The ‘Soft Shell Taco Method’ to Becoming a Hot New NFT Artist – Terrell Jones, NFT Creator – Cointelegraph Magazine
Artist: Terrell Jones, Michigan
Date marked first NFT: 28 March 2021
Which blockchains? Ethereum, Tezos
Influenced by classic gangster films, Terrell Jones has a distinctive style that captures imagination and nostalgia. He’s about to auction another piece at Sotheby’s and has a patented “soft-shell taco method” to catch the attention of notable collectors.
Who is he?
From childhood aspirations to be a cartoonist to now being one of the hottest new NFT artists catching the attention of elite collectors and Sotheby’s, Terrell Jones is well on his way to the launch pad.
Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Jones has a visually distinct style. But it is his ability to tell stories through his art such as the collections “Evil in Color” and “Good and Evil” that sets him apart. In the past two months alone, Jones has had some of his highest sales ever and there is growing interest in his work.
“A big thing for me has always been trying to connect my stories and images with a deeper part of everyone. With the way things are moving now and with so many artists, people probably see more art in a day than you probably would have seen within a year. It’s been a big shift,” says Jones.
“Because we can see so much art, I wanted my things to stick with people in a deeper sense. I want them to remember.”
Like Grant Yun (who was featured last week in NFT Creator), Jones is a big fan of drawing on evocative memories and a sense of longing for the past.
“I definitely try to connect viewers and collectors of my art with nostalgia. Much of the music I listen to is for nostalgic reasons. Many of the movies and shows I watch are for nostalgic reasons. I lead with nostalgia in a way with my work,” Jones said.
“Especially with the ‘Evil and Color’ series, a lot of it comes from old gangster films or old crime films. They have been very influential to me and I was very fond of them. I’m talking about Sopranos, Goodfellas, Scarf and all those types of classics.”
Despite all the recent interest, Jones remains firmly grounded.
“I can remember times when people didn’t care what I did or what I did. The last time has been a big contrast to that, and it’s a big change. I’m grateful for that.”
influences
Jones cites American visual artist George Condo as his No. 1 influence.
“I’m a fan of a lot of artists, but George Condo is definitely my favorite. A lot of my early work was pretty much Condo-like copies.”
“I also have to give shoutouts to Edward Hopper (American realist painter and printmaker), Hiroshi Guy (American pop painter), David Hockney (English painter, printmaker and photographer), Phil Hale (American figurative painter), Yue Minjun (Chinese contemporary artist).”
“You also have Takashi Murakami and Mpcoz doing amazing things in NFTs.”
Personal style
Jones’ style is simple yet fascinating. It takes you to places in your mind and brings out memories you may not have thought about in years or decades.
“I describe my style as a kind of mix of pop art from around the 80s. I was definitely inspired a lot by that. Pop precisionism is how I like to talk about it – it’s a subgenre in a way.”
“I work to capture that sense of nostalgia and that sense of imagination, like when children think anything is possible. I want to try to rekindle that spark in us as adults now.”
In true Jones style, the devil is very much in the details with a number of his creations.
“I come from a religious background where angels and devils are one thing. It’s interesting because I think they exist, but to me they don’t necessarily look or behave like we think of them. For example, angels are angelic figures with wings; they are perfect, and they glow. And with the devils, they’re these red figures with the horns and all that. I don’t feel like any of these necessarily look like that if they exist, says Jones.
His “Joy and Wonder” series led to one cooperation with the notable NFT project Aku Akutars, founded by former Major League Baseball player Micah Johnson.
“Akutar’s collaboration with Micah was great. Before I was connected to Micah, I had a lot of people tell me that my space boy character reminded them of the Akutar character. It was an easy yes for me when Micah reached out. I had already thought of different concepts and parts. Really fun to be a part of.”
Remarkable sale
NFT artists to watch out for?
Jones gives us a big smile and informs us of three artists we should all take a closer look at.
Kodak LDN — Animator from Nigeria
“He is a Nigerian artist I have been aware of for a long time. I think I may have been the first to buy a piece from him. He’s a super talented animator and I’d love to work with him at some point,” says Jones.
“I truly believe he is one of the greatest animators I have seen. His work is unlike anything else I have seen either in the NFT room or outside.”
Niah — Artist from Australia
“There are certain artists where I simply cannot understand how they created a piece of art, and Niah is one of them. She’s one of those artists where I want to zoom in on her pieces and wonder how she got certain pieces so clear even though it’s so intricate. Niah is just super talented.”
Rozwell — The Creator
“I described him as our Steve Jobs. He’s crazy. The project he is about to come out with I think is going to change a lot for the NFT area. I think it will definitely start as a whole new meta. People should definitely keep an eye on it.”
Process
With inspiration coming more recently from classic crime and gangster films, Jones’ creativity is often sparked by watching classic films, and he uses the tool Procreate to bring his creativity to life.
“When I watch these films, I start thinking of ideas and put them into my notes. Other times I’ll do the most random things and I’ll just have an idea pop up. From there I start sketching it out. I’ve always said, ‘If I have a good sketch, I can probably finish a piece in a day or two,'” shares Jones.
“Once I follow the sketch – and if I’m happy with it – I’ll start blocking out the colors and from there I work in a way where I work on individual characters or crucial aspects of a piece like a car separately. I try to work with separate files and finally combine all the files. Part of that process is due to file size and layer limitations with Procreate, but overall I think it makes my art cleaner.”
Soft-shell taco method: Attracts collectors
VincentVanDough was the notable NFT collector whose interest helped Jones rise through the ranks. He credits what he called his “soft-shell taco method” for subtly getting his art in front of the right people, as opposed to the “hard-shell taco method” of spamming links to everyone and pestering collectors via DM- is.
“[It’s] more about trying to find ways to put your art in front of people in a way that doesn’t force it on them. You kind of accidentally run them into your art on purpose,” says Jones.
“I kind of brought softshell tacos to Vince at a certain point and he was brought to my attention. He dug into my art a little more and ended up matching my highest sale at the time by purchasing my “Birthday Boy” piece at the end of 2021.
“Since then, Vince has helped me run with some of his SuperRare purchases. We are super friendly and talk a lot. Although he is a busy person, he often wants to give me different advice, or he wants to see different things and offer perspective. I’m definitely grateful to him.”
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