Rostan x Crazy Dog x Nifty Gateway NFT Culture | NFT and Crypto Art Interviews and more
where are you from
I was born in Chicago, and moved to Rhode Island when I was 24. I lived there for 10 years before settling in Southern California.
Can you tell us about your background and what led you to become an artist and eventually experiment with NFTs?
I have been a painter all my life. Around 2005 I was airbrushing t-shirts and illustrating editorials for an adult magazine. I created the idea of airbrushing a model’s body painting for a magazine photo spread. The mag founder said yes, and I gave it a shot. I was totally hooked and haven’t stopped body painting since.
When I first learned about NFTs in 2021, it just clicked. It was everything in my life leading up to this moment. This is the first time I’ve been able to offer my ephemeral art as original artwork, visually moving, and everything fits perfectly!
When did you mint your first NFT? Which platform did you choose and why?
I minted my first NFT on Opensea on March 7, 2021. My research led me there and it made sense to try it with the lazy minting process.
Can you tell us one thing you can’t live without?
I can’t live without my laptop. It has enabled me to share my art in truly unimaginable ways.
Who is your favorite artist(s) (NFT)? What about their style resonates with you?
It changes from moment to moment, and I have many choices. But generally, I would have to say Helmut Newton, Stanley Kubrick. Their technical wizardry and visual descriptions are not interesting to me.
Who is your favorite NFT artist? What makes this artist unique?
I collected 1500 NFT. I am a big fan of decorative art, nude bodies or candid figures. I love Yana Strizh’s work @YStrizh. I think he is very underrated. Phazed, NoOneNoise, DavidCheifitz, Luluxxx, Pinxx, and soooo many more, the list goes on.
See part of my collection here
What made you pursue the NFT industry?
I instantly understood NFT. I wasn’t one of those people who didn’t get it at first. I quickly realized their potential and how efficient they were compared to traditional printing, framing, storage and gallery art display. This solves a ton of problems and cuts out unnecessary middlemen. I immediately jumped on board.
What is one part of the NFT industry that you bought but wish you missed?
Bored Ape Yacht Club of course.
If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go? Why this position? What are your other passions besides art? Why?
I live on the beach in California where I want to be, so I don’t really want to go anywhere else. But I wouldn’t mind checking out Oregon and going to Astoria where the Goonies live.
In the meantime, I love exploring Decentraland. I can watch amazing things more efficiently from the comfort of my home while wearing only my underwear.
Decentraland offers a lot. I have met so many people from all over the world that I now call family. Community is strong. And the support of my industry is unparalleled. I own a gallery in Decentraland where I exhibit my work, offer solo and group shows for others, and release parties for collections and collections with solid beats by amazing DJs. It’s really driving in traffic to get to the venue, and the costs associated with setting up the show in real life. In fact, I hope more NFT artists explore the meta verse. I don’t believe NFT is early anymore, but Metaverse certainly is. It’s only a matter of time before it’s too late for the laggers to arrive at the gate.
I’m having a party there tonight celebrating today’s nifty Gateway drop. Details here
Do you create other forms of art?
Well, I have learned how to model in 3D and am making and selling my branded wearables at Decentraland. These include jean jackets with my art, my original glasses, a virtual shark head from my shark body painting series, and my first virtual body painting. They’re all avatar wearables within Decentraland, and I’ve sold more virtual wearables than real-life t-shirts.
How do you come up with your specific style?
I can’t say that I really have a specific style. I explore everything. I get bored very easily, so I’m always trying different painting ideas on skin, which is inspiring at the moment.
How has your style evolved over the years?
Well I can definitely say that the first five years of my career revolved around strategy and then I started applying the concept. I’m in a state now where I don’t think about it too much, the airbrush and paints are an extension of my hand and create what’s in my head like second nature. It is now just a form of communication.
What is coming in the near future?
Today, I’m dropping my inaugural collection at the nifty Gateway Invited by Mad Dog.
This is a very exciting honor for me, and I am thrilled to release this unique 24 Open Edition featuring 5 painted ladies in a futuristic cyberpunk neon theme.
If you could collaborate with one artist, who would it be?
I recently did a wonderful collaboration with Luluxxx. And it was a joy!
I would love to collaborate with Mike Tyson or Paris Hilton in the NFT space. I want to draw Tyson as a tiger or Paris Hilton as a diamond.
Also want to know what @wideawakebeets is doing with Here and Now. Brothers are innovating!
What was your biggest failure and what did you learn from it?
I see failure as a tremendous learning opportunity. My entire industrial career has been a series of failures that have led me layer by layer through trial and error. That said, I’d say my biggest “failure” (more waste of time) was trying to become a graphic designer. I did what I had to do, and was incredibly miserable as a result. I’m not ready to work for other people, and do sub-par creative artwork to meet some expectations when I know I can do better. I’ve done fun unique jobs my whole life, and this was the most “normal” job for me. I quickly came off of it in 3 months, and never again. Through that job I learned my place in the world. Instead I have built a career for myself as a body painter for the past 17 years.
Where can collectors find your work?
Nifty Gateway
Website link:
bodypainter.com
Social Bonds:
NFT Marketplace Link:
https://ift.tt/EHUTJIn
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