Hello! First of all, could you start by introducing yourself? Can you give us a brief information about your name, the type of your art and your various interests in the art world?

Hi, my name is Bella. My artist pseudonym is ArtBella. I am 30 years old. I started drawing in 2009. I tried to learn on my own by watching videos like how to draw eyes on Youtube. Then I worked with acrylic and gouache. 3 years ago I bought my first external drawing tablet and now I am more interested in digital art. I am also an AI artist. For me, anything that appeals to the eye is art. And I enjoy looking at it. A beautiful woman, a beautiful melody. Of course, I also like different types of art that evoke different emotions, but I am just now able to break the perception of beauty in me.
 

When did you start making art? What was the first time you met art or what attracted you to it?

My father was a technical draftsman, he used to draw machines and tank engines. I think my talent came from him, but what really influenced me was my drawing teacher at primary school. He had a very different personality compared to my other teachers and I admired him. He was the one who taught us technical drawing. While others made us do ridiculous things like potato prints, this teacher took a student to the board and asked us to draw him. I don't think I was overly influenced by a situation, an event or a person, but I feel as if I brought out something that was already inside me.
 

What does art mean to you? How do you see the impact of art on people?

Although it is important to be social beings and talk to each other, I think that artists have a very different spirit and cannot be satisfied with putting what they want to say into words. That is why we express what is inside us through art. Sometimes we share what others feel with the world instead of them. Sometimes musically, sometimes visually... Sometimes we really do it with the power of words.

I think there could not be a society without art. Because there will always be communication and art will always be involved in communication. The first people in ancient times engraved what they knew and experienced on the cave walls. Isn't that also art? Art is just a way of communication.
 

How long have you been active in NFT and how did you get started? Can you tell us a bit about creating and marketing your first NFT piece?

I can say that I literally entered the NFT world in April 2022. I saw an artist I followed on Instagram announcing his drawings to the world through NFT, and this concept was very new to me and I wanted to investigate it. I was always alone on this path and I watched a lot of videos on the subject. I decided that I could do it too, so at first I created an AI collection. Strangely enough, I'm doing AI again now, I guess it was my destiny.

I still remember the first sale I made. It is a wonderful and indescribable feeling that anyone interested in NFT can understand. It didn't take me very long to mingle with people on Twitter, I was very lucky in this regard. Because I am a person who believes in the power of sharing. Therefore, I did not have any difficulty because I actually did it by sharing rather than marketing.
 

What inspires you to experiment with various art styles? How do you decide to explore and develop different styles?

As I said, since I believe in the power of sharing, I come across many different types of works. Because I interact with many artists during the day. I encounter a lot of works, which inevitably inspires me to try different styles. Some people may see this as a problem. They may say that it is an obstacle in creating a certain style. But you can notice this in my works; vivid colours and female figures. These are usually included. But the brushes and techniques used are always changing and I don't hesitate to do that. If I am interested in what I see, I waste no time to try the same.
 

What does it mean for you to use art as a social or political platform? How do you approach social or political issues through your art?

When answering this question, I am more interested in the social side of the work because I have never had political thoughts and I do not engage in such discussions. Although art is a means of expressing our inner world or what is happening around us, it is also a very good tool to draw attention to social issues. I respect the artists who do this, and I always will. But for me, more precisely, what I focus on is human emotions, what we experience within ourselves and our relationships with others.
 

Can you explain how you progress from the concept of a piece to a finished artwork?

Actually, I have two different answers to this question, one for my AI works and the other for my drawings. To talk about my drawings, I usually start a painting from 0 and without feeling any emotion. Because my characters are human characters, these works can be started without an expression and meaning. Later, as I draw and if a situation occurs according to the emotions I feel at that moment, then the story and emotion in my head becomes more meaningful. When working on portraits, it is very difficult to add meaning and emotion to that picture. Because there is only a human figure in close portrait drawings. It is very difficult to tell a story here, so I try to give it as much as possible.

