Rihanna covers Maori hand tattoo with Henna-inspired design

(UPI) -- Rihanna appears to have been so unhappy with the Maori tattoo she received while on tour in New Zealand -- which a local artist applied using a traditional chisel-and-mallet method -- that she flew her regular New York City tattoo artists to the Dominican Republic to "make it pretty."

Bang Bang McCurdy, of Bang Bang NYC, told E! News that he and another tattoo artist wanted to change her "preexisting" tattoo to something more "feminine and sexy."

"We drew on her hand from 7 p.m. to midnight. We were drawing and changing things. I'd take a break and Cally-Jo would draw, then I'd draw," he said. "The inspiration was henna art, we wanted something really decorative, feminine and sexy. We thought that was the closest in style where we could shift and make it look decorative."

"She had something preexisting on her hand. So it was a little bit of a cover up, but also making it look good, wanted to make sure it flowed. We needed to work with what she already had," he added.

"[It was] difficult, because the stuff she already had was a pattern on skin. We were trying to fit the body with what she already had. Mend the two styles with a new style," McCurdy said.

Local musician Tiki Taane and Moko Ink's Inia Taylor didn't appear to be offended by the change.

"We still love ya Rihanna!!!" Taane wrote on his Facebook page. "And proud of you for wanting to get traditional Polynesian markings from the man Inia Taylor from Moko Ink. I love the new addition & it pulls it all together beautifully. We are very honored to have been part of that journey & cant wait to see what else she gets, mad respect from me!!!"

At least Rihanna was happy with the final product.

"Ri flipped out! Absolutely loved it, loved it!" McCurdy said. "It's a hard thing when you get a tattoo and not absolutely love it. It's uncomfortable to have something on your hand, especially when it's in such a visible spot, and she's such a visible person. Your hand is as closely related as your face. If you think about it, her hand is right there and the whole world is watching it."