We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Elliot Belokostolsky a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Elliot, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

Money made by art may possibly be the most satisfying feeling, i’ve experienced. When I first started creating (more than hobby) I was in a very hard transitional stage in my life. It was around 2015-2016 I sustained an injury that was preventing me from work. I was in the beginning stages of getting myself clean from alcohol, all while dealing with some relationship issues. I had to use my resources to bring in some income…

I started painting what I felt was interesting. I was so attracted to abstract, surreal and modern art. My work was a reflection of the whirlwind of emotions I was feeling at the time. I painted everyday. Simultaneously, I was shamelessly posting on my facebook/instagram to show what I was working on, no matter how uncomfortable it made me feel. Eventually, a mutual friend had a small gallery space in the next town over and approached me about displaying some of my work. In the beginning, it was mostly non subjective action painting and color studies. Painting on anything I could get my hands on: animal skulls, canvas, car parts, clothes, shoes, anything!

Just so happened that the gallery owner reached out to me and made my first sale! A painted bull skull. I never got to meet my first client but, it sold for a few hundred dollars. I was in complete disbelief. It was like pouring gas on a fire. It was empowering knowing that maybe some people may actually like my weird work. This gave me the motivation and determination to show my work anywhere I possibly could: cafes’, galleries, local art groups, colleges, street fairs , anywhere! To this day, I have sold paintings all over Hudson Valley, NY, down to the city and even overseas.

Life happens and fell out of painting for a few years but, have been making a comeback to painting as well as stainless steel jewelry. I plan on starting to show again 2025!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve always had an infatuation with art. I went to college for computer art and design. I have a Bachelor’s Degree from SUNY Oneonta. I soon realized after doing a bunch of computer work that I wanted to use more traditional methods.

I like to provide one off work for a reasonable price. I mostly make all my stretchers out of recycled or found wood and stretch my own canvas/fabrics. I love to make large scale work. I also like to see the space where the piece will be. I like to use accent colors that would complement the space and wall color.

My work doesn’t appeal to everyone. It is thought provoking and usually
Misunderstood. I’m just creating what I like to create. I like to keep close contact with clients, updating and providing timelines and process progress. This work seems to be so chaotic but, is strategically created.

I’m most proud of developing this style over the years and watching it evolve, Even after the fluid paint craze..
I just want to continue to create paintings that evoke emotion or conversation. It’s very interesting to get different people’s views on how my work makes them feel/think.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

When my social media was solely dedicated to my paintings (currently has a lot of welding content, which is my day job)… the best way to build an audience is to post! I feel my painting photos were set apart from the rest cause I would load the paintings into my car and find a location to photo them. I didn’t want to just show them on a wall or in my studio. I wanted to show them in a spot that motivated me to create them, usually in nature or out in public.
I feel this created not only very cool photos but, was more engaging. Also, different sort of posts, videos, stories, live stream, time lapse etc..

Even if it’s something I didn’t like, or didn’t go as planned, I would post it anyway. You have to release the fear of showing.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I feel like I owe it to myself to keep creating. My day job isn’t always creative and I feel my art is one of the healthiest releases. People use a lot of different methods of dealing with stress or hard times, I use art.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Wirefedweirdo