for their own individuality, but the replication of an old master on your body shows a deeper appreciation of art in all its forms.  By choosing a piece that moves the heart, stimulates the mind or raises a smile you are giving yourself something more meaningful than a design selected from a chart on the wall in a tattoo parlour. Some tattoo artists may consider it an honour to replicate a classic piece of art work for you; others may ask if they can give it their own distinctive and artistic twist.  You may find that your new masterpiece tattoo attracts a lot of public attention; after all it shows people just how truly talented tattoo artists are in being able to recreate something so beautiful, distinctive and easily recognisable, regarded by many as one of the finest masterpieces in the world.