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 by John__ (@johnthompsoniv)

Nacho Frades is a Spanish artist from Madrid with decades of experience as a painter, animator, author, and full-time artist. He has completed his studies of Interior designer (IADE University), Atrium Academy (Mainly Charcoal), Madrid Fine Arts Circle (Círculo de Bellas Artes), Arts & Crafts Degree, Fine Arts Master (Cádiz University, UCA), Teacher of Computer Graphics, and Mastery with José Caballero, as well as Antonio López.

Nacho’s first digital formations began in 1987 with Deluxe Paint II—a program that ran on an AMSTRAD PC1512. Nacho credits the 16-color AMSTRAD as, “A great computer for that time.”

Nacho holds a Goya Prize from the Academy of Film and Television of Spain. Some of his finest works lie in private collections across the globe: the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Caribbean, Poland, and France, to name a few.

I took the time to interview Nacho via email to learn more about his journey as a digital artist and to hear what advice he’d give to aspiring artists now in the age of NFTs.

Here are my five questions with Nacho Frades.

Q: Hey Nacho! Thanks for taking the time.

My first question is, when did you know you were going to commit yourself to art full-time? What did that moment feel like?

Hi John!

In 2005, I worked for a Computer Animation Films Company. It was around this time I wanted to devote my life only to paint, especially in computers. I was in my kitchen and said to my wife, “I’m gonna be a painter!” Ever since that moment, I decided to commit myself to computer graphics. Back then, it was a very hard time for digital artists. There were limited ways to make a living from art—pure digital images were not an opportunity at all, and there were no NFTs—so I decided to do digital painting and print it on paper. I sold a lot of this kind of digital painting.

The moment itself was a crazy bet in myself because I had no idea how to do it! But very exciting. Looking back, I still don´t know what my wife thought 🙂

Q: Amazing!

You’re unlike other digital artists because you have decades of experience and multiple degrees. What led you to move into the world of NFTs in the first place?

NFTs are my natural medium, I think. I was very tired of searching for Art on Instagram, on websites, at brick-and-mortar galleries. I thought traditional Art was dying—it looked all the same. One day, some time ago, I saw on Instagram a profile with the words “Cryptoart Collector” and started to investigate. It felt like I was seeing colors for the first time!

The creativity was in that strange world called “Cryptoart” I found I was not alone! So I investigated further, spent a lot of money in testing, and applied to SuperRare. After 4 weeks of anxiety, I started to mint, it was super exciting 🙂

I think Cryptoart is the art of today, I have absolutely no doubts. And the community is very kind, it has it all. I feel at home, my words “I’m going to be a painter” now make sense in a Cryptoart environment.

Q: What inspires you when creating digital art? Is there a genre of music or a specific environment that gets you motivated?

Every kind of music inspires me, but I enjoy the latest creations of people like Jack Stauber, Still Woozy, Mac Demarco. I love all genres of music: Classical, Funk, Jazz, etc… I play the electric bass and I listen to music all day—including while I work.

Q: What are some digital art pieces you’re most proud of? Why?

Any of them, really. I put all my soul in every image. I wait until I get inspired and start to work with sincerity on it.

I see each of them as a short period of my life.

There are artworks that for some reason are more inspired than others, but I put the same effort into all of them. If I had to choose one I might choose “Pigo” a piece that’s in the permanent collection of the MoCDA (Museum of Contemporary Digital Art).

Q: If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring digital artists out there, what would it be?

Work hard, and never give up. Never follow the market, be patient, be hopeful, and enjoy every day of the path.

I think all artists have talent, the secret is to work that talent. It requires hours of hard work to discover your true potential.

If you want to learn more about Nacho, you can visit his site here: https://nachofrades.art

And check out his profile on SuperRare! @Nacho_frades