Quote Originally Posted by pff
can be
Я люблю тебя, мать

?
sounds better
Worse.
My mom would probably be offended if I called her that.
Мама is good word to say you love her. Мать is a formal word (it's not even like 'mother' in English, but rather 'female parent'). I love you, my female parent sounds awful, wouldn't you say.
The things get worse if you remember that 'мать' is mentioned very frequently in Russian swearing.

And another thing: my mom would disapprove of me having tattoos, even with so nice words.