I pay a lot of attention to the titles and descriptions in my works. The whole story lies in the description and name as much as the painting. Therefore, I would like to appeal to those who are curious about me or my works to read the descriptions and titles more carefully. As for the AI works; here it all starts from emotion, event and idea. Because there is a story in my head and it is usually related to what I feel, and it has always been much easier to visualise the scenarios I have built in my head with AI. and that is why I actually love working with AI. I can say that it runs where my brush is not enough. Generally, the starting point of a work is always my own emotions. Based on these feelings, I try to create the scene I have in my head. At the same time, I always paint and edit on my AI works and thus complete them.
 

How do you find motivation and inspiration in your creative work?

In fact, I answered this question while answering the other questions. It is always my emotions that motivate and inspire me.r At the same time, I try to experiment with different techniques by being influenced by the artists I see around me.
 

Are there any artists or artworks that have influenced or inspired you the most in your career? Can you describe these influences and sources of inspiration?

Unfortunately, I cannot give a name. Because I cannot say that a single name or names influenced me. In general, I am a person who is influenced by everything I see and most of the time takes the source from within myself. I don't want my desire to try the techniques I see from others to be perceived differently. I am just an artist who is open to all techniques and different things, so I can be influenced even by a piece of paper I find on the ground. This does not bother me.
 

Do you have any notable achievements or sales in your career?

My only remarkable achievement in my career as an artist actually started when I entered the NFT world. I think I have achieved the biggest success by reaching a lot of people. Sales are inevitable anyway, but I was able to reach my art to people even kilometres away while sitting at home. This is the biggest success for me. Of course I had some exhibitions. And of course I made good sales, but I think that the bonds I have established and the people I have reached are much more valuable than these.

NFT.NYC 23 - 24
Nabu Paris Exhibition
 

What were the challenges you faced as a NFT artist and how did you overcome them?

As an NFT artist, the only and still the biggest problem I face is marketing my art. Because while we were just people who were doing their art and were in their own world, we suddenly started to make an effort to announce what we do to the world. There are many artists like me in this world and we are trying to reach someone, trying to show our art. I find the biggest challenge is to be active every day and to be positive every day. There is a world that flows so fast that if I stay behind for a few days, I feel like I will miss a lot. I still haven't gotten over it.
I think a newcomer to the NFT world will have a lot of difficulty in showing themselves and being influenced by the success of others, so you have to make real connections and focus on your own art as much as possible and somehow always be active. unfortunately there is no other way. We need to take a break from time to time and get energised and come back again.

If you do not focus on your own work in this world and you are constantly interested in what others are doing, you will be mentally worn out.
 

What are your long-term goals as an artist? What do you want to achieve in your career?

Although I like to try different techniques, I think I have a long way to go to find my own way and create my own style. Because when I try different things, I actually miss a point. My goal is to find my own style and then adopt new styles. At the same time, as I said, reaching different people is the most critical point for me, so it would be nice to take part in as many different exhibitions as possible.
 

Can you give us some hints about upcoming projects or exhibitions? Can you share what the audience should expect in the future?

I told you that I usually use female characters and vivid colours, this is my general style. But I am currently working on a black and white and very intense emotional collection. As you can see, I said that I like to try different things. Those who follow me will hopefully see my works taking place in different exhibitions. I am also concentrating on my Artificial Intelligence works, so they will see very striking works from me.
 

How do you think the value and appreciation of NFT art will develop in the future? How do you assess the changes and trends in this field?

Thanks to the NFT, I think many artists have been able to show themselves in this world. I have met people from many different countries that I would never have met. I think this movement will continue for a while, but even if one day all of this disappears, I think the bonds we have established will continue. Therefore, the developments in this field do not affect me too much in a good or bad way. We just need to utilise this chance we have right now, focus on our art, share our art and build strong bonds with others.
 

As a parting note, is there anything else you would like to share?

I had tears in my eyes as soon as I read this question. First of all, thank you for this wonderful interview. If you could hear my voice right now, you would realise that it is shaking. If you have read this far, it means that you really support me and are curious about me. So, I am very grateful for the pure love and support you have given me. I'm really crying right now. I think my dad would be proud to see this.

Thank you so much to everyone who has been with me on this journey.