Neo-traditional colour tattoo of a pink peony with black outlines and green leaves on the inner upper arm.

Enlarged with AI from a smaller original

Pink peony and leaves on upper arm

Neo-trad · Upper arm · Colour · Photo

A large pink peony with black outlines and a dotted, shaded centre sits on the inner arm, with green leaves, buds and thin sprigs trailing down and to the left. The petals use soft pink shading with darker rose tones and bold black linework, and the leaves are shaded in muted greens. The flower is the focal point, placed centrally, with the foliage framing it on a pale skin background.

Neo-trad Botanical Upper arm Peony Flower Leaves Bud Sprig Stem

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A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Ruth,

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I know you left the reunion before the raffle, so you missed Mr Pattison trying to remember which of us had set fire to the science block. It was Gary, by the way, and he has never once admitted it. I stood by the urn with a glass of warm prosecco and thought about your nan's peonies, the ones that grew along the back wall of the allotments on Harrow Lane, fat pink heads that flopped onto the path every June so we had to step over them to reach the shed.

You asked me once why she grew them when they only lasted a week. I said it was because they were worth the wait, which is the sort of thing a fourteen-year-old says. I think I understand her now. Every peony I've painted since has been a version of those heads, the petals going darker at the edges like the inside of a plum, and the centre a little crowd of gold dots that always looked to me as if they were paying attention.

The reason I'm writing is that I found the allotment key in my coat pocket. The site is being cleared in September. I went down on Sunday and the wall was still standing, and someone had left a single bloom in a jam jar on the gatepost. I've enclosed the key, because you should have it back. Come with me before the bulldozers arrive, and we'll cut what we can and carry it home in a bucket.

Love, Jo