Links:
Foundation: https://foundation.app/@JamesHurley
Opensea: https://opensea.io/JamesHurley
Website: https://www.mycreativeimages.com/
Tshirts: https://amzn.to/3A4Pw9F
Where are you from?
Huntingdon in the UK
How did you first get into crypto/NFTs?
By accident, if I hadn't seen the terms NFT art whilst looking around on the web, I may never have found out about the fun world of web3.
What platform did you choose and why?
Initially Opensea as it was the easiest one and most popular at the time using the ETH chain but gas fees limited my activity, then still on Opesea, I found polygon, But then made the mistake of jumping around all the platforms I could find and ended up on a few platforms and lost focus on learning one and marketing my work there and so didn't gain any traction on Opensea or other platforms and kind of lost the passion for them.
I then found Voice and received an invite to Foundation, so again set up NFTs and jumped in with those platforms but again haven't been able to been able to self-promote or gain many sales.
What are the most important things in your life?
Wow what a big question. I will try and summarise: Family, sharing the magic of creating things rather than destroying them, encouraging happiness, encouraging personal growth, showing people what self-confidence is and how it changes your journey, helping people see the world differently, encouraging people to do what they love rather do what society teaches them they should do Creating artwork with messages Taking photographs that capture lasting memories and adding my personal feelings and emotions to it via photoshop Showing people connections I see when I take a photograph by editing it and combining it with other elements.
What do you enjoy when not creating art?
What do I enjoy, well it may be a cliche but spending time with my wife and grandkids, walking, any type of physical labor (I sit on my but for 16 hours a day otherwise!) and working on the Creative Talents and the Mycreativeimages magazine.
Tell us about your project.
I'm a photo artist that creates unique art by combining photos (either mine or purchased stock images) with emotions and thoughts. In addition I am a fine art photographer that focuses mainly on landscapes but also commissioned portraits.
What makes it unique?
The photo-art is unique as it is both visually stunning and is like nothing you have experienced before as it is based on personal emotions and thoughts combined with inspiration from nature and people observed in real life. The resulting image not only appeals to the eye but inspires the creative and emotional areas of the mind.
Where do you get your inspiration?
Everywhere People, nature, objects, textures, words, smells, Internal emotions and thoughts and dreams, I see connections with things and bring them together in my artwork.
What motivates you/your work?
I don't need motivation, I create when my mind tells me to. Often I create and never finish a piece as I wasn't ready for it to be finished or it felt wrong and disjointed. Mainly I create as it helps me release my emotions, either positive or negative, and it helps me bring words and ideas into focus by embedding them in an image (not literally). Sometimes an image or an idea buzzes around in my head for weeks if not months before it settles down and takes the form of something I can translate into artwork, other times its instant and I can't settle until I have started creating the image on the PC.
How has your style evolved over the years?
I think the key evolution for me was identifying where the art was coming from and why my styles varied so much. The source of my art is predominantly my emotions and feelings, recognising that they are the key driver to my creative process when they become too overpowering then I create art, this meant that I was comfortable with further exploring each of these styles happy in the knowledge that each one has a meaning for me and an underlying purpose for being created and therefore a story that people viewing my art can resonate with either from recognising their story in my work or by reading any text that I may has linked to the image as a way of describing the artwork...
Toned and moody = anxiety and sadness but also the realization that those feelings have passed and my mind is settling.
Bold, colourful and painterly = relaxed and playful but also frustrated with things and people I see around me that I can't change.
Crisp bright and packed with details = frustrated and wanting to show others that there is a better way without putting it into words.
What's next for you/your project?
Currently I'm tinkering with Midjourney and combining that with photography. If I'm honest, I wasn't a big AI art fan until I saw Midjourney, and now I'm sold!
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
Anyone, photographers that want bespoke artwork created from their images, models that want something special that helps makes them stand out from the crowd.
