New York Magazine lists Anil Gupta as one of the top 5 tattoo artists.

ANIL GUPTA
Inkline Studios, 513 E. 5th St., nr. Ave. A; 212-614-0094
Specialty: Realistic, portraiture.

Gupta is the Zen-calm master of precise reproduction. His East Village shop is stocked with art and photo books that he uses to create his tattoos: Xerox-perfect portraits, elaborate Celtic knotwork, biomechanical nightmares, tribal-inspired abstract pieces, replicas of Dalí and Da Vinci. Since he moved here from India in 1991, he has tattooed celebrities including Christian Slater, John McEnroe, and Rosie O’Donnell. The 44-year-old’s big breakthrough came fourteen years ago, when he inked a perfect postage-stamp-size copy of the cover of the Grateful Dead’s 1974 Skeletons From the Closet.

Gupta suggests that clients think abstractly rather than literally about their designs. “If you lost your dog, you don’t need to get a portrait of your dog,” he says. “Maybe your dog reminds you of a cloud because he was fluffy. Then you can ask for a running, fluffy cloud on your arm.”

• Wait list: Six months.
• Price range: Starts at $450.