Kat Von D is erasing her past.
The former reality TV star revealed on Instagram that she recently covered up a slew of tattoos on her right arm with black ink, which is known in the tattoo world as a "blackout." Only one tattoo on her forearm remains: a portrait of her father, which she got many years ago.
The reason for covering up inked remnants of her past, she said, is because those particular tattoos represented a different time in her life — one which she has moved on from.
While thanking HoodeTattoos for the new ink, Kat wrote, "Feels so good to finally cover up so many of the tattoos I got back when I used to drink. Those tattoos meant nothing to me but landmarks in dark times."
"Now my arm looks so nice and clean, and the portrait of my Father stands out even more," she said.
The former "L.A. Ink" star noted that she tried to go a different route in removing the tattoos, but it never worked well.
"I actually did try lasering a few times and sadly they were just either too dark or had layers upon layers of tattoos that would have been too hard on my skin to remove," she told a fan. "But I also love the simplistic look of this so it was a win win."
Kat's forearm is now fully blacked out, aside from the picture of her dad.
In sharing videos of the cover-up, she had a note to all ink critics.
"Before anyone feels inspired to negatively criticize my tattoo, please remember that not everyone connects with the same things. I've been tattooing well over 2 decades and have seen so many tattoos in my lifetime that I personally would never get, yet feel happy for the wearer because it means something to them," she said. "I don't think there should be room for criticism when it comes to self expression, and a tattoo is personal to the person wearing it. So thank you ahead of time for being respectful. Much love!"