Digital artist OSF gives fans a pledge of ‘art until I die’: NFT Creator
Holders of pieces in OSF’s “Red Lite District” collection get a “till the day I die” commitment from the U.K.-based artist.
A self-proclaimed jack of all trades and master of none, OSF has become a prolific figure in the non-fungible token world in just over two years, trading his former life at Barclays to focus full-time on web3, his digital art pursuits, his PFP project Rekt Guy and living the life of a degen collector.
The self-deprecating 34-year-old Englishman has a Swiss army knife of skills suited for a modern world of creating digital objects being a self-taught coder, understanding internet culture, with an ability to capture attention and not take himself too seriously.
While he wears many hats, OSF, the artist, has been featured at Sothebys and has sold multiple pieces for six figures. He describes himself most as an artist and project founder.
I find it really tough to classify myself as one thing or another, but its certainly a question I get asked quite a bit. I do have periods where Im more focused on certain things like trading but overall, an artist and project founder is the way I would describe myself, OSF tells NFT Creator.
I hate the idea of constraining myself to one thing. I think its just probably a problem I have in life. My attention gets easily captured by anything really and as you probably can guess, I have ADD and all that kind of stuff. I do feel that I just enjoy lots of different aspects of the [web3] space, and I kind of want to be a part of it all.
While initially a crypto skeptic, OSF cut his teeth in early 2021 when he bought some Bitcoin, but it was his good friend Mando who provided the nudge required for OSF to truly catch the NFT curiosity bug.
It wasnt long until he found himself applying his past decade of experience as a trader in traditional finance to this new emerging asset class of NFTs. Originally minting 150 Bored Apes (0.08 ETH each) in late April 2021, OSF sold most of them about a week later for five times the mint price but remained a large Ape holder, teaming up with Mando in September 2021 to combine their collections.
The duo made headlines in February 2023, selling around 70 Apes at a healthy clip of 78 ETH each into Blur bids as liquidity rushed back into NFTs after Blur Season 1s airdrop occurred. Apes current floor price sits at 26.7 ETH, with NFT prices being down for most collections since that iconic trade.
Its not like we were bearish on Apes. We werent even really bearish on NFTs at this point in time. I know it now looks like a great trade, but Id be lying if I said at that point in time, I think NFTs are going to go to where they are now. I didnt really see that; I only think that became clear later on, OSF says.
In our old jobs, if someone could tell you youve made all this money, but you still have all this risk, and you can clean up that risk in two trades and just take the money, youd do it. You wouldnt think twice.
Crypto culture, nostalgia and XCOPY
In a similar vein to the likes of Josie Bellini and Trevor Jones, OSF has leaned into crypto culture with a passion for nostalgia that shines through his work.
This is exemplified by his art and Rekt Guy, his PFP collection launched in May 2022, shortly after the demise of Terra. Rekt Guy, a collection of approximately 8,800, was a free mint that saw its floor run up as most other PFPs went the opposite way. The floor still sits at 0.47 ETH.
I really like nostalgia and capturing moments over time. Im the sort of person who looks through my photos from 10 years ago just to see what I was doing then. Ive organized my music into quarterly playlists. I have 2008 Q1, 2008 Q2 and so on. Ive done that since 2008 Q1, so its been 15+ years now, says OSF.
When I listen to a playlist from, say, seven years ago, I can remember what I was doing at this time. I really like that idea of nostalgia and capturing moments and looking back on it. I think art is a fantastic way to do that.
As a fellow Brit, OSF said XCOPYs style of art and his ability to capture culture have played a significant role in his own creation process.
I would say XCOPY is definitely an inspiration obviously, the style of the art but also the ideologies I love. I love looking at his pieces through 2020. Theyre very British pieces that you wouldnt really get unless you were living in the U.K. during COVID-19; maybe the Aussies would, too, he said.
I think that thats what I love. Thats what art is. Its like when you see something and just really connect with it and get it. I think pieces that can capture culture in moments in time end up being the ones that are iconic.
With my art, I think I just recognized that, and I saw thats how XCOPY did it. I guess I wanted to do the same thing, and half of it was because I thought it could be successful. But half of it was really just for myself.
Red Lite District commitment till I die
OSF loves to experiment, and for holders of his collection, the Red Lite District, it comes with a till the day I die commitment, with OSF promising a new piece of art every single month until his time on earth concludes.
The story behind RLD, an edition of 210 NFTs becoming an airdrop ticket to free art, involves his brother-in-law, who really liked what would become the first airdropped piece: Fuck Cash Grabs.
