Artist Interview | Quetzal Gelo | NFT CULTURE | NFT News | Web3 culture

Quetzal, thank you so much for taking the time to share a little about yourself with us. Would you mind starting by sharing a little about your story?

I am an abstract artist who has long put off trying to become a full-fledged artist. I studied at a school with an artistic bias, but after entering university I stopped creating art. Sometimes I painted something for the table or for myself, and made acrylic paintings on canvas for my apartment and nothing else. I have worked as a counselor for problem children, a consultant at Zara, a copywriter, and most of all I was a bartender. At some point I started drawing a lot again to express my feelings through paint. After learning about NFTs, I started uploading these works to platforms for the sake of interest and the opportunity to be
recognized.

Where are you from?

I am from St. Petersburg, which is considered the cultural capital of Russia. Many famous poets and artists lived in this city and were inspired by it, such as Dostoevsky, Pushkin, Kazimir Malevich and others. It is impossible not to be inspired by this city. But after Russia attacked Ukraine, I flew with my boyfriend and our cat to find a new home. We ended up choosing Montenegro and the journey took us through Istanbul. But we loved Istanbul so much that we decided to stay there. I don’t know if this will be our final choice, maybe we will continue to look for a new home and move on.

Can you tell us about your background and what led you down the path to becoming one an artist and finally experimenting with NFTs?

For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to be creative. Since childhood I have drawn a lot. I remember drawing fashionable outfits for my mother, coming up with nail designs for her and so on. Then I was sent to a school with an artistic bias. It differed from the normal school in that we had many drawing lessons, and we studied a lot of architecture from different eras, costumes and painting. After school, I immersed myself in university affairs. My specialty was not very creative (bridge and airport engineer) and I even forgot that I could once draw. But still, I always followed artists, performances, exhibitions, fashion and music. All this shaped my taste in art for many years. During my life I managed to work as a counselor with problem teenagers and as a bartender. As an introvert, it was difficult for me to work as a bartender. At the weekends I started painting for myself, with pencil, acrylic on paper or canvas. With the help of colors I expressed my feelings, mostly negative. It helped me throw it all out and I really felt better. Then experimenting with acrylic in the form of simple strokes became one of my NFT collections. I learned about NFT from the stories of my favorite singer Grimes. And I decided – why not try? You, you always stopped all attempts to become a full-fledged artist, you were insecure, and you are almost 30, can you change something already? And I finally decided to do it.

When did you make your first NFT? Which platform did you choose and why?

I dropped my first NFT about two years ago on OpenSea. At the time, I only knew of two platforms for NFTs, OpenSea and Foundation. However, I needed an invitation to join the Foundation and didn’t know how to get one. That’s why I chose OpenSea.

Can you tell us one thing you can’t live without? (and why)

Apart from my family and my son, I thought it would be music. Music has always been important to me as it allows me to immerse myself in a particular emotional state and it is an excellent source of inspiration. The music and artists I’ve listened to have played a significant role in shaping my worldview and creative preferences.

Who is your favorite artist(s) (Not NFT)? What about their style resonates with you?

I love many classics in art. But to answer this question I will choose a contemporary artist, and that will be Emanuele Tozzoli. God, I just love his style. This is what inspires me a lot. He is completely free in his self-expression. His works are impulsive, and I see a whole theatrical performance in them. Some may find his work strange, but this is what inspires me. Going above and beyond has always impressed me.

Who is your favorite NFT artist? What makes this artist unique?

I love @iamsati with all my heart. She was one of the first artists I followed in NFT, and we became good friends afterwards. I really like her TV collection; I love her color palette and her sweet stories. I appreciate that over time she started adding more of her experiences to her art, and I often see a social or political context in her TV characters, which I like. I also love her 1/1 art where she maintains her style, color palette and expresses herself on many subjects that I admire. I see and feel her emotions in her work and her cyberpunk stories are impressive.

What made you pursue NFT art?

