In a dream come true that just keeps getting better by the day, my NFT (non-fungible token) collage artworks that I’m minting on the Hive blockchain at nftshowroom.com are actually selling. I always dreamed of being able to make money from my own original art, and now finally in my later years of life, it happens to be blockchain technology that is fully facilitating this dream.
And the minted copies of my original paper handmade collage artworks are selling for cryptocurrency. What a convergence of the old and the new here. Thanks to blockchain, the most revolutionary digital tech on the planet today, I am able to upload my work, which I scan into jpeg format after producing on paper, and then launch as a freshly minted cryptocurrency token in its own right. And I have my own gallery wall at the nftshowroom.com/julianhorack site on the Hive blockchain.
Fees are super minimal, compared to the Ethereum blockchain, and new members are joining the showroom daily. As the NFT concept goes viral, people are jumping on board like crazy. I seem to have caught this wave with just the right timing in history, and that’s what dreams are made of. The dream is already there in the ether, it’s just a matter of time for it to manifest in reality. Even if that reality is still in cyberspace and not exactly physical, ironically enough.
The technology of non-fungible tokens allows artists and others in their respective fields to mint or create a digital token out of their art piece, just like a cryptocurrency token or coin. The difference is that the artwork is a one-of-a-kind token, and that’s what “non-fungible” means. Normal cryptocurrency tokens or coins are fungible, meaning one is like any other and they are interchangeable. That’s what money should be. You can swap a dollar for any other dollar and they all have equal value.
Non-fungible on the other hand means that each token is unique. As a one-off, the NFT concept allows one to produce an individual item which is permanently recorded on the blockchain, which acts like an open distributed LEDGER or record book. Other uses for this NFT concept are for example concert tickets, songs, deeds of sale, contracts, leases and all such records that you want kept free from forgery, tampering or theft. You simply mint them on the blockchain and that record is timestamped and thus set in code for all to see.
One can then trace the provenance or origin of that token, including who and when it was made, who sold or bought it and who owns it, as well as how much was paid for each exchange. This makes art particularly valuable, as we can all see who the artist is and how much the work was sold for at each occasion, thus verifying its authenticity. Naturally numerous other uses for the NFT concept abound and it’s a real revolutionary breakthrough that provides trust and authenticity to the world of contracts, trade and deals.
So in my latest minting of a work called “Guru on a Golden Throne” I have created an original art piece, in my own unique style by using found pictures which I cut out and paste in collage style to create a unique final finished product. I can be as creative as I like. My particular subject matter is usually religious iconography and the use of rich golden color, along with silver and jewels or coins, in a display of opulence.
Art is subjective of course, so I don’t expect everyone to relate or like my particular style, but I do use technical skill in combining color and composition to make the work visually appealing overall. And some collectors will see the beauty in my work, which is fairly unique. As a result this work has been not only my best sale yet, but also probably the fastest. I minted five copies, four on sale and one I keep in my gallery. I put a price of 64 Hive coins for one edition or copy, which in today’s exchange rate is just over $23.
And within less than an hour of launching the work for sale, I had a buyer. This is my best sale yet. And also the fastest. You can imagine my joy. Obviously $23 is not a huge amount of money really but the concept is to me a breakthrough. I have sold some other works already but this is the best price I’ve fetched, so for my amateur artistic pastime it represents a milestone.
I’m still miles away from the stratospheric prices fetched on the Ethereum blockchain for artworks of 1 ETH (around $1800 currently). Some even sell for much more than that. But in my little world I am personally making progress, even my merely achieving the ability to mint an NFT, launch my own exhibition in a gallery, and then actually sell some of my art. That in itself is a breakthrough that I never imagined achievable just a year ago.
My life has changed and my dream has come true, all thanks to blockchain technology, cryptocurrency and the smile of the gods upon my endeavors, if I may wax poetic. So jump on board guys. Anyone can do this. We are all now empowered by cutting edge technology, just like we were when the internet was invented. This is simply the next level of technology to arrive at our fingertips and it involves digital currency, blockchain and non-fungible tokenization of your original creative talent. You are only limited by the glass ceiling of your own imagination. I have just broken through mine.
(also published in my Hive blog)
