State of the Artist: November 2021
Updating the NFT Community on My Current Art Projects
As an artist, I don’t have a roadmap. However, collectors still want to know what artists are up to, and NFTs are a serious investment because you are counting on values to increase faster than the value of your cryptocurrency. As a result, I wanted to share an update on my current art projects. I may not share these updates every month, but I plan to do them quarterly at least. So here is my State of the Artist for November 2021 since I have now been in the NFT space for about 3.5 months.
How Many Digital Artworks Have I Created Since Entering the NFT Space?
I have created so many artworks since July that I had to upgrade my Adobe Creative Cloud subscription because my storage was full (they gave me a nice discount for being a long-time customer). Now, the space on my iPad is starting to fill up!
Here are some statistics to get us started:
I completed 17 new artworks during the month of July 2021.
I completed 21 new artworks during the month of August 2021.
I completed 68 new artworks during the month of September 2021 [Wow! I spent most of the month just sitting around with my tablet and a coffee – shoutout to my wife for putting up with that, although she is an artist too, so she gets it.]
I have completed 30 artworks during the month of October 2021 as of the writing of this article (on October 30th).
As you can see, only a small portion of the artworks I have already painted are currently available as NFTs. Also, these statistics do not include artworks that are partially completed, as I have many works in progress at any given time.
The fact of the matter is that much more is coming! More of what?
What Are My Current NFT Collections and What Collections Are Coming?
The collection that most people likely associate with me at this time is Freehand Ovals, but that is only one of three art collections where I currently have artworks listed on OpenSea. Here is an update on some of my current and upcoming collections.
Freehand Ovals – I currently have released Freehand Ovals #001-070. I have also painted #071-088. There will be a maximum of 100 artworks in this collection, so it is nearing completion. Current artworks are available starting at .05 ETH, although certain series within the collection start at .075 or .1 ETH. Look for an upcoming blog post explaining why this collection is so important to me.
Contemporary Digital Artworks – In this collection, I offer a variety of contemporary pieces. Don’t be fooled by the floor price. My 1/1 artworks in this collection start at .1 ETH. However, there are also a few entry-level artworks for collectors who like my art but can’t afford it. These are 10 edition artworks starting at .01 ETH. I will be featuring some of the artworks here in my blog to explain the process and meaning that went into them.
Travel Photographer – This photography collection started out with the idea of being photos from my travel in many locations, but so far, all of the photos are from Sicily, the home I miss so much. Six photos have been minted, but only four are listed because I am uploading a blog post in my “The Story Behind The Shot” series for each NFT in this collection before selling it.
Raining Colors – This is another 1/1 art series that is limited to 100 total artworks. I am setting aside ten artworks from the collection to be used as airdrops to reward early collectors in my Freehand Ovals series. None have been listed for sale at this time. I have currently painted 17 artworks in this series, and several have been minted. Release Date & Pricing: TBD
Shapes & Colors: A Study – This is going to be my genesis project on the Ethereum chain. However, gas prices have been too high for me to initialize my wallet on OpenSea. As soon as gas prices come down or I can afford to purchase and transfer more ETH to my wallet, this series will drop rapidly. Eight have already been painted, and I am limiting this series to 15 artworks. Also, one of the artworks will not be minted on OpenSea because it is being used as a collaboration with a project on Internet Computer Protocol (ICP). I will provide more information on that as the collaboration gets closer to dropping. Release Date & Pricing: TBD
Sicily Art Project – This is an art collection that started around how much I am missing Sicily. I don’t know how many may be produced in the future. I currently have three artworks uploaded, but I have not listed them for sale at this time.
I am also really interested in modern cubism and am working on a new 1/1 artwork in this style.
Do I Sell Physical Artwork?
I am currently displaced from my home and art supplies (for nearly two years). As a result, all of my current artwork is digital. However, my Shapes & Colors series is being digitally created in a printable A4 format. My plan at this time is to allow owners to create their own prints. I will provide proof of purchase as an unlockable (since anyone could just right click and print their own – this will identify the ones printed by purchasers of the NFT as the only legitimate prints).
Also, my first cubism painting is also being created in A4 format. My intention is to print, sign, and number 10 copies. I will keep one for myself to hang on the wall of my studio. I will send one to the first person who buys the NFT (assuming they are willing to contact me to provide their address). Then I will sell the rest from my website. I’m still working on the logistics for printing these myself or finding a print shop that can do it for me. After that, I will have to determine out how to safely ship the artworks since I have never sold physical artworks online before. Therefore, the release of the NFT and prints are TBD.
Important Note: I have sold physical artworks on canvas in the past. When my wife and I moved internationally, I put most of my artwork up at a moving sale, and every piece was sold to either individual collectors or the person who purchased all of our remaining items at the end of the sale. So there are a number of my physical artworks floating around out there. Obviously, these would be my earliest and rarest pieces. I have only kept two of my own original physical artworks. I have not turned them into NFTs at this time, but I may do so in the future.
What Do The Next Three Months Hold?
In part, this depends on whether my wife and I can return home or if we continue to be displaced. At this point it's a matter of a consulate completing some paperwork, so it is out of our hands. Obviously, moving will slow down my productivity temporarily. However, it would also get me back into my own apartment, where I will have more space to work on my art and photography.
I am also looking into upgrading my equipment for digital art production. A few things that would help to improve my processes include:
An iPad Pro – My current iPad struggles with certain intensive functions in Adobe Fresco and Adobe Photoshop.
An Adobe Fresco subscription – My current Adobe subscription includes Lightroom and Photoshop because I got it for photo editing. I am using the free version of Adobe Fresco, which limits certain functions, including the brushes that I have access to. Since I have the pay version of Adobe Photoshop, I can download additional brushes there, but that is not a painting app, so it slows down the creative process because of having to move my artwork back and forth between apps when I need certain brushes.
How Can You Support My Artwork/Photography?
If you want to support my work, the number one way to do so is to purchase my NFTs. The links to all of the collections are provided here. You can also find all of these links on my Linktree, where it is also possible to send a tip directly to my PayPal account. Additionally, if you are using Brave browser, you can tip me in Basic Attention Token (BAT) here on my website as well as on my Twitter account. Bitcoin tipping on my Twitter account is linked to my Coinbase Wallet.
