E! News has exclusively learned that the pop singer added to her extensive tat collection over the weekend while in the Dominican Republic, when famous celeb tattoo artist Bang Bang McCurdy and Cally-Jo of Bang Bang NYC tattoos flew to RiRi on Sunday to begin the 11-hour session.
The new body art was incorporated with the already existing Maori tattoo on Rihanna’s right hand, which she recently got to commemorate her recent trip to New Zealand during her Diamonds world tour, which was applied with a mallet and a chisel.
Bang Bang exclusively tells E! News:
“We drew on her hand from 7 p.m. to midnight. We were drawing and changing things. I’d take a break and Cally-Jo would draw, then I’d draw…The inspiration was henna art, we wanted something really decorative, feminine and sexy. We thought that was the closest in style where we could shift and make it look decorative. She had something preexisting 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. We needed to work with what she already had,” and added, that it was “difficult, because the stuff she already had was a pattern on skin. We were trying to fit the body with what she already had. Mend the two styles with a new style. 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.”
In fact, Bang Bang admits this is one of the “most challenging design I’ve done on Rihanna before,” saying, “This one had elements to it that were very unique, covering up pieces of it, combining pieces of it, making up new pieces.” Once the session was over, he tells us that Rihanna was more than pleased with the final product.
“Ri flipped out! Absolutely loved it, loved it! It’s a hard thing when you get a tattoo and not absolutely love it. 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.”
