We first met Joy — our titular portrait tattoo addict — after she saw her Steven Colbert tattoo in our (Not So) Complete History of TV Show Tattoos post and emailed us to thank us. When she told us she had a slew of other celebrities inked on her body, we were intrigued. So we asked her a couple of questions about her obsession, which you’ll see below, along with the photos she sent. Most of Joy’s work was done by Jason Martin at Lefty’s Tattoo in Orange Country, Calif., but read on to find out more, because you can never have enough joy — and Joy can’t ever have enough celebrity portraits.

How many portrait tattoos do you have?
I have eight portraits: Warren Zevon, Stephen Colbert, Tea Leoni, Anderson Cooper, Don Henley, plus my “X-Files” tattoos of David Duchovny, Mitch Pileggi and Robert Patrick.

Why not Gillian Anderson as part of your “X-Files” collection?
I get that a lot — why this person but not this person? If you have Stephen Colbert, why not Jon Stewart? All I can say is this is my collection, not my collection of “X-Files” or Comedy Central people. The people who are right for me are the ones I have.

You have several of the portraits autographed — did the autographs always come about after you’d gotten the tattoos?
The signature always comes after the portrait. The tattoo is not complete until the signature is added.

Did the autographs go directly onto your skin, or did you have people sign a piece of paper that you later got transfered to the tattoo?
The autographs go directly onto me and then I just preserve them until I can get to my artist.

How have the subjects of your tattoos reacted upon seeing their portraits on your body?
Everybody has been pretty positive. They seem to understand it is a compliment and really more about the art than them as people.

Where have you met these folks?
Famous people are just people. They go out in public just like everybody else. It takes a little creativity and patience to find them, but sooner or later it happens. Also, it is very important to be respectful to them when you make the request. For example, when I met David Duchovny we sat and talked for a half hour. He told me lots of stories and could not have been nicer!

What is it that you like so much about portraits?
People are just beautiful.

How do you decide which celebrities to get tattooed on your body?
I don’t think you choose tattoos. They choose you. Everybody gets the tattoo they deserve.

Any idea which celeb you’ll get done next?
I will know when the time is right.

Do you have other tattoos besides the portraits?
I have several. A few different skulls, an ohm and a handprint.

Is any of your work in color, or is it all black and grey?
The portraits are all without color. I think it makes them much better. I do have a few color pieces. In fact, my most recent skull is all in yellow.

How old were you when you got your first tattoo?
It is a tradition in our family to begin getting tattoo work done when you turn 16.

Do you watch any of the tattoo reality shows?
I am not a big fan of reality TV in general, so no.

Related posts: Q&A: Kat Von D of ‘Miami Ink’ | A (Not So) Complete History of TV Show Tattoos