Rihanna “flipped out” with delight after getting a new tattoo on her right hand.
The singer flew celebrity tattoo artists Bang Bang McCurdy and Cally-Jo from New York to the Dominican Republic on Sunday to create her new body art.
The pair revealed Rihanna wasn’t completely happy with the tribal artwork inked on her hand earlier this month and after 11 hours of intense work, she was thrilled with the new henna-inspired cover-up.
"Ri flipped out! Absolutely loved it, loved it! It's a hard thing when you get a tattoo and not absolutely love it,” Bang Bang told E! News.
“It's uncomfortable to have something on your hand, especially when it's in such a visible spot, and she's such a visible person. Your hand is as closely related as your face. If you think about it, her hand is right there and the whole world is watching it,” he said.
Rihanna’s new artwork had to be blended with the Maori tattoo she already had on her right hand. The older tattoo was inked to commemorate a recent trip to New Zealand, and was applied with a mallet and chisel.
Bang Bang admitted it was a challenge to blend the two designs.
"She had something pre-existing on her hand. So it was a little bit of a cover-up, but also making it look good, wanted to make sure it flowed,” he explained.
The tattoo artist also admitted the work was very difficult because Rihanna had a very definite idea of what she wanted. They ended up starting from the beginning more than once to reach the pop star’s vision.
“The inspiration was henna art, we wanted something really decorative, feminine and sexy… Her hand is not something you can put away. We went over and over. It was a struggle to design. She even took a nap when we were drawing. We started over, until we found the direction she liked."
