Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to ZELLYG .. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
ZELLYG, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?
Oh Man ! The first time I ever made any money as an artist was when I was in middle school 😅 me and my friends were at the lunch table doing some of everything. I was drawing some cartoons & other objects around me , some of the girls and my other friends gathered around me to see what I was creating. Everybody was hyping me up as I was drawing and a couple people said that they wanted the picture I made, but it was too many people that wanted it …. So I auctioned it off haha for only “ $1 “
I sold the drawing for one dollar because I wanted to buy me some cookies that day for lunch (I was short on money).
I obviously didn’t know my worth as an artist back then for me to be out here selling master pieces for 50cent cookies 😂
ZELLYG, 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?
Well I’ve always been drawing since I was about four or five years old. I would draw the simplest things like fences, 3D images, TV, TV stands, houses outside my window and letter fonts
Fonts have always been a personal favorite of mine to create. I believe that drawing different fonts was what helped improve my line work & ability to draw in different angles. Once I got better with those two I naturally improved my 3D creations.
The fonts that I started out with were basic like San serif . It became boring & easy for me after awhile so I began exploring other fonts and then I started doing graffiti styled letters and images.
Growing up in black communities graffiti was always represented in the art world. I instantly became fascinated by street artistry/graffiti.
Street art contains a lot bright colored fonts and recreated cartoons characters on old buildings, new buildings, on the roads, houses.
Practicing this led me to becoming a cartoon artist . My first step to mastering this style was for me to reminisce on all of my favorite cartoons growing up. First cartoon that came to mind were “the simpsons”
I watched Simpsons every day after school with my sisters after my mother went to work . It came on tv everyday at 6:00pm – 7:00pm (2 episodes)
I started drawing these Simpson characters a lot , at home/school.
Fast forward a couple years up to 2018 I started a couple art pages on Instagram but I was inconsistent with it. January 2019 I made a decision to take art seriously & make a living .
Pandemic of 2020 gave me “beaucoup” amounts of time to perfect my craft. June – August of that same year I completed a 100 day painting challenge . This challenge required me to create a new piece of art on a 16×20 canvas from start to finish. My discipline increased, my patience increased as an artist, just my over all craft improved !!!
During the 100 days I focused mainly on popular cartoon characters from television. But I added a twist …. Every character was created as a black version. I did this to give perspective to black people and black artists.
Recreating my cartoons this way on a regular basis naturally gave me a voice, a niche, and personal branding without me actively trying .
After heavily creating art on canvas for 2 years (2020-2021) on February of 2022 I painted my first mural at “3 olives pizza” restaurant here in my birth city, Raleigh North Carolina .
While we’re Currently still in 2022 I’m working a mural as we speak & I already have my first mural of 2023 in the works !! And I am looking for more projects to finish out this 4th quarter strong !!!
For my services that I provide : Canvas art/murals/custom shoes & clothes/painted tables etc.
To get any work done from me you can email me at : [email protected]
(Or you can DM me on Instagram @zellyg_ )
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’m glad this topic came up a question, because me personally I’m not into sell out art. I love electronics and all but this new NFT thing just comes off as “new world order” to me as if the government is trying to digitalize everything turning peoples brains into fish .
Physical art will always be priceless & it’ll become even more valuable as more and more people began to gravitate towards NFTs. Most of the people going this route (w/NFT) are greedy for money.
Staying true to my art form & trusting and believing in God (Jesus) is what will continue to push me forward with my art career.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I really want to focus on murals, especially in my city (Raleigh) because I believe that stamping your city in a positive way is what makes you historical as an artist, creating longevity for yourself. helping people mentally, spiritually is what matters .
Most people & some artists too are only focusing on money and by any means necessary.
We all know that money is required to live on this earth but back-dooring & ripping off people just to make a quick buck ain’t it !
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zellyg_/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpr4J05j7RnprrRwAScmz8w
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@zellyg_?lang=en
Image Credits
All photos are taken by @zellyg_