Everything fit perfectly. I’ve always blamed myself for feeling embarrassed about posting my art, being unsure of myself, starting and leaving the art Instagram. In addition, I felt the crisis approaching 30 years old; I still hadn’t started doing what I had always dreamed of and was often depressed. I saw that the main tool for promoting NFTs is Twitter and I had not used this social network for promotion before. After seeing the amazing support from artists, I decided that I would do anything to fulfill my dream and become a full-time full-time artist. As they say, “LFG”!

What’s the one piece of NFT art you wish you’d bought but missed out on?

It was a photo by @Tylersjourney_ “True colors”. I checked periodically if it was sold or not and planned to buy it when I sold something for a certain amount. But I didn’t have time, she was taken from my hands haha.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? Why this location?

I have always dreamed of visiting New York and Berlin. I think these cities are perfect for me and I hope to visit them. But if I had to choose a place to live, I would choose a quiet and peaceful place with good Internet and warm weather, where I could fully immerse myself in my creativity.

What are your other passions besides art? Why?

Music. I listen to music all the time, follow news and updates about different genres, and like to explore new artists. I also like to cook and often indulge in my dishes, although I should probably do it more often.

Do you make other forms of art?

For now, no. If you’re just counting on writing stories for my open edition collection, each piece of art is its own story in two parts, and I write those stories myself. In the future, I would like to learn to make music.

How did you arrive at your specific style?

I have experimented a lot with my art, exploring different themes, colors and even genres. My first NFT works were chaotic acrylic strokes, but I gradually began to incorporate more movement and color. Eventually I started adding characters to my pieces and did a lot of sketching on my iPad. I saw many other artists, was inspired. This process led me to develop my current style, which is still abstract and features pastel colored backgrounds that imitate oil paint. My works now include multiple characters and storylines, each telling a mini-story that I have personally experienced. Additionally, I always include my mushroom characters in each piece, which has become a signature of my art. While I still criticize myself at times, I would say that my current style is my favorite of anything I’ve done. Drawing in this style brings
me much pleasure.

How has your style evolved over the years?

I think my art has become bolder and freer. I no longer see any limits for myself in creativity. There are more interesting details and features and I can see my style finally starting to emerge and my latest pieces look organic with each other. I went from chaotic brushstrokes in acrylic to full-fledged abstract illustrations.

What is coming in the near future?

I have some new 1/1 artwork that should be released soon, as well as more work in progress and lots of ideas in the form of sketches. I also plan to publish a collection of works without characters, with minimalist abstractions. I will continue to work on myself as an artist to become a full-fledged artist and I will continue to develop my social networks by writing different threads such as a section for artists, musicians and videos that have inspired me.

If you could collaborate with one artist, who would it be?

Another difficult question haha. There are many talented artists I admire, but if I had to choose one for a potential collaboration, I would say Grigala. I think our styles will complement each other well, with my characters and details matching well with his abstract approach. Who knows, maybe we can work together one day!

Do you have any upcoming drops?

Yes, there are at least two jobs I plan to drop. These are personal arts for me, which I really love and worry about before the fall. If I’m lucky and can get on SR, I’ll be happy to post them there. The other option is Foundation.

Biggest piece sold?

“Coming Out” – 0.5 ETH
This was a very personal work for me, expressing my feelings about coming out last year. The art is accompanied by a very long description where I share my life and feelings candidly.

What was your biggest failure and what did you learn from it? Something else do you want to share?

I guess I should mention my unfortunate trait. I used to trust people too much and because of this I had problems with betrayal and many unpleasant situations. But that was in the past. Now I have become a more closed person and I am selective about who I trust. I don’t immediately open up to people haha

Anything else you want to share?

I would like to encourage all the artists who are considering to try their hand at web3. It’s definitely worth it! I regret not getting into NFT earlier. You will receive huge support from other artists, make friends, get loads of inspiration and get opportunities to grow. We are all just at the very beginning of this journey, so hop on the NFT train and embark on this journey together.

Where can collectors find your work?
https://lynkfire.com/QuetzalGelo
https://www.twitter.com/quetzalgelo https://instagram.com/quetzalgelo
https://opensea.io/collection/quetzalgeloedition
https://knownorigin.io/quetzal-gelo