OSF wasnt as bullish on the piece initially but was inspired to create it off the back of many NFT cash grabs, such as Pixelmon. His brother-in-laws praise eventually convinced him to release the piece, but instead of selling it, he decided to airdrop it to everyone who held an RLD.
After a couple of days of the first piece [Fuck Cash Grabs] being airdropped, I was like, wow, the price of this piece is almost the same as the price of the Red Lite District. I thought it would literally just be one of those things that was worth zero. People really valued it, and I thought that was really powerful, says OSF.
Thats where I thought I would just do it as a monthly thing for anyone that holds an RLD edition. After I airdropped the second piece, Professional Degen 3, which is really good and was supposed to be a 1 of 1, I think thats the point where people realized. They were like, Oh shit, this RLD should be worth quite a lot because youre going to get this stream of cool art.
Following the commitment of art forever to RLD holders in April 2022, OSF continues to get asked if he can really keep that promise.
I have zero doubt in my mind if I can keep it going or not. I dont feel like creating a new piece every month is a strain on me; I really enjoy it. I have hundreds of ideas written down, and its probably my favorite part of the month. And its also my favorite way to release art because [when] contrasted with a 1 of 1 or an edition, theres an expectation. For example, what price will it sell for? Will the edition sell out? Have you looked after your collectors and all that kind of stuff, OSF tells NFT Creator.
I cant guarantee that when Im 105, the quality of my art is going to be as good as it is now; who knows? Going back to the nostalgia thing, I love that in 10 years time, Im going to look through seasons one and two of airdrops. Right now, in season two, it is so early, but Im going to be able to look back on all these things, and itll be like a monthly document of either my life or the crypto space or whatever it is that Ive drawn for the rest of time.
From an early morning gym session to Sothebys
OSF has hundreds of art ideas in notes but loves the spontaneous nature that art can bring out of him, like the piece he did titled Carnaby Street, which ended up selling at Sothebys for $75,600 in December 2022.
The origins of Carnaby Street is a great example of how things often happen in the moment for me. I rocked up to a Barrys boot camp class and turned up too early. It was about 5 am, and I was just sitting outside Soho in London, which is usually extremely busy. It was dead. There was no one there. Sunrise was approaching, and there were all these purple lights, and I remember thinking, I have to draw this now, says OSF.
I had about an hour to kill, so I pulled out my iPad and sat down on this bench in my running gear, drawing this thing while people were coming through collecting the bins and stuff. That Carnaby Street piece only would have worked in that setting because I was actually just drawing it in the moment.
The reality is, though, occasions like that are few and far between. They can be magical pieces when it happens, but often there are blocks in the artistic process.
Notable sales to date
Rapid fire Q&A
Influences:
I really like Alpha Centauri Kid. I think the reason why I really like him is because I think he is someone who just puts out art based on his own personal feelings or emotions or whatever hes going through without really caring about what anyone else will think.
I see a piece of his, and it just goes deep. He does things on his own terms and his own rules. Hes just like, Im just creating stuff that I want to create, and here it is on my terms, and if you want to buy it, you can buy it. If not, then not.
I also like the way he gamifies things and makes people feel a bit uneasy sometimes. I think its brilliant. Hes definitely a massive inspiration. I love his stuff, but just the way that he goes about conducting his art, I think its amazing.
Which hot NFT artist should we be paying attention to?
I think die with the most likes is amazing. I dont know if hes still upcoming or not because hes been on the timeline quite a lot. But that guy is incredible. He is a performance artist, and people havent seen his performance art yet because some of the stuff is in real life. Its just incredible.
Hes a writer as well. He writes amazingly, and he just captures this theme of a memetic that no one else does. His stuff is different from any other artist. You could say, here are the animated artists, here are all the glitch artists, here are the neo-precision artists or whatever, but theres no one like die with the most likes.
His stuff is just so in your face and crass; I think its brilliant, and honestly, I really think he is going to big big places. Hes quite a well-known artist now, but in a years time, I think he could be up there with the biggest people in the space.
Favorite NFTs in your wallet that are not your own
I am my own suffering by ACK, and Retention pond baptism by die with the most likes.
What do you listen to when creating art:
I have a really weird and wide taste in music. It might be Taylor Swift one day. It might be like Creed the other day. Its just really random based on what I feel like listening to. It could be as random as piano covers of popular songs or reggae covers of popular songs. Its just the most random stuff. Its probably a testament to how scatty I am in general.
Links:
X: https://twitter.com/osf_rekt
Website: https://www.osf.art/
