Andre O’Shea is an Atlanta-based artist who has been shaking things up on the NFT scene for the past few months. O’Shea creates ethereal, dreamy landscapes with figures that are downright other-worldly. Recently, he dropped “GROW” a collaboration with super-producer Illmind, and had a wonderful drop party on Clubhouse where he answered questions and discussed the collaboration. Last week, I spoke with Andre and am excited to witness the evolution of his work.
Andre, you’re a 3D animator who has made what most would call a successful transition to NFTs. Can you walk us through that transition?
Absolutely! Before working on NFTs, I was a full-time freelancer. The biggest transition I had to make was adjusting my mind from making work for potential clients to making work purely for myself. That process took about 3 weeks!
When did you discover NFTs?
I discovered NFTs about a year ago. Random followers from my Twitter page would tell me that it’s something that I should be looking into but I didn’t seriously dive into it until February of this year.
What was your first minted piece?
My first piece was actually minted in October, it was a trial so I could understand how the process worked. It was so confusing to me so I decided to wait & learn more about the community. The piece itself was a cassette player I modeled. The overall design was inspired by MBDTF. I have one inspired by Mac MIller’s Faces album but I never minted that.
What made you select that piece?
I decided to mint that piece because at the time, I could only get onto the Raible platform & I noticed that collectibles are popular on that site. I thought the cassette tape would be a really cool collectible series.
How did you select a platform?
At the time, I used Rarible because I was new to space & it was the only open platform I really knew of. Now, I typically mint on Foundation & I’ve recently been onboarded onto MakersPlace. I like Foundation because of its simple UI & ease of use. I appreciate MakersPlace because they have a nice UI too, I also like a couple of their features. MakersPlace allows you to organize your work into collections & even allows you to accept payment via credit card.
Tell me about this quote “Andre O’Shea makes art for people who wanna escape reality & build the future”.
Living in the times we are living in, people are frustrated with our morals as a society – & rightfully so. When I’m creating, I’m channeling Andre O’Shea from the future. The messages behind my work are sent from the future to help us correct our mistakes as a society in the present. So when I say I make art for people who want to escape reality & build the future, I’m speaking for people who notice the same problems as I do, & want to make the change with me.
You also sell make and sell printed work. Have you taken a print and sold it as an NFT? Why or why not?
Right now I’m actually in the process of reopening my print shop. I haven’t sold an NFT with a print either, however, I’m working on some really cool ideas. I want to create something especially unique if I bundle it with an NFT.
You have a drop coming up with Illmind. Can you tell me about that?
Illmind has been an innovation in the music industry since he joined it over 20 years ago. It’s no surprise that he’s innovating the NFT space as well. Our collaboration is called “GROW” & it features two matching pieces.
How did the partnership come about?
I’ve been a fan of Illmind for years, so when he reached out to me to collaborate on an NFT, I was excited about what we could do together. We exchanged ideas back and forth. He shared some beats with me & I instantly knew where to take it.
Are you planning to do more collaborations in the future?
Absolutely! We have a few really cool ideas, but I’m not ready to talk about those yet!
When I wrote about your pairing with Illmind, I wrote that collaborations are the future. Do you agree or disagree and why?
I think that collaboration is vital for our future. Not just as creatives, but as people.
What should artists who are thinking of collaborating across different mediums keep in mind?
I would say be open to trying someone else’s ideas. A lot of collaborations happen because someone has a skill that the other doesn’t. You should honor your collaborators’ ideas with your talents.
