Creative Talents Issue 005

Introducing RealNifty

This special edition of the Creative Talents magazine introduces you to the RealNifty marketplace, the launch artists and the Team behind the project.

The purpose of this edition is to provide you with some insight into this amazing new marketplace and to show you some of the work by the artists that have selected to be part of the launch.

Launch Artists

RealNifty opened their NFT marketplace at the beginning of 2023 with a group of carefully selected launch artists.

Each NFT comes with a physical counterpart included, this can be redeemed and delivered directly through the marketplace.

In addition, collectors are able to contact the artists to discuss any of the pieces or find out more about the artist themselves by messaging them through the marketplace directly.

Cover Art

Gianluca Franzese

Find out more on page 6

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Ensure to read each "About The Artist" section and click on the artwork to see it is its full glory on the RealNifty website. If you are reading the printed version of this magazine, you can find the links to the artists work shown in text in the "Official Links" box which you can type into the browser of your choice to visit the artist site.

Links

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To find out more about the magazine visit: https://bit.ly/CTfindoutmore

Important

This magazine does not offer financial or investment advice. It simply showcases the creators behind NFT projects and gives you to opportunity to explore their work. As with any financial transaction you should ensure you are aware of what you are buying, if it has unlockables, utility and any associated terms and conditions.

All images in this publication are sourced / owned / created by the creators featured, unless otherwise stated on their websites or social media pages and as such must not be copied or sold without the express consent of the artist.

This publication is created and owned by James Hurley, ©mycreativeimages.com 2023.

Please feel free to share the magazine but do not make changes to any of the content.

Who are

RealNifty?

RealNifty is the first truly physical-digital, or “phygital” NFT marketplace and consultancy. Their aim is to utilize NFTs, and related technologies, to bridges the gap between physical and digitalworlds. With a focus on fine art and other creative areas such as fashion, collectibles and music, RealNifty is a unique and much-needed web3 platform with an aim to connect phygital items with inventive utilities.

RealNifty’s goal is to reduce the frictions that hinder connecting NFTs to physical items like fine art. These frictions include questions like: how do I know there is physical item that comes with the NFT? How do I get the physical item?

Can I talk to the communicate with the creator of the NFT who is also offering the physical item with it?

Among other things, the RealNifty marketplace is the first to offer delivery of the physical item associated with the NFT. This allows them to stand out amongst the crowd. Being a curated marketplace also means they can tailor the best phygital NFTs, collections and drops that have true quality.

Founded in 2021, RealNifty's mission has always aimed towards improving the link between the physical and digital when it comes to NFTs. There have been difficulties within the industry bringing these two worlds together in a way that was useful to the consumer and easy to navigate.

CEO and co-founder Jamie Parmenter has been in the space for around 3 years, starting in the music business where he founded the music community and platform, Vinyl Chapters. He transitioned to web3 when he realised the power of the technology, but also its limitations at the time.

“My first step into the space was when I purchased a music NFT with a physical component, a vinyl record deliverable in real life. Blockchain technology is amazing but, back then, when linking to real-life items, it had limitations. I didn’t receive the physical vinyl record for 10 months after purchase and at one point I was being charged $100 for delivery!”

With this in mind, Parmenter wanted to improve the link between physical and digital in the web3 space. He then met George Luecke, who had just founded RealNifty a few weeks prior and was looking for a talented operating partner. Luecke has a dievrse background in financial services but also fine arts and crypto. In the fine arts space, he previously acquired and led the strategy of a fine art title insurance company. This was before blockchain tech was a thing, but he now also saw the opportunity to improve the physical and digital connection with the technology. Jamie and George hit it off, discovering they were truly like-minded, and Jamie soon thereafter became CEO and co-founder, running the day-today of RealNifty. The rest is not only history, but the exciting future.

“We aim to continuously improve the link between physical and digital when it comes to NFTs” says Parmenter.

“Whether it be with real-life products, real-life experiences, or digital experiences, the connection between the mediums needs to be easy, fast and improve on what has come before.”

