Katy Perry shows tattoo agony online

Katy Perry has shared the agony of undergoing a session with a tattooist in a series of graphic online photos.

The I Kissed a Girl hitmaker had a new piece of body art inked on her right ankle backstage before the San Francisco gig of her California Dreams world tour last month (Nov11).

A mobile tattoo artist was drafted in to inscribe the peppermint design on Perry's flesh - and a snapper captured every agonising moment for posterity.

Perry is seen swigging from a bottle of beer to steady her nerves as the tattooist gets to work, and she's then shown throwing back her head and gasping in pain as the needle pierces her skin.

The finished result, which Perry later unveiled on Twitter.com, is a companion piece to the strawberry on the pop star's left ankle.