Red Poppy Upper-Back Cover-Up

The faded character near the base of the neck was darkest in its centre. I put the black heart of the poppy over that point, then carried red and black petals beyond the old edges. A thin red circle, loose marks and one long line balance the flower across the upper back without adding another large block of dark ink.

This Cover-Up took one three-and-a-half-hour session. The before and after photographs show why the new design had to be wider than the old mark and darker in selected places. The poppy worked because its natural centre matched the old pigment; the subject wasn't chosen first and forced over it afterwards.