Kat Von D has made the decision to cover her notable tattoos, describing them as “landmarks in dark times.”
The 42-year-old artist, whose birth name is Katherine von Drachenberg, became well-known in the early 2000s through her appearances on the TLC reality show Miami Ink, followed by her own series, LA Ink.
Von D, who has been acquiring tattoos since she was 14, is now choosing to conceal her ink with large areas of black.
In a conversation with Inked Mag, she revealed that this change was motivated by her newfound faith and conversion to Christianity.
“I think I had been fed up with a lot of the tattoos I got over the years for a long time,” she shared with the magazine.
“Some people are fine with keeping these types of landmarks in time on them – I personally grew tired of waking up to them, and seeing those constant reminders every time I looked in a mirror.
“I just couldn’t explain how satisfying it was to see all the messes he would clean up with his blackout tattoo work.
“I think at that time I thought I would just black out an arm, but shortly after, I knew I would end up tattooing my whole body.”
With the help of Philadelphia-based artist Hoode Philly, Von D has been transforming her body art, sharing the journey on Instagram through various videos showcasing the blackout process.
The question arises: how extensive is the process of blacking out an entire body with tattoo ink?
Von D has previously disclosed that she has undergone 17 sessions with Philly.
The cumulative duration of these sessions? Approximately 40 hours of tattooing.
She shared on social media: “17 sessions, and almost 40 accumulative hours later, we are about 80% done with blacking out my body.
“I’ve been consistently flying out to Philly to get tattooed by the amazing @hoode215 at his lovely tattoo shop @blackvulturegallery.”
In the previous year, Von D was baptized, sharing a video of the event on Instagram.
Dressed in a white robe, the musician known for the song ‘I Am Nothing’ was seen waiting to be submerged by a Christian priest.
The priest is heard stating: “Katherine von Drachenberg, upon your profession of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in obedience to His Divine command, I baptize you, my sister, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Discussing her choice to sever ties with witchcraft and the occult, she explained: “I was just searching for answers and meaning in so many of the wrong places like most people do.
“I don’t want these crutches in my life anymore, and that’s what really I saw them as. I just want Jesus, and it’s a very narrow road.
“I feel like all these other, these breathing techniques, or spell work, nature worship, all these things, they’re just crutches. They’re not really my answer.
“And so for me, I would rather eliminate any distractions. And this is just what works for me.”