Meet Tez Vestal of Painful Genius Art & Tattoo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tez Vestal.

Hi Tez, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I originally started tattooing in July 2011 after hearing my mom complaining that I was letting my art talent go to waste by not utilizing it. From there she purchased me a tattoo kit from Amazon and the rest was pretty much history. Trial and error led me to be the tattoo artist I am today.

Once I graduated college in 2015 I began chasing my professional tattoo career and I haven’t looked back since. By 2016 I was licensed, and by 2019 I opened my 1st private studio. Then in the middle of the pandemic, I opened up a large-scale tattoo shop, hired a team of other great artists, and managed to reach the 6 figure mark financially.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
For the most part, nothing about this journey has been easy at all. I tattooed from 2011-2018 with little success. I was a struggling artist that refused to give up despite my hardships.

In the process of making it here, I went homeless, lived in a basement, almost lost my life, and caught some charges along the way. I regret none of it because it built character within me, but there were some extremely tough times.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As a tattoo artist, I specialize in tattooing melanated skin. As a black personalities, we always get told that we cannot do certain things because of our skin tone, and I’m in the game to show that we can do everything that anyone else can.

I’m most proud of my resiliency.

What sets me apart is my ability to be creatively free in all aspects of my life which translates well into my art.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out.
My best advice would be to always practice and try to push the envelope, one failure should never deter you from chasing after your goals and dreams.

Pricing:

• I charge by the hour. $100 per hour plus a $100 booking fee (3-hour minimum)
• $500 tap out sessions
• $600 2 person full day sessions
• $700 3 person full day sessions
• $300 “trust me” sessions

Contact Info:

• Website: https://neighborhoodartdealer.acuityscheduling.com
• Instagram: @The.Neighborhood.Art.Dealer
• Facebook: @TheNeighborhoodArtDealer
• Youtube: The Neighborhood Art Dealer