Meet Devonte Holt of ARTBYTAY in Birmingham

Today we’d like to introduce you to Devonte Holt.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Devonte. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I have always been an artist in some way, form or fashion as a kid. I would draw a lot of anime, cartoons, tattoos, etc. I’ve always had an interest in art and just being creative period, I got introduced to tattoos because my uncle had a tattoo on his arm and I asked how did he get it he said a needle and sum ink. So in my mind, it sounded stupid so I wanted to know more.

In Walmart, they had a magazine called “Lowrider” that had pictures of tattoos and drawings in it, and I would always look at them because it was dope to me. As I got older, people would ask me to draw their tattoos, and they paid me for it. So it came to me one day if they would pay me for the drawing they should pay me to tattoo. So I tried to find someone to teach me but I could never find anyone so I taught my self. I linked up whit my brother Marc and we did tattoo parties together and I learned a lot, but I still wasn’t were I wanted to be as an artist so I went to a shop called Something Different where I met Kourtney(krowend kween) and Zach McGuffie and I learned a lot about the business and also met other cool tattoo artist in that environment.

I left Something Different and started to work from home because I eventually wanted to open my own shop, but I still wanted to learn more about tattoos and how I could get better, so I started to draw more and paint alot I also started going to art shows and tattoo seminars just to get better at my craft. I put together a few art shows on my own the most notable one was the medium vol.1 I had a lot of artist friends locally and from out of state to attend the event. It was a huge success I wanted to do more for Birmingham’s art scene, so me and Marc came up with a plan to open a tattoo shop that was multi-purposed. Where we could tattoo, have an art gallery, have art shows and more.

We contacted our brother cee jay to see if he wanted to be apart of it, because he also didn’t have a shop space to work in, and that was the birth or Pain Freakz Bodyart Studio. All in the first year of the shop being established, I started a clothing brand called “Strapped,” which at first was only a dream that I had but people loved my artwork and would always ask me if I could put it on t-shirts. So I created a sample windbreaker that a lot of people thought was dope but, it really didn’t pick up until my homeboy Pratt City Savage put in on then posted it on his page and it went CRAZY!!!

So in my mind, I was thinking maybe it’s just because its Pratt so my brother Tyler asked if he could get one of his own but I didn’t have anymore, so he bought the one that Zach had and posted it online and it went crazy again… so I wanted to create something that had nothing to do with anything so I created a water-gun fanny pack… everything took off after that for the clothing brand we created everything from windbreaks to swimsuits..while all that was going on I still was working on my artwork and creating a style of my own for tattooing.

I drew up this custom Nefertiti piece for one of my clients and posted the drawing online before actually tattooing it and it went viral, like viral. Now I’ve seen it tattooed everywhere to the point that when I see it now, I smile. I was upset at first because I believe in being original, and I feel like copying is lame, but I had to look at it differently. When I first started tattooing, I had to copy other artists’ work as well until I had my own style. So now I think it’s cool that people around the country have my artwork on them.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Tbh this year has been the lightest I’ve ever felt. Coming into a profession without any knowledge or guidance would be hard for anyone. I didn’t have a family that believed in what I was doing, lol, for the most part, some thought I was crazy for wanting to be an artist instead of conforming to the typical working world. My mom and dad showed some support after realizing how serious I was about it. When i started, I didn’t have a job and I had a newborn to provide for, so I had to borrow money to get my first tattoo machine and equipment.

My uncle Rodney and his two oldest gave me some money and some encouraging words, which were if you are going to do this, we need you to really do it. Don’t just treat this like a faze really put effort into it and that’s what I’ve been doing from day one. I don’t want to let the people who have had my back down because they believed in me and my success. So i have to work hard of everything I want. I didn’t have the privilege of investors or loans when it came to us starting the shop. We were tattooing in the am and afternoon by nightfall we where in the shop building walls, grinding concrete, painting ceilings, etc. whatever we had to do to get the shop up and running Before we opened the shop the same uncle who believed in me had passed and it really messed me up. He was that uncle that was everybody’s dad. But I couldn’t stop doing what I was doing because he wouldn’t want that for me.

During this journey of trying to establish myself as an artist and establish two businesses all at the same time, I’ve lost a lot of friends and family due to either death or just outgrowing each other. So all of that, on top of trying to be a great role model for my son, was heavy. For a minute, I broke down and I’m not one of those people who talk about my problems, which was part of the problem. After doing a lot of self-evaluating, i have a different mindset and outlook at things. I felt like it was my responsibility for everyone and everything but, in order to help anyone, you have to take care of yourself first. If you don’t, you will lose everything you have worked for. Take some time out for family, friends,and yourself don’t work yourself into the ground.

We’d love to hear more about your art.
Pain Freakz Body Art Studio is a tattoo shop/art gallery and studio space for creatives we have a total of 6 tattoo artist and one piercer we specialize in creating one of a kind tattoos. We either design the piece beforehand or draw it directly to the skin, which most call “freehand”. Every artist in our shop style of tattooing is different and has a professional quality to it im proud to say we have one of the best urban tattoo shops in the city hands down any style of tattooing you are looking for we have someone who can do it and kill it. I don’t think its too many places like ours.

Strapped brand is a unisex streetwear brand that has a mission to get people to look past the cover of the book. For instance, our logo is a water gun which signifies “protecting yourself without malicious intent”. The term strapped for us means to be prepared for whatever life puts in your path no matter the situation you adapt to it and overcome it. The brand has been around since 2016, but we established it as a brand in 2018.

ARTBYTAY I’m a tattoo artist/designer. As a tattoo artist, I specialize in black&grey tattoos, illustrative, Afrocentric, color, cover-ups, and portrait tattoos. As a tattoo artist, I take pride in bringing my client’s ideas to life and making the images more than what they expected, giving them something they can be proud of. I’ve been a tattoo artist since 2012 and I continue to try to further my skills. You can never know too much when it comes to the tattoo industry. As a designer, I really love to create things that are different but yet relatable so I create from experience in most of my art pieces you will see my characters Tea and Cuh which Tea was create from my son and Cuh is like the mans best friend, so he’s based on my close friends. I like my designs to be bold, colorful and in your face, so once you see it, you can’t really take your eyes off it.

I can say the things that I’m most proud of is the fact that we are creating something that my city has never had on the level we are taking it too and we inspire others to do the same I love seeing people create and be great at what they do leaving a positive mark on the term tattoo artist and showing people we art more than just that we are creators, people with a vision and the drive to see it all through.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The way the world is set up now you can be yourself and be successful. being genuine and authentic takes you further than what most people think. I don’t try to be anyone but who I am those who gravitate towards me, my brand, and my designs, like them because they come from a real place inspired by real-life situations. Even with tattoos, I don’t try to fit in with what people think a tattoo artist looks like or what they think we should act. Like I’m goofy in real life, lol and I think me being true to myself is what makes people really support the things I do and I’m grateful for that.

Contact Info:

• Address: 2209 Bessemer Rd Birmingham AL 35208
• Website: artbytay.com strappedbrand.com
• Phone: 2055855421
• Email: getartbytay@gmail.com
• Instagram: @art_bytay @strappedbrand @painfreakz
• Facebook: @artbytay @strappedbrand @painfreakz

Image Credit:
Female modle @queenleora
Male model with dreads @call.me.bxnks
Male model2 @tommy_pickl3z
Photographer @therealdanielprescott

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