We were lucky to catch up with Randal Ford recently and have shared our conversation below.
Randal, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)
Over the course of my 15+ year career, I’ve made many investments, some good, some bad. Without question, the best investment has always been in my own business.
As a creative artist, I believe you have a unique investment vehicle that has the potential for an ROI far greater than investing in stocks, startups, and dare I say, cryptocurrency.
The best investments in my business as an artist and photographer have been in the development of new work and marketing for that work and my previous work.
The biggest investment mistake I’ve made was thinking that you could get something for nothing. The market doesn’t owe you anything. You must provide the value for the market via hard work and dedication. At the end of the day, business and investments require hard work, resources, and thoughtfulness.
Randal, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Over the course of 15+ years, I’ve been a creative artist and photographer. I’ve worked within the field of high-end advertising with fortune 500 brands and agencies across the country. I’ve also made inroads to the fine art world via a large project of singularly styled animal portraits all photographed in studio. That collection, spanning over 300 animal portraits, has been published in two books by Rizzoli New York and has continued to grow within the fine art world with interior designers, galleries, and collectors. My visual ethos is that I believe that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication and that my work should be rooted in a timeless aesthetic that is elevated but also grounded in reality (that’s a mouthful I know). I’m grateful to be able to apply a business approach to a creative passion that hopefully intrigues and entertains my viewers and customers.
Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?
I may regret this but I’m in the camp of wait and see on NFTs. I think it’s a massive, crowded ‘money grab’ right now offering extremely vague value to clients looking for art that is new and exciting.
I do think they are here to stay but maybe not in the euphoric sense they currently are. It will evolve just like crypto has evolved, into a more manageable mainstream understanding and in turn, provide more value across a broader audience.
I do think that utilizing NFTs and the blockchain to authenticate limited editions does hold promise and will most likely be the next area of blockchain technology I will be interested in.
All that said, a Randal Ford ‘Bored Ape Yacht Club’ NFT would be pretty cool. :-) Keep your eyes peeled for that.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Having a tangible end product is a unique and rewarding aspect to our business. I love being able to look back at the end of the day and see something I created, in a sense, out of thin air. That tangible end product continues to drive me throughout my evolution as an artist.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://randalford.art/
- Instagram: randalford
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randalford/
- Twitter: randalford
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTV7q9IjvTU
- Other: BTS – https://vimeo.com/user2049287