BRLSQ Spotlight Series: Brandon Holt
We continue our BRLSQ Spotlight Series with a feature on artist Brandon Holt. On Tuesday, May 21, we will release Welcome to Hell, a limited edition art print designed by Brandon and screenprinted right here by Ben LaFond. When we first saw his artwork, we were instantly blown away and worked out plans to produce an art print with him. Here's a look inside the mind and world of the one and only Brandon Holt...
Welcome to Hell
Introduce yourself to our corner of the internet.
My name is Brandon Holt and I was born and raised in Minnesota and currently reside in Minnesota with my loving lady and two beautiful children. I work by day at Uptown Tattoo and at night I draw and stay up mega late.
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Was there a defining moment when you realized you were going to become a tattoo artist?
There was a defining moment and I was like 12 or 13. My friends always asked me to draw metal album art or anything they thought was cool and they would say I want that as a tattoo. Well I knew nothing about tattoos and went into a tattoo shop down the street from my parents' house. I went in totally disregarding the huge sign that said you must be 16 to enter. I had a backpack full of drawings of skulls and brutal shit and asked if they would look or want to buy some of it. They totally freaked out on me and told me get fucked without even looking or asking if I was 16. When I walked home I thought fuck them I'll never be that big of an asshole and I'm gonna tattoo and show them!
What was the first tattoo you gave to someone?
The first tattoo I gave was on a good friend of mine who actually just passed away last summer, so it's not around anymore. It was a skull and crossbones that I drew on him with a Bic pen and tattooed it with a friend's tattoo machine that he ordered from the back of a tattoo magazine or some shit. I was so nervous I was shaking. By the time I got to the other side of the skull, I settled down and the nervousness like that never happened to me again. Many years later, I asked him to let me fix it and he wouldnt let me. I'm glad he had my first one becauseI dont think anyone would have been able to rock it like he did.
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What music have you been listening to lately?
I have been listening to alot of different stuff, mostly due to the tattoo shop. But in my free time been listening to alot of Lord Mantis, Witchden, Dissection, Bolt Thrower, Marduk, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Black Sabbath, and a bunch of other shit nobody really cares about. My five year old writes some pretty serious metal and performs for us during dinner which is my favorite stuff to listen to. His hits are "Dad, Charge Your Phone," "Bird Caught a Fish," "Train Goes on the Track," and "A Snake is Biting Ya."
Favorite visual artists?
My favorite artists... Virgil Finlay, Franklin Booth, Bernie Wrightson, Moebius / Jean Giraud, Arthur Rackham, Joseph Clement Coll, R. Crumb, Frank Frazetta, William Stout, Geof Darrow, and you get the idea. Alot of comic artists.
Favorite spots to eat in the Twin Cities?
Don't get out too often, but when we can it's Brasa, Wakame, Eli's, Muddy Waters.
Do you have plans for more screenprinted work in the near future?
I have already been drawing a bunch in my free time to get more going. I wanna explore this new world thoroughly now that I have found someone capable of doing what I never knew was possible before.
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You can follow Brandon on Instagram: @heathenlegs
Check our online store on Tuesday May 21st to grab a copy of his very first screenprinted art print Welcome to Hell in one of two limited color schemes!