What is it about Katherine Von Drachenberg that fascinates us? Maybe it’s her devil-may-care attitude, made flesh by myriad tattoos that course up and down her body.

Perhaps it’s her Hollywood glamour – she hangs out with a gang that includes Jackass’Bam Margera, the Eagles Of Death Metal and Jeffree Star, and has tattooed the likes of Lemmy, Kerry King of Slayer, Lady Gaga and HIM.

Or maybe it’s because after two seasons as a featured artist on Miami Ink and four seasons as the shop-owning star of LA Ink, Kat’s garnered enough screen time to make us feel that we know her, warts and all. However, we find out more about her on her TV show than we do through interviews. She’s notoriously private, letting her tattoos do the talking rather than spilling her intimate secrets to the press.

What we do know about Kat’s private life is communicated in the pop and glare of flashbulbs, as she walks red carpets with her latest rock’n’roll boyfriend. She’s dated Roy Orbison’s son Orbi and Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx, and she’s now hooked up with Sandra Bullock’s ex, Jesse James. Inevitably, there are already rumours that Kat is pregnant with his child.

Kat’s new book, The Tattoo Chronicles, covers a year in her life. She documents every tattoo she inks, with sketches, notes and thoughts on the significance of the design for both her client and herself. It’s an insight into her thought processes and a rare glimpse into her personal feelings; her clients for the year include ex-boyfriend Nikki Sixx as well as Dave Navarro, Kirk Hammett, and customers brought to her through LA Ink.

A combination of the shrewd, the lewd and the tattooed, Kat Von D will continue to fascinate and intrigue us. In the meantime, while you’re puzzling her out, cast your eyes over some of the most stunning pictures of Kat we’ve ever seen.

Kat is coming to the UK and doing an official signing. Meet her on Friday 26 November at Waterstones Piccadilly, 6pm