The front cover of The Painted Lady is simultaneously eye-catchingly and mistakenly taboo. The curvaceous contours of the woman pictured are emphasised by the dark colour contrast of the tattooed illustrations printed upon her. In fact, you would be forgiven for thinking that this tattoo was a fake; with it seeming almost too ornately stylised to be a permanent fixture.
In The Painted Lady, Dominique Holmes muses upon the origins of inked women and how awareness and acceptance of tattooed women has become more prominent in the 21st century. The Painted Lady begins with an introduction of how the idea of a tattooed woman has changed from the head-to-toe illustrated Betty Broadbent, who exhibited her art in travelling circuses, to Janet ‘Rusty’ Skuse, who was famed for being the most tattooed woman in Britain.
A running theme within this book, Holmes writes with a strong sense of female empowerment. This is also powerfully echoed from the testimonials from tattooed women, speaking of their research emotions, beliefs and situations that led them to their tattoos, alongside full-colour photos of their worn art.
Tattoo leitmotifs covered in The Painted Lady range from vintage and nautical to Japanese and Mehndi influences with Holmes’ astounding knowledge and striking illustrations adorning the pages. She reasons that there is “no such thing as a female tattoo” with her reaction unwavering to a woman choosing a full sleeve (the whole arm) to a small hidden art piece.
The Painted Lady inspires the creatively-minded to venture further afield from the standard kanji, wings and pretty things that Tell-Tale Tats professes.
The Painted Lady by Dominique Holmes is published by Ryland Peters & Small and is available at www.rylandpeters.com