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Born in 2000, Diana Virlan (Dianave) is a multimedia artist, a graphic designer\u00a0 graduated from the National University of Arts George Enescu. She is\u00a0 passionate about ornamental art and mandalas, studying and experimenting\u00a0 with traditional and digital mediums of cretion. Her work was displayed at\u00a0 \u201cCreative New World by Mirinda\u201d exhibition in Bucharest, Romania, and The\u00a0 Crypt Gallery in LA, United States.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nName (Display name)\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Diana Virlan (Dianave)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhere are you from? (Provide a little bit of your background, have you moved etc)\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
I am from Moldova, a small country in Europe and not a lot of people know about its\u00a0 existence haha. My family wanted me to become a doctor but I moved to Romania\u00a0 and did my degree in Design at George Enescu National University of Arts. Because\u00a0 of the pandemic we did most of our courses on-line and I was able to move in with\u00a0 my boyfriend in Canada.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Can you tell us about your background and what lead you down the path to becoming an artist and ultimately experimenting with NFTs?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
I always loved to create, and wanted to be an artist but everyone around was telling me that\u00a0 artists are poor and they starve and that I\u2019m not going to make it. I was in middle school\u00a0 when I first got a graphic tablet as a gift and I couldn\u2019t be happier. I was painting on it using\u00a0 an old computer and a fake photoshop version and that was the moment I decided that I\u00a0 want to make a career from drawing on a tablet. So I applied to study Graphic Design. I kept\u00a0 traditional painting as a hobby and then I learned how to combine the digital with traditional\u00a0 art and meanwhile a friend of mine told me that I should learn about NFTs and mint my\u00a0 mandalas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhen did you mint your first NFT? What platform did you choose and why?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
I minted and sold my first NFT in February 2021 for 1.9 ETH and that was life\u00a0 changing. I chose to mint on Rarible because it was user friendly, and it didn\u2019t require\u00a0 an invite or application. Shortly after that I got a Foundation invite and minted some\u00a0 1\/1s there which were attached to the original paintings, meanwhile I minted editions\u00a0 on Rarible and released limited edition prints attached to the NFTs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nCan you tell us one thing you cannot live without? (and why)\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Can\u2019t choose between art and travel. I love both very much and I think my life would be\u00a0 extremely boring without any of them. But what I love most is when your art allows you\u00a0 to travel. When I sold my first NFTs I went to visit Spain and it was incredible.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWho is your favorite artist(s) (Non NFT)? What about their style resonates with you?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Lizzie Snow, Anoushka Irukandji and Mike Pething were those who inspired be to try\u00a0 drawing modern mandalas, their works are breath-taking. I also love the art from\u00a0 Humid Peach, her love for art is inspiring and watching her paint is very satisfying. Also I admire Rococo and Baroque style artists, their paintings inspire me to create\u00a0 mandalas with a feel of luxury, using golden ornaments and intricate details.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWho is your favourite NFT artist? What makes this artist unique?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to choose one, but Nolan Martin, Bill Elis and Zhuk inspire me and my style. <\/span><\/p>\nWhat made you pursue NFT art?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
I absolutely love the friends that NFTs gave me when I entered the space. We help and\u00a0 support each other every day and this feeling is inspiring. Also the idea that the artist is not\u00a0 starving and can make a good career it\u2019s pretty motivating too.<\/span><\/p>\n
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What is the one piece of NFT art you wish you had purchased but missed out on?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Honestly, a Bored Ape would be life changing. Maybe I would have had more financial\u00a0 freedom if I flipped one.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIf you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go? Why this location?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
I absolutely love traveling and have already been to some places and will continue to\u00a0 go places. I think visiting Antarctica would be fun and a must-see at least once in life.\u00a0 To go at the end of the world and see how massive is the world.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhat are your other passions besides art? Why?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Travel, again, yes. Also I like to make content for social media like videos with\u00a0 transitions. I like photography but I\u2019m not a professional I just experiment with the\u00a0 camera. I was always was passionate about bussiness and I had a small clothing\u00a0 brand but haven\u2019t done anithing \u201cserious\u201d yet, but the subject is interesting to me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nDo you make other forms of art?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
I do paint other things than mandalas from time to time, for fun, but I haven\u2019t\u00a0 developed a style or a specific direction with it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nHow did you come up with your specific style?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
I was exploring mandalas for a long period of time and was amazed how many styles it\u00a0 can have from culture to culture. I started to study Baroque and Rococo styles and\u00a0 wanted to reproduce the luxury feeling of those paintings. I studied different ornaments\u00a0 they used and the meaning of each of those. I wanted my mandalas to give a luxury\u00a0 feeling to the viewer. I chose golden paint to achieve that goal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nHow has your style evolved over the years?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
I has been studying mandalas over the years and saw a lot of different styles,\u00a0 concepts and meanings that they held. I started with small drawings and simple\u00a0 ornaments to understand the complexity of the process and with time I found the best\u00a0 settings that could describe best my style.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhat is coming in the near future?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
I am looking forward to explore how to integrate my paintings to a special edition\u00a0 merch and how to create the most unique experiences with it. Also I want to become a\u00a0 full time artist and be secure about my income. I hope that NFTs will allow me to do so.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIf you could collaborate with one artist who would it be?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
I would like to collaborate with Zhuk, to create a painting that would include one of her\u00a0 beautiful characters and my ornaments.<\/span><\/p>\nWhat was your greatest failure and what did you learn from that?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
I sent 1 ETH to a scammer, it was back in my first weeks in NFTs, there was a\u00a0 \u2018collector\u2019 who wanted to \u2018identify\u2019 that we are not scammers and required to\u00a0 send some eth to prove that in order to add us to some private chat, I don\u2019t\u00a0 know why I sent so much, it was the next day I sold a piece for 1.9 so I didn\u2019t\u00a0 think it\u2019s a big deal, as he said he would return it, hahaha.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nDon\u2019t trust people in NFT space who ask for money.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nDo you have any upcoming drops?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
I have some exciting NFT projects that I am working on but can\u2019t reveal them now,\u00a0 hope to give more details soon.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nAnd as I said, I also want to release an exclusive collection of merchandise with my\u00a0 art, and that will be announced at its time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhere can collectors find your work?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nLink to Website:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
https:\/\/dianave.com\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nSocial links:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
https:\/\/twitter.com\/DianaveArt<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dianave.art\/<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n NFT marketplace links:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
https:\/\/foundation.app\/@dianave<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/rarible.com\/dianave<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Link to profile picture (or attach)\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
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