What makes the RealNifty Marketplace Different?

1. We’re a curated marketplace for starters. We want to offer up the best creators and projects the industry has to offer. Creators have to go through an application process to be granted access to our creator tools.

2. We’re also embedded delivery solutions to make sure receipt of physical items that come with NFTs is as seamless and hassle-free as possible. This hasn’t been done before and we’re happy to be the first. Our goal is to make sure physical and real-life elements are transacted in a much more efficient way than what is currently available with other NFT marketplaces. And, the delivery is covered by insurance which is automatically included with the cost of the delivery.

3. On top of this, community is key for us. Emotion, storytelling, and purpose are our mission. Want to contact an artist about a piece of their work? You can do this directly through the marketplace with our messaging system. Plus you can join us for community engagement sessions where you can talk directly to your favourite creators.

4. We aim to make learning web3 fun and engaging. We also have metaverse galleries to experience our artist's work in a new way. You will be able to chat with fellow collectors and the artists themselves at RealNifty events.

5. We are looking forward to releasing new frictionreducing features over ensuing months and years, to be a catalyst in enabling the web3 and web2 worlds to complement each other. We welcome anyone who has or knows of any technology that better connects physical items to NFTs to contact us.

Education in the space is very important. Web3 and NFTs are a new industry that can be confusing for some. RealNifty, therefore, wanted to be a place for learning in the web3 space.

“We want to make it accessible to everyone, no matter your level of expertise. We aim to do this through conversations, guidance, community building, live events and more.” says Parmenter.

As an agency, RealNifty also helps creators, who can be artists or even brands like fashion companies, build out their web3 strategies and implement projects, known as “drops” in the indusrty But they offer to be as hands off or on as the client wants.

Ease of Use

RealNifty is a truly easy-to-use platform for those already well-versed in web3 and also those taking their first steps into the space. The team wanted to make sure the marketplace was simple for creatives and artists looking to sell their work, as well as those wanting to purchase.

“This was important for us to get right” says Parmenter. “We understand that the fine art industry and other creatives are still getting to grips with web3. We wanted to be a platform that was simple to use, both as buyers and sellers. We welcome newcomers and revel in the chance to show them, and teach them, how NFTs can open new audiences to their artwork. In the past, we’ve literally been on the phone with people helping them set up cryptowallets and explaining to them what cryptocurrency is all about.”

The team realise there are some difficulties in taking those first steps in web3 and that in order to appeal to a wider audience, these barriers of entry need to be overcome. This is why they are also working on a new system that will allow buyers to purchase NFTs with normal currency rather than cryptocurrency say Parmenter. “We want to open the doors to everyone and that’s why our dev team are working on making the process of purchasing as simple and easy as possible. With our already integrated delivery system for real-life fine artwork, we feel we’re already ahead of the game when it comes to ease of use.”

It really is easy for artists to upload their work on RealNifty, designed to be “Do It Yourself”. Being a curated marketplace, you just have to apply through their application form located on the site, and from there, the team decides whether or not a submitted collection gains access to the site. Once decided, the creator is given access to ‘creator tools’ in order to mint NFTs and include physical items for delivery in the real world. It’s a process that RealNifty provides support with and is always on hand to help out if necessary.

As a collector, you also get a feeling of safety when purchasing NFTs on RealNifty. Because you can redeem any

physical items attached to NFTs after purchase directly through the marketplace, its a lot more straight-forward than other sites. On other platforms you may have to send an email to arrange delivery off-platform which comes with issues of security and also trust - you’re at the mercy of not knowing if the order will be fulfilled. With RealNifty, it’s all arranged through the marketplace system. Your also able to contact the artist or creator if you have any further questions about the work. It’s all very clever.

Delivery options to suit both buyer and seller

With RealNifty’s delivery system, any physical items associated with the NFT are easily redeemable by the buyer, and also an easy process to set up for the seller.

