A Florida tattoo artist was on the other side of the needle when he let his 4-year-old daughter give him a tattoo on his arm recently, and the viral photo is drawing a variety of feedback.
Brad Bellomo, also known as “bob-tat,” owns 3rd Eye Tattoo in Largo and has always had his daughter Chloe by his side to watch him work, he told ABC News today. But this time, Bellomo let his daughter be the artist and he posted the result to his Facebook page.
"She's been around the art and lifestyle since she was a baby," Bellomo said. "She has always come in the shop here and there."
Ailing Father Gets Up From Wheelchair to Walk His Daughter Down the Aisle Photo of Police Officer Comforting Lost Boy Goes ViralFor the past six months, Chloe has been asking her dad when it will be her turn to give him a tattoo, he said, so he started to have her practice drawing as preparation.
"I had her hold the machine and grip without a needle a week before to see if she could control the weight and to see if she was ready," Bellomo said.
Bellomo added that he and Chloe discussed tattoo ideas and came up with something with meaning to both of them: a strawberry.
"We sang 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' and for a while she's been singing it 'Have you berry wu?'" Bellomo said, so he started calling his daughter "Berry Wu." He also plans on adding the Wu-Tang Clan W to the ink, he said.
While being tattooed about two weeks ago, Bellomo controlled the foot pedal that turns on and off the machine so he could stop it if Chloe were to move her arm at the wrong angle or poke herself with the needle, he said, and he guided the machine to help her out. The photo, taken on Oct. 21, has since gone viral.
Still, in addition to positive comments, Bellomo has received negative feedback from people saying he should not have done that as a parent, but said he is proud of his daughter.
"It doesn't matter what they think," Bellomo said. "My daughter's happy and excited and proud of it."