Today I have a very special Cosmic Convos for you. I always pick the artists myself and like to alternate between more and lesser known artists in the space. As you may have figured out, I also really love art with psychedelic influences. I found Meowgress through Twitter after a recommendation from another favorite artist of mine. When I saw her art, I was immediately sold. Her first work is even called “Child of the Cosmos,” how well can it fit within this concept, haha!

By getting to know the artist better, I become more emotionally connected to their art. Often we only see the end result and not the blood, sweat, tears and many hours that precede it. It is beautiful how she tells that everyone has their own universe and that she can share hers with us through her art. I am glad that art can be an outlet for Marika and others like her. I hope her story will resonate with many of you too!

Rei: Hi Marika! How did you come up with your awesome artist name Meowgress?

Meowgress: Hello, Sailor Mars. Thank you so much for having me. It’s no secret that I love cats, haha. My future husband calls me a tigress, so I took the “gress” part and mixed it with “meow”. And kaboom, Meowgress was born. I started my art career with this name.

Rei: I would love to know more about the person behind the art. Can you tell me a little more about yourself? 

Meowgress:  Yes, of course. My name is Marika. I am half Latvian and half Asian. My Asian part comes from my father, but I don’t know him. And I have no idea where he is from specifically. I live in this small city called Dobele. I love it here. It’s green and cozy. And my anxiety is pretty much under control since I live here. I am super anti-social and an introvert. But I’m getting better at communicating with people. When it comes to social media, I feel like a fish in water. So I’m really glad that I can be myself and show my art to people.

Rei: Since how long have you been making art? You have a very specific style. Were you always interested in this style or has it evolved over the years?

Meowgress:  Well, haha, I suppose it will sound cliche, but ever since I got my hands on anything I could scribble with, I became interested in art. I was actually into music for a long time. Art was always a part of me, but I never explored it. I couldn’t get a job here in Latvia, so I thought I would try to make a living with graphic design. I have been working as a freelance designer for quite some time. But let me tell you, that job killed every last creative drop I had. I was constantly under so much stress. I had no days off and I was not sleeping. And then I got the stroke. My life flashed before my eyes. And this is when my actual art journey began.

Four years ago, I started to draw for myself. I had no style and no idea of what I was doing. All I knew was that I loved line art and I loved painting. And then somehow, I combined the two into something that is my style now. I’m still learning and developing, so I’m really excited about the future of my art journey.

Rei: You see clear psychedelic influences in your work. You also make a lot of use of the color purple, which I love! Where do you get your inspiration for creating your art?

Meowgress: My art was initially quite dark. It was depressing without any vibrant colors. It literally showed what was going on inside of me.

In this world, the word “weed” is super controversial, but let me tell you, it helped me with my mental problems and my insomnia. It helped me to open my mind and create my world the way I see it or want to see it. It plays a big part in my art “brand”. Including cannabis in my art is for me to show respect and gratitude to it for being there for me when I needed it. And this is where I fell in love with vibrant colors and life.

And also, I just love everything trippy. I love the idea of aliens, space, future, robots and different dimensions and possibilities. I think that our minds are unique universes. So it’s really powerful to see artists take a part of their universe and make it into something and show it to others. We literally manifest our thoughts into something that can be seen and/or heard. So we are also these “higher beings” in some ways. We are masters of our own art worlds. So this is my main theme and the inspiration for my art.

Rei: How much are you working on art each day? Does it take a long time to make your art and how exactly does this process work? 

Meowgress: I draw pretty much every day. At least 12 hours a day and on weekends, around 5 hours. I’m gaming on the weekends so I don’t get burned out. So I’m just drawing rough little sketches of the ideas I have and storing them in my purgatory folder. Haha.

My personal work takes me quite a bit. I think the most intense part is the sketch. I make it super clean so I can make a line work without thinking, as everything is figured out and I can just relax and be into it. The coloring part is where the magic happens. I’m still modifying my approach to it, but it’s getting more awesome in my eyes at least. So, one piece takes me around 9–20 hours.

I have very little time for my personal art lately. But I’m working on a project that I’m really excited about. But I can’t tell you anything about it just yet, unfortunately.

Rei: Do you have a certain message or vibe that you want to convey with your art or is that up to us admirers to fill in ourselves?

Meowgress: My main message for people is to choose to see the world differently. A lot of my characters have multiple eyes. And it’s because I want those eyes to symbolize extra aid to see past the grey curtain, be free and fantasize, and explore a universe where there’s no judgement and no limits at all. Also, I draw futuristic pieces. And with that, I want to normalize technology and show people that it’s a part of us already. And that it is okay.

I want them to see my pieces and only by seeing them, tell them that they are part of that world too. And that they are always welcome to vibe with me.

Rei: You have now also started making NFTs of your artworks. How long have you been doing this and how do you like it so far?

Meowgress: Interestingly enough, I received a lot of messages on Instagram regarding NFTs. So, it peaked my interest, but I never looked into it. It was October and I don’t know what was going on, but one day I got extra bombarded by people asking me if I sold NFTs. And then I saw that several artists that I admire were really into that. Because of them, I found the Foundation marketplace. So that day, I logged into my Twitter account that I had made just to secure my “meowgress” handle back in 2019. I joined the Foundation’s Discord server and met some amazing people. I don’t know how, but I got an invitation to Foundation on my first day there from BoxHead (love you!). And that was it! I got lost there. It was like discovering a new planet, honestly. I have never had such supportive and friendly people around me.

I minted my first NFT on November 7th. And I’ve been in this space for 2 full months now. Which is crazy! I love it so much. I’m so grateful to the people who pushed me to get into it.

Rei: Do you have any specific goals you want to achieve in the NFT space?

Meowgress: As I mentioned before, I’m working on NFT projects. And I’m also now a co-founder of Surreal Mind Collective DAO together with 0xGnstic. I wish I could say more about this whole thing, but I can’t. Plans are big, and the workload is enormous. But that is my main goal and focus for now. And of course, I want to make my own unique art pieces, grow my skills, and connect with people in this space.

Rei: Which artists do you look up to the most, in the NFT world and in general?

Meowgress: To be honest, there are too many. And I have a huge respect for them all. But my top 4 would be Seerlight, BakaArts, Zeronis and Diberkato.

Rei: Do you ever think about what the future will look like? What do you think the world will look like in the next 10/25 years? What place do you think NFTs will have in this world?

Meowgress:  I think that we, as humans, are already bionic. Our computers, phones, and smart watches are already a part of us. And I think the future is technology, for sure. Game graphics are more perfect now than our own reality. Virtual reality will be a part of our everyday activities. We are already in the transition. Everyone on Twitter lives in a metaverse already. The difference is that we haven’t created graphics for it yet. In the near future, we will see each other in VR as our 3D NFT pfp’s. We will actually create our own world there, and that world will consist of NFTs. Brace yourselves!

Rei: Lastly, where can people find more about you and your art?

Meowgress: You can find me on Instagram, Twitter, Foundation.

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The post #6 Cosmic Convos with Sailor Mars feat. Meowgress appeared first on NFT Plazas.