Opie Ortiz
Encyclopedia
Opie Ortiz is an American artist
specializing in tattoo
s, pop art
and mural
s. Ortiz is best known for his art featured on Sublime
album covers. Mural
s painted by Ortiz can be found in and around Long Beach
. Opie operated American Beauty Tattoo for approximately 7 years before moving on to open World Famous Tattoo. He now works at Ink Assassins, located in Long Beach, Ca. Ortiz was also responsible for the "Sublime" tattoo across Bradley Nowell
's upper back, which appeared on the cover of the multi-platinum self titled album Sublime
, along with the flower art covering the front of the CD
. He also created the burning sun on the cover of 40 Oz. to Freedom
, the cover artwork for Second-Hand Smoke, 1997's Doin' Time
EP, as well as the Everything Under the Sun
box set. He has also been a member of the bands Long Beach Dub Allstars
and Dubcat.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
specializing in tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
s, pop art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
and mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s. Ortiz is best known for his art featured on Sublime
Sublime (band)
Sublime was an American ska punk band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1988. The band's line-up, unchanged until their breakup, consisted of Bradley Nowell , Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh . Michael "Miguel" Happoldt also contributed on a few Sublime songs, such as "New Thrash." Lou Dog, Nowell's...
album covers. Mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s painted by Ortiz can be found in and around Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
. Opie operated American Beauty Tattoo for approximately 7 years before moving on to open World Famous Tattoo. He now works at Ink Assassins, located in Long Beach, Ca. Ortiz was also responsible for the "Sublime" tattoo across Bradley Nowell
Bradley Nowell
Bradley James Nowell was an American musician who served as lead singer and guitarist of the Californian band Sublime. He died at the age of 28 from a heroin overdose shortly before the release of Sublime's self-titled major label debut.Raised in Long Beach, California, Nowell developed an...
's upper back, which appeared on the cover of the multi-platinum self titled album Sublime
Sublime (album)
Sublime is the third and final album released by ska-punk band Sublime. Originally intended to be titled Killin' It, the band and record label agreed to substitute an eponymous title due to lead singer Bradley Nowell's death prior to the album's release...
, along with the flower art covering the front of the CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
. He also created the burning sun on the cover of 40 Oz. to Freedom
40 Oz. to Freedom
40oz. to Freedom is the 1992 debut album by the Southern California ska-punk band Sublime released by Skunk Records and again by MCA. 40oz. to Freedom received mixed critical reviews upon its first release, but has earned an improved public perception since...
, the cover artwork for Second-Hand Smoke, 1997's Doin' Time
Doin' Time
"Doin' Time" is a single by the American band Sublime. It is featured on their self-titled third album. The lyrics tell of a cheating girlfriend, whose infidelities and poor treatment of her lover makes him feel like he is in prison. "Doin' Time" features heavy usage of lounge music...
EP, as well as the Everything Under the Sun
Everything Under the Sun
Everything Under the Sun is a box set of rarities from the band Sublime. It is composed in large part of tracks that can be found on previously released bootleg albums. See: List of Sublime bootlegs.-Track listing:Disc 1# Roots of Creation...
box set. He has also been a member of the bands Long Beach Dub Allstars
Long Beach Dub Allstars
The Long Beach Dub Allstars were a dub reggae/ska/rock band formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2002.-History:Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh met in childhood and later started their first garage punk band, consisting of drums, bass and vocals. They later formed Sublime with Brad Nowell...
and Dubcat.