When minting, the seller has the opportunity to choose from available delivery options. If they want to be more hands on, the creator can select an option to pack and deliver the piece themselves and just receive labels for delivery. For those that want more, there’s a full service option: packing, pickup and delivery all handled by the platform.

For the purchaser, they don’t have to worry - everything is insured in case of damage and they can choose from different delivery methods at varying costs, from basic packing and delivery to fine art pickup and even, for example, professional hanging of paintings once delivered.

Agency Specific

“Creators sometimes just want to create” states Parmenter. “If they want to learn web3, we’re here to help, but if they want us to take the lead on strategy, building, and promoting, we’re here to do that, too. NFTs for real things are our passion, and we welcome helping creators as well as buyers transition from web2 to web3.”

As an agency, RealNifty helps creators, including brands, to build out web3 and/or NFT strategies and design and implement “drops”. With a full package approach including marketing, strategizing, site and smart contract development and more, it truly is in the hands of the creator how far they want to dive into web3, as Parmenter goes on to explain.

RealNifty already has a successful NFT project under their belt with Mosaic NFT - a digital and physical drop that implemented purchaser collaboration and creativity by having a hand in their own artwork by matching physical and digital pieces.

“This was really fun” says Parmenter. “Our dev team created this fantastic grid where purchasers could input 9 of these digital NFT ‘tiles’ into a design of their choice. Once the user had settled on a design, this would be sent to the artist who would then recreate the piece using the physical tiles. The buyer would end up with both a physical and digital NFT. This is the essence of RealNifty.“

Why web3 is important for the art industry?

“Some might not know it yet, but blockchain tech and web3 is the future of many industries. This is why major brands are interested. We’re first movers in this technology, much like with the early days of the internet. Use cases are continuosly being developed and fine art has a big future in that respect. The digital and physical will be linked in even more unique ways over time, and artists will continue to sell their work in online marketplaces. It just makes sense.”

Connections to the metaverse

RealNifty also sees a big future for artwork and the metaverse. Again, a way of connecting the physical and digital markets. It’s a way for artists to grow their fanbase and introduce art to those that may not feel comfortable stepping into real-life galleries or don’t have access to them. An artist in, for example, the Netherlands can now showcase their artwork in a gallery to someone in Brazil, or anywhere else in the world,without the need to travel. The fine art industry has always felt a bit closed to some and now metaverses are starting to open that world.

RealNifty already has a gallery in a metaverse called Portals, displaying the collections of their current artistsand. Buyers can actually purchase the NFTs from inside the RealNifty Portals metaverse gallery, and right away initiate delivery of the associated physical fine art. They’re also opening up another gallery and event space within the Spatial metaverse. “It’s important to give people options when it comes to virtual galleries”, explains Parmenter. “We want to create a welcoming atmosphere for everyone and hold events in these spaces. Artists who want to do so can hold exhibits and discuss their art with customers within our online galleries. They can also hold launch parties and events to garner interest and support, just like in the real world but able to find a larger, world-wide audience with no closing times!”

Visit the metaverse

Vistis the virtual gallery spaces using these link:

• The Portals RealNifty Gallery - https://bit.ly/RealNifty1

• RealNifty Spatial Gallery - https://bit.ly/RealNifty2

“We chose a range of artists from those well-versed in web3 to those taking their first steps. We want the RealNifty marketplace to be a space where any artist at any stage of their web3 journey is welcome and included.

Each artist also offers something different within the digital/ physical spectrum, from the spiritual artwork of Ola Cichy which includes AR elements, to the metallic abstracts of Gianluca Franzese. "

Gianluca Franzese

About the Artist

The vast network of interconnecting lines, depth of colors, and repeating shapes of Gianluca’s Franzese’s artwork is the luminous expression of an artist whose intention is to create balance and harmony by using geometry.

With an intention to find “balance” in his work, Franzese is an artist unconstrained by even his own methods. Working with no standard format or formula, each panel and canvas created by Franzese is its own singular creation.

