Finally got to finish the front on this champ!
The back, done last winter, is now fully healed and settled. Huge thanks for your trust, I’m beyond happy with how it turned out.
Wish I had the chance to capture it from more angles… there’s always more to discover in a concept piece like this. ❤️
This one took time, effort and a lot of dedication from both directions!
Dot by dot, just staying with it until it felt right.
Patience is key.
Can’t wait to continue it!
There are projects I usually avoid, cover-ups are one of them. Not because they’re not meaningful, but because they often require a very different approach than the one I work with. They tend to be heavy, packed, built on hiding. My work is the opposite.
It relies on space, on flow, on letting the body breathe.
So I rarely take them.
This one felt different from the beginning, there was no intention to fight what was already there, just to move it into something new.
We didn’t try to cover. We shifted it. Placed lines in a way that lets the eye move, instead of getting stuck.
That’s what made it work.
The result feels clean and natural.
Not forced, not overloaded. Just right.
Projects like this are rare for me, but when they come together like this, they’re very rewarding.
There are moments in life that divide everything into before and after.
This was one of them.
A few lines, placed on the front of the body.
Nothing to hide behind. Only the choice to break free from the old and step into the new.
Just structure, intention, and exposure.
He came with a clear understanding. Not of the design, but of himself.
A decision to enter a new way of being.
Not temporarily. Not experimentally. Completely.
This is his first tattoo.
And also his last.
Not because there is nothing more to add,
but because nothing more is needed.
When a person chooses such a concept piece, he chooses honesty.
There is no escaping it. No turning away.
It becomes a constant reflection.
These lines are not decoration.
They are direction.
A reminder of a path chosen consciously.
Of a belief that does not depend on validation.
Of a step taken without the need to return.
There is something rare in that level of commitment in a world that constantly negotiates, adjusts, and hesitates.
He did not hesitate.
He chose to stand in front of himself, draw a line forward, and follow it.
Fourteen years ago, in 2012, I tattooed a person for the first time.
I was 31. I had no traditional apprenticeship, no studio backing, no roadmap.
What I had was instinct. And a feeling that this was exactly where I was supposed to be.
I had no artistic background, just a big dream and a lot of motivation to run towards it.
I was scared. There is no way around that. The first time you aim a machine at someone’s skin, you understand the weight of permanence. But at the same time, it felt natural. Not forced. It felt like something I had already known long before I actually did it. It’s hard to explain.
When I understood how difficult it would be to become a tattoo artist through a conventional apprenticeship at my age, I made a decision. I stopped waiting for permission.
I left my birthplace. I crossed oceans. I arrived in a city where I knew no one and was never visited before, with no guarantees and no safety net. Just a strong believe that this was the path. I started tattooing. I practiced. I learned alone. I made mistakes. I refined. I repeated. Every single day. The whole day.
If you’ve read my interviews over the years, you know the story. The desert silence. The decision to leave everything behind. Berlin. Living on almost nothing. Donating blood to survive. Tattooing one person a day. Building a private studio based on trust and focus. Creating every piece freehand, directly on the body, because the body is a living form. California. Family. Dedication.
What began without structure became my structure.
What began without approval became my voice.
Fourteen years later, I am still learning. The more I know the more I understand how little I know. I am still refining daily. Still approaching each session with the same awareness and believe I had on day one.
Grateful to everyone who trusted me when I was just starting. Grateful to those who still do and will.
The dream was not just to tattoo.
The dream was to build a life around meaning, connection, and art creation.
And that part continues.
If I managed to become a tattoo artist starting where I started, then truly anyone can become what they want to be.
Peace & Love
Chaim
Some pieces arrive with a story I have to step into first and stay with me long after the finish act.
When my client asked for a design inspired by the @interstellarmovie , I hadn’t seen the film yet. Before composing the design, I studied it closely. The more I immersed myself in it, the more I felt emotionally connected to its themes of time, distance, love, and sacrifice.
Designing this piece became more than a visual exercise. It turned into a personal dialogue with the story itself.
Thank you for the trust with this one, Mr. P 🖤
This piece was done in one go. A continuous exchange of trust, patience, and intention. When someone arrives open and fully present, the body becomes a guide rather than a surface, the lines reveal themselves, following breath, movement and an inner rhythm. There was a very strong motivation throughout this process, a willingness to commit to the work and let it unfold naturally, minute by minute.
Grateful for the presence, the openness, and the deep trust in my work.
This is where the work becomes more than a tattoo.
