Weekly Gems #8

What a hectic week it’s been! I met multiple wonderful artists, got to know their work and featured some of them on the Daily NFT Show. In this edition of Weekly Gems, I'm revisiting three of my recent favourite artists.

Marco (@Marco_MoWs): Painted by Worms

Marco is an artist from Belgium who uses a special technique to create his art. He used to make micro-paintings, but due to his chronic pain disease, he takes certain medications that cause his hands to tremble. Hence, Marco had to find a new way to paint.

The solution? Insects. Marco owns a pet store that specializes in all kinds of bugs. “We have all kinds of tarantulas, scorpions, roaches, snails and also feeder insects like worms and crickets. Putting all this together I came up with my semi-randomly-generated paintings: painted by worms.”

No animals are harmed in the process. All products are water-based and the animals get cleaned during and after painting.

Marco’s work is available here. 

Kiradiron (@kiradironart): Vibrant Digital Illustrations

Kiradiron is an artist from Moscow who creates vibrant digital art. She learned how to paint at a young age, thanks to her mom, who’s also an artist. She went on to study architecture, but kept painting and drawing on the side. Eventually, she figured out she loved art and decided to focus on it.

She now draws characters and locations for computer games. The NFT space opened up a new world of opportunities for her. Her work is mostly listed on Foundation and is very popular. Pieces get sold out almost immediately every single time.

Kiradiron’s style can be described as vibrant, detailed and colourful. “We perceive the world and people around us through colours,” she says. She also sometimes works in pop culture references, like Pepe the Frog.

Her work is available on Foundation and OpenSea.

Raphaël Erba (@pipouz01): Fun 3D Loops

Raphaël Erba is a French animator who specialises in creating fun 3D loops. He has always had an interest in drawing and painting and started doing so at a young age. He went to art school but dropped out after just one year: “School has never been my thing.”

Raphaël proved that art school is not necessary for an artist to succeed. He honed his skills on his own, following tutorials online and experimenting with different techniques, eventually starting a business together with two friends.

He draws inspiration from Japanese animations and, above all, his little daughter. Both often make an appearance in his work.

You can learn more about Raphaël here.