Who are you?
My name is Connor Hawkinson Ryan. I’m 24 years old, living in Michigan, USA.
When did you start making art?
I started feeling a strong tug to create digital art 11 years ago as new technology became available at our fingertips. It started simple, I would use my phone to edit and distort images until a unique feeling arose. I would reflect upon that feeling, endlessly pondering it; never able to figure it out. All I could do was keep creating, remixing, and discovering new feelings with a hope that I would get a better “picture” of what I was actually looking at. My creative evolution since then is a product of me chasing this Mystery.
What would you call your style?
This is a challenging question for me at the rate my style is developing. I’ve never labeled my art, I think it could be restricting to creative freedom in some way. But if I were to try and pack it all into one phrase, it might be “digital psychedelic visionary surrealism”. Yet even this, I feel falls short (maybe even long).
What do you use to create your artworks?
I create my art today using a laptop, an MSI GP75 Leopard to be precise. My most frequently used programs are Smode Studio, After Effects, Mandelbulb 3D, and Photoshop. Much of my older work is photobashed stills created using only my phone.
When do you know when you are “done” with one of your visual glitch works?
I can sense that I’m done with a piece when a unique feeling arises that is entirely itself. It’s the kind of feeling you could stare at and unravel forever. I tend to find it in specific forms of landscape, geometry, color, and more recently (as with the glitch works), movement.
What inspires you?
My inspiration changes like the weather. There are many things that inspire me. I love to draw inspiration from science, math, biology, physics, basically the things I don’t understand, maybe even the things no one understands. Wherever there’s Mystery, I find inspiration. Yet by far the most consistent inspiration comes to me in music.
What is an early mint of yours that you are proud of?
Objkt#504342, ‘Emerald Menger Tetra’ minted my first week on Hen. Although buried by what I call my “hic et nunc honeymoon phase” where I excitedly minted lots of different animations and ideas, this piece shines through to me in a special light. It takes me beyond. I hope I can find the right musician to find the right atmosphere for it in the future.
Do any artworks that you’ve made stand out to you the most?
‘Synesthesia’. Originally photobashed on my phone, then recreated on Photoshop a couple years later. It’s composed of bubbles, fireworks, silk, and a rainbow shooting across the scene with a pair of eyes in them looking right at you.
What are your goals moving forward?
My goals moving forward are to connect further with people. Integrate deeper with community online and in-person. Sharing what I’ve learned and learning from what others have to share.
Is there anyone you’d like to shoutout?
I’d like to shoutout NFTrippy for everything he’s done for visionary artists coming into NFTs. Neptiris and the insight/wisdom shared for collectors and artists alike on tezos. Eloh projects for sharing the same for visionary artists and collectors in crypto. I’d also like to shout out my family and friends, everyone creating art for art’s sake, and Dave Tipper.
Anything else?
Thank you for giving me the space to share this side of myself. Also thanks for everything else being covered on http://gatherart.org. At the rate things are developing in the scene, it’s important to keep each other updated. Much love Gather Art!
