Rihanna's most famous tattoos are the work of British artist Cally-Jo Pothecary

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Cally-Jo Pothecary gained celebrity following on Instagram and Facebook
Rihanna flew artist to the Dominican Republic to ink her
Has degree in painting from the Winchester School of Art
Tattooed Sienna Miller and singer Huey Morgan
Drew on singer for ten hours but the tattoo itself only took one
'Thankfully she absolutely loved it,' said Cally-Jo

Published: 11:31 EST, 19 May 2014 | Updated: 13:54 EST, 19 May 2014

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After swapping paint brushes for needles, a British fine art graduate has found herself in demand as a tattoo artist to the stars.

Artist Cally-Jo Pothecary gained an instant celebrity following after she started posting tattoo designs on her Instagram and Facebook pages.

Her drawings attracted on online following of more than 400,000 people and caught the attention of singing superstar Rihanna who flew her to the Dominican Republic.

Revealed: Cally-Jo Pothecary has found herself in demand as a tattoo artist to the stars after posting her drawings on instagram

Rihanna’s new tattoo made headlines around the world - but nobody knew it was the work of a young British art graduate Cally-Jo.

The 24-year-old from Eastleigh, Hampshire, who graduated with a degree in painting from the Winchester School of Art has also tattooed a number of other stars, including the actress Sienna Miller and singer Huey Morgan.

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But the highlight of her career was being flown to the Dominican Republic to tattoo superstar Rihanna at her personal request.

Artist Cally- Jo said: ‘That was pretty surreal. Rihanna's hand is probably one of the most famous in the world so it was nerve wracking to know so many people would see my work around the globe.

Guess who! Cally-Jo was flown to the Dominican Republic to tattoo Rihanna at the personal request of the singing superstar

The secret's out: Rihanna's new tattoo made headlines around the world - but nobody knew it was the work of young British art graduate Cally-Jo

‘But it was very exciting and she was a dream to work with.’

The Diamonds singer asked Cally-Jo and a tattoo artist friend to design something incorporating one she already had on her hand and wrist.

Rihanna wanted to add to the tribal tattoo she had done in New Zealand.

The traditional pattern design was created using a chisel and mallet but Rihanna decided she wanted to expand on it and called Cally-Jo.

Cally Jo explains: ‘She wanted a henna look, almost like a piece of decorative hand jewellery.’

‘Rihanna wanted us to blend in a design that fused with the existing work.

Hard at work: The Diamonds singer asked Cally-Jo and a tattoo artist friend to design something incorporating a piece she already had on her hand and wrist

‘When I was drawing I wanted to create something feminine and sexy that played over the knuckles and wrist.

‘We were drawing on her for about ten hours but the tattoo itself only took one. Thankfully she absolutely loved it.’

Lucrative: Thanks to her celebrity following, Cally-Jo, who helped fund her way through college by working at Subway, is able to enjoy the life of an A-lister herself

The pictures were seen around the world, but nobody knew Cally-Jo was British.

She says: ‘I read lots of news reports about us being flown to the Dominican Republic but all assumed I was American.

‘I wanted to highlight the fact I’m British because we have an incredible tattoo scene here in the UK with some of the most talented artists.’

Now thanks to her celebrity following, Cally-Jo, who helped fund her way through college by working at Subway, is able to enjoy the life of an A-lister herself.

She said: ‘I grew up in a single-parent family and mum struggled to find the money to put me through art college. But now she is so proud of the name I am making for myself.

‘It’s a privilege to make a living from something I love doing so much.

‘I can’t believe I’ve gone from filling rolls in Subway to hanging out with celebrities and being flown around the world to do something I love.’

Cally-Jo says she developed a love of art and drawing as a child.

She says: ‘I was a really creative child and art was always my passion. I knew my future would be about drawing and painting.’

But it wasn’t until she reached her teens that she became interested in tattoo design.

She explains:’ My dad had some really old-school tattoos and I used to love looking at them and hearing the stories behind them.

‘It was then I realised I could potentially combine my love of art with body art.’

After leaving school she studied fine art at Eastleigh College and later won a place at the Winchester School of art to study painting.

Big names: The young artist has also tattooed actress Sienna Miller, singer Huey Morgan of the Fun Loving Criminals, pictured and goal- keeper Tim Sherwood

She graduated with a BA honors degree in 2011. Soon after Cally-Jo started a tattoo apprenticeship to learn her trade.

But unable to perform any real inkings until she qualified, she started posting pencil sketches of her designs online.

They were an instant hit and she gained her first 150,000 followers in just a few months.

She says: ‘I was shocked at the way it spiralled, but really proud that so many people were interested in my work.

‘It was frustrating not to be able to take any bookings though because I wasn’t actually able to use the machine at that point.’

Skills: She graduated with a BA honors degree in 2011. Soon after Cally-Jo started a tattoo apprenticeship to learn her trade

Cally-Jo was stunned to learn American singer Rihanna was following her last year.

She says of the moment she found out: ‘One of my friends texted me to say Rihanna was following me.

'To be honest I thought she had made a mistake but I looked and couldn’t believe it. I knew she was really into tattoos so I was really happy to think she was interested in my work.’

Finally after seven months of training Cally-Jo was able to start tattooing.

She was visiting a tattoo artist friend in New York when the call came from Rihanna last October.

Since then she’s tattooed Fun Loving Criminals front man Huey Morgan with one of her own heart designs and actress Sienna Miller who requested an M in honour of her baby, Marlowe.

Most recently she tattooed goalkeeper Tim Howard with a sacred heart on his shoulder.

Cally-Jo says: ‘My designs are pretty easy to identify, I love hearts and skulls. That’s my signature design.’

Talent: Cally-Jo started posting pencil sketches of her designs online. They were an instant hit and she gained her first 150,000 followers in just a few months