Behind the Scenes on Kaysie Lackey's Tattooed Cover Cake

007-kaysie-lackey-tattoo-cake-cakecentral-magazine-vol1-iss4

Kaysie Lackey’s (seattlecakes) Asian tattoo-inspired cake graced the cover of Volume 1, Issue 4 of Cake Central Magazine, and we spoke to her about how she created her realistic tattoo art. In this excerpt from the magazine, she shares a little bit about working with her inspiration and the techniques she used.

 

001-kaysie-lackey-tattoo-cake-IMG_1693
002-kaysie-lackey-tattoo-cake-IMG_1700

 

“Kaysie is drawn to Asian tattoos because of their inherent romanticism, with Koi fish, dragons, and flowing water. She says that most people, “…don’t see the beauty in tattoos. They can be romantic and elegant. They don’t have to be rebellious and in-your-face.” To achieve her creations, she uses a technique called “under painting,” building layers of color. Her bright orange Koi fish are first painted yellow, and then she adds orange to attain a vibrant orange coloring. She explains that fondant has the same luminosity as skin, so therefore by using lemon oil and gel colors, the painting can reflect a similar tattoo effect. Kaysie feels that tattoo art is, “Luminous. It pops. It’s not flat.”

…Her tattoo cake took over 60 hours to paint by hand, and it required both her technical skill and her creativity.

 

003-kaysie-lackey-tattoo-cake-IMG_1704
004-kaysie-lackey-tattoo-cake-IMG_1716

 

“It’s a cake, but it’s a piece of art.” She hopes that with the mainstream popularity of tattoos, she’ll see more of this type of art in cakes and that customers will be encouraged to order cakes that include, like tattoos, their own personal style.”

006-kaysie-lackey-tattoo-cake-IMG_2944

005-kaysie-lackey-tattoo-cake-IMG_2943

Kaysie Lackey runs The People’s Cake Bakery in Seattle, WA, US.

This cake originally appeared in Volume 1, Issue 4 of Cake Central Magazine.

 

Comments (3)

on

I bet this was so much fun. I painted a cake last week and love it. Your imagination can go so far. I can't wait to see artist using this medium for their creativity. Great job!