We were lucky to catch up with Gabbi Paulo recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Gabbi, thanks for joining us today. Do you manage your own social media?

I manage my own socials, and let me tell you, it is a learning curve. There’s a lot to think about regarding hashtags, good times to post, engaging with the community, etc. and it can be a lot of work on top of actually making the art. It’s fun to curate an Instagram feed and make TikTok videos describing my packing process. I feel like social media has helped me connect with people better and organize all my creations into one big internet diary.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Gabbi Paulo and I’m a visual artist under the business name Teal Fang in the Gilbert area. I’ve been involved in the arts since I was a child and have experimented with many mediums, but along the way I fell in love with painting. I started my journey with fluid art pouring a few years back and picked up digital art shortly after. Having an outlet to express myself has always been important to me, so I took some art classes at ASU so I could study color theory. I feel like I made the right choice because not only did I gain knowledge, I made some wonderful friends that helped me to finally start selling my art. I started vending at local markets and the momentum built from there. Recently I got some of my larger pieces up at Jobot Coffee in Phoenix, which is huge for me and I’m so grateful for the opportunity! I truly love creating, and no matter the medium, my goal is to evoke a sense of peace within the observer. I chose colors that flow together harmoniously. The act of creation is such a therapeutic practice for me and being able to share that with other people is something I’m most proud of. With the world as turbulent and chaotic as it is, it’s so important to cultivate a safe space for yourself to recharge. I want people to know that peace is my top priority when it comes to both customer interaction and art.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think the most rewarding part of being a creative is getting a chance to share a part of myself with other people. It can be scary putting your work out in the public, but it gives you a unique chance to come together and be a part of such a wonderful community. Being around other creatives is so inspiring because you can always learn something new and alchemize it into bettering your craft.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice

I like the concept of NFT’s. I think it has many positives, like ensuring that artists get paid and recognized for their work. We have a long ways to go in terms of ethics, however. Aside from all the energy it takes to mine ETH (which is the coin people use to pay for NFT’s), there have been cases where people steal art and make money off of other peoples work. I think if the problems can be addressed, NFT’s would become a great channel at long term success for artists.

Contact Info:

• Website: Tealfang.com
• Instagram: @tealfang
• Other: Owner @gabbpaulo. TikTok @tealfang