Kat Von D Gets Inked

Since her hit reality show, "LA Ink," returns to the air Wednesday night on TLC, Kat Von D sat down with omg! for a chat about the art of tattooing, the pros and cons of getting your boyfriend's name permanently engraved on your skin, and which celebrities she's left her mark on.

With portraits, flowers, and poetic phrases inked on her skin, Kat Von D's body is a veritable mosaic of her life, tracing her history from, among other things, her first boyfriend to her most recent love, Motley Crue bass player Nikki Sixx, and she wouldn't have it any other way. "I don't have that many ex-boyfriends, but I have a few exes' names tattooed on me," she shares. "My first tattoo was 'J,' for James, who was my first love. I don't cover any of them up, I don't regret them. I think they're landmarks in time." One celebrity who did regret inking a name on her skin? Denise Richards, who had Von D cover up "Charlie" on her ankle with a tattoo of a fairy.

Born Katherine von Drachenberg, the 28-year-old artist has carved out a successful career over the past few years due to the fun and funky reality show that's set at her Hollywood, California, establishment, High Voltage Tattoo. When asked how she first got into the ink business, Von D chuckles, "Just through punk rock music and hanging out with the wrong crowd, you know?" She counts the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl, Jared Leto, and Dominic Monaghan among her celebrity clientele, as well as her former rocker beau Nikki Sixx who she's still on good terms with. Just two days after we spoke, Kat posted on her Twitter, "To avoid confusion, I just wanna let everyone know Nikki and I are no longer dating, but still remain friends."

"I've tattooed Nikki a whole bunch," says Kat. "We've redone both of his arms from the stuff he got back in the '80s and '90s, we did portraits of his four children on his lower calf, and I tattooed a portrait of his grandfather on his upper thigh. The first tattoo I did on him, it said 'In Love We Trust' around his neck."

One drawback to using your body as a canvas? Inevitably you're going to run out of room one day. "I had a few tattoos from when I was younger that were not done professionally -- that didn't look that great," admits Kat, adding, "I didn't really have an emotional tie to them, so I was like, 'Ah well, let's laser it.'" A few words from the wise: "Laser hurts really bad."

Although she won't divulge which of her celebrity clients cried like babies while her needle was at work, Von D does reveal that 30 Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto "sat there like a champ" and that, amusingly, "it's always the ones you'd never expect that are the biggest wusses."

Admiring those who've yet to dabble in body art -- "I'm an all-or-nothing girl, so I admire those that don't have any [tattoos]" -- the long-time artist advises that if you really want some ink, make it unique and meaningful. "Tattoos are permanent, so it better be something you really love, and are going to love forever. It's not like a Louis Vuitton purse that you can wear for a season and then throw away!"

And though she's now busy juggling filming commitments with her day job, she still sits down to create art whenever she can. "When we're not filming, I'm tattooing on a pretty regular basis," she says. "So you can come by the shop, and most likely I'll be there."

Catch the premiere of "LA Ink" on TLC Wednesday August 11, at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

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