Featured Tattoo Artist

Chris Oppenheim

Chris Oppenheim is an extremely talented artist we think everyone should check out! He does a lot of realism and Biomech style art. He can be found at his shop @interstateinkla or his personal page @tattoosbychurch

“After trying a few different combinations, I have found a couple that I prefer, for example, for lining, I use the steel motor housing, steel shift grip, and 20 percent cam.  I prefer the weight of the steel machine over the light weight machine. For larger projects where I am packing a lot of solid color I use the light weight 1.5 inch grip, steel motor housing, and 40 percent cam.  The larger grip helps to cut down on hand fatigue.

My favorite set up is the same large grip and steel motor housing with the 33 percent cam.  I call it the universal cam, I can line, pack color and shade with it. This setup is perfect because most of my work is realistic and requires repeatedly switching between a large variety of needle groupings in one tattoo.

I used coil machines for over 15 years. I have always relied on the resistance of the skin pushing back on the needle and the Neuma 4 has that same “give”.  The Neuma 4 is like having an entire collection of coil machines in one lightweight pen.”

-Chris Oppenheim