Born in Italy, Franzese has been around precious metals his whole life. His father was a jeweler and thus a young Gianluca was exposed to the craftsmanship of metal leafing at an early age.

The family moved to New York, where Franzese attended the prestigious Pratt Institute of Art before following his roots back to Italy where Franzese abandoned the contemporary art world and steeped himself in the traditional styles and methods of the old masters at the esteemed Florence Academy of Art.

First Rays of Light

2.22 ETH

22k gold leaf, 18k gold leaf, 12k white gold leaf, silver leaf, aluminum leaf with acrylic glazes on Gesso Fabriano paper.

17.75” x 20.5"

He spent four years in Florence learning the craft of sight size, sculpture and mixing paints.

With his classical training complete, Franzese moved back to the US and settled in San Francisco where the artist lives, works and plays today. The skillful young artist quickly achieved success in San Francisco including being commissioned to create a series of paintings for the historic Presidio Foundation.

Franzese would soon take another sabbatical to Italy where he worked for private clients in a mélange of art mediums, including decorative painting where he honed his skill at metal leafing and trompe-l’œil.

At a career crossroads Franzese returned to his studio in San Francisco.

Inspired by the glimmering gold leaf work of Gustav Klimt, the smooth shapes and designs of Frank Lloyd Wright, the groundbreaking pattern work of William Morris, and the facets of Art Deco, Franzese fused his varied inspirations. Summoning his skills and creativity, Franzese began his exploration of mixing glazing techniques on metal leaf.

Franzese’s view of the art studio as laboratory allowed him the freedom to learn the flexibility and tone of different metal leafs and how to create different colors and luminosity. As his exploration and craftsmanship evolved, Franzese began to form various geometric styles and patterns bending the viewer’s eye and imagination.

Without a finished design in mind, Franzese’s work is an intuitive process. The artist is guided by his response to the color, luminosity

Crepuscular

2.67 ETH

22k gold leaf, 18k gold leaf, 12k white gold leaf, silver leaf, aluminum leaf, with acrylic glazes on Gesso Fabriano paper.

24.5” x 17.5”

and vibrancy towards which each work gravitates.

Gianluca Franzese has forged a novel, expressive and evolutionary style of art whose core is manifesting balance and harmony with geometric configurations. At his studio laboratory he labors daily to explore new directions, colors and patterns to create balance. Each work of art is embedded with hand-layered metal leafs, variations of handmade glazes and Franzese’s unique style and creativity.

Franzese’s meticulous handcrafted and evolving work is regularly commissioned for private collectors, public institutions and corporate foundations.

Chainmail

8.33 ETH

Aluminum, silver, 12k white gold, 18k and 22k gold leaf with acrylic glazes on panel

34” x 44"

When asked about integrating metalwork into his art: “First of all, you have to have a plan. I knew there was something more you could do with it. It took a lot of training and a lot of patience. The trickiest part is how to get the paint to stick to the metal permanently. If you know what you’re doing, nothing is impossible. I started very simply. One metal leaf, just to get an idea of how to control it. Then came glazing. It took a while to figure it all out. It’s all experimenting and time.”

FallETH

2.67 ETH

22k gold leaf, 18k gold leaf, 12k white gold leaf, silver leaf, aluminum leaf, imitation gold leaf with acrylic glazes on Gesso Fabriano paper

24.5” x 17.5”

Dark Matter

16.03 ETH

Dark Matter, 2022 This work is the result of a 7 month process. The mediums used are. Aluminum, silver, 12k white gold, 18k , and 22k gold leaf with acrylic glazes on panel 48 x 60 ¾ inches

Find out more about the Artist

Gianluca Franzese

Official Links

RealNifty: https://www.realnifty.xyz/artist/gfranzese_eth

Website: https://gfranzese.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gianlucafranzese/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gianluca-franzese-91970b3/

Emily Miller

About the Artist

Emily Miller is an 18-year-old artist, born and raised in Miami, Florida. Growing up, she always knew she wanted to be a star. Art has always been a way for her to escape her troubles and dive into a