We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Baxter Orr. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Baxter below.

Alright, Baxter thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?

As a Designer/Artist my heroes are those who are committed to their craft and through that comes their purpose, livelihood, and influence. I have several, numero uno is Andy Warhol, that guy kinda just invented what all of us are doing these days, I think of that quote
“Talent hits a target no one else can hit, Genius hits a target no one else can see.”

Warhol saw clearly where the world was heading, I often ponder what that creative energy in 1960s New York was like, had to be an enlightened time (My B&W Profile Photo is an AI I made of myself at Studio 54 in that era of NYC)

Other heroes include Artists: Damien Hirst, Mark Ryden, and Noel Gallagher of Oasis, all of them have found their voices in what they do and are passionate to make the best it can be.

Baxter, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have always been an artist, I remember discovering Art in the 1st grade, I almost got held back because all I wanted to do was draw in class, it was fulfilling and thrilling even at that age, that natural urge to make has always stayed with me throughout my life. There is an element to the arts that is magical, anyone who has created long enough doesn’t take full credit for when “The Muse” shows up. When “The Muse” shows up it’s the artists job to let their ego die, get out of the way, and gratefully enjoy the magic of the process. Songwriters often talk about this when a song almost writes itself. There is magic all around us as artists and it’s our job to delicately and gracefully cage it in order to expose it to the world.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I think it’s hilarious how divisive NFTs are, few own them but everyone has an opinion on them. I have minted a couple but never really did anything with them, they are just sitting in a wallet along with a Beeple (Mike Winkelmann) I won at one of his events in Charleston, South Carolina.

My take: NFTs are wayyy too complicated, one of these days someone is going to create a Super Simple Robinhood style app for minting and trading NFTs which will push them into the mainstream, they might come back reimaged as something else but I love the idea of digital ownership. I love the idea of artists being able to get residual income from their art throughout their lives and beyond. In the past say Jasper Johns sold a painting for $5,000 in 1960 then later it sells for $50,000,000 at auction him or his heirs would receive 10% of that sale which is programmed into the smart contract, whereas prior he would have only gotten notoriety after the initial sale.

Artists are constantly being cut out or taken advantage of so I am a full proponent of artists controlling their rights on the blockchain. I just think no one has created the right platform yet for NFTs or Digital Art to really be successful.

Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?

Business always ebbs and flows, some months, years are amazing and others are a grind. I try to be rather broad in my skillset, I have found a real niche in my freelance design work doing high level presentation and data visualization, but I also do a lot of illustrative work which is where my passion lies. Getting do do cool projects like presentations for Adidas, Guess, Ralph Lauren, or Icon sets for American Express and other Tech and Fortune 500 clients is always super rewarding.

Recently I have been selling more of my creative work/products. Luckily here in Savannah, we have the wonderful (and magical) Forsyth Park where artists and creatives are encouraged to sell and promote their work, most of my friends have been doing this for years but recently I started selling Canvases of my Muse Series (www.baxterorr.com/muse100) and it has been really wonderful interacting with people who are seeing my art for the first time, then having them buy something and take it home to their state (or country) to enjoy and share and enjoy with their communities, I just started it for fun during slower times but it has been remarkably fun and rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.baxterorr.com
• Instagram: baxterpop
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/baxterorr/

Image Credits

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