NFTs

Chloe Swopshire

Chloe Swopshire attended Truman State University where she studied Philosophy and Religion. Later, she continued her education at RISD to explore education painting. She creates beautiful works that seek to innovate and capture what Fine Art means to her.

How did you began creating art?

I started as a kid. My first self portrait was with Yellow marker as a 3 year old, but I took drawing classes at the age of 8 years old, and again every semester at Truman starting my sophomore year. When I moved to NYC, it took about 6 months before I decided I really wanted to invest in myself. Last year, I moved to Maui to learn more about crypto and NFTs, a suggestion from my former Brooklyn roommate.

Does your study in philosophy and religion take any part of your creative process?

Oh yes! Sometimes it takes me months or even years to really resolve a work- even if its began as a thought. In the past, this has happened when I could bypass/avoid /suppress my emotional world. But I have come to learn that its better to ask myself questions that drive me deeper into the work and then just paint it out – like the socratic method. So much of my work is made in a state of prayer/healing.

I really love astrology and am quite intuitive. Many of my paintings end up being prophetic in my life and I have had to take pauses from time to time to really set intentions for my life! As I would find some aspects manifested that I could just sort of resolve by meditation and doing more physical work. I also find that shinto traditions are prevalent themes in my paintings and living on Maui really speaks to this as an experience. There are days here where I can go to Ho’okipa and watch the waves hit the rocks and the sun sets, and there is this sense of swirling magic that I hope has started to set into my painting.

How did you approach working on The Other Avatars project?

I did not really seek to focus on creating anything too amazing, I just worked intuitively to bring forth something for Van Gogh which I feel actually helped the process to be really authentic. I often find that once I let go of my ideas of perfection in my artwork the real perfection comes through without my needing to force it.

I have a tiny Van Gogh art book from my Grandpa, and I realized that I could rely on the printed images far better than digital ones.

I began with two or three and set the intention to finish the project. I traveled with the works to Oregon in late December, where I was able to conceive my ‘collage’ paintings upon returning to Maui.

My paintings blend two Van Gogh pieces and the text came through after doing a studio visit with Sheldon Wallau of Keokea gallery.

He uses a lot of text on his artworks. And the animal totems have been something I actively study and have been intrigued by for years. So each animal totem has another artwork by Van Gogh at least attempted in replication inside.

What advice would you tell new artists that are interested in starting to create NFTs?

I would let them know that joining a group of some kind that will handle the process as Saatchi did is completely amazing and worth it. I had entertained collaborating with friends, but nothing came of it. They just sort of set me up to understand how crucial it was to work in an organized way with a whole team.

The support from the team and the other artists felt like standing on the shoulders of giants!

Love reading about all things art? You can have articles from Canvas, curated collections, and stories about emerging artists delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for the Saatchi Art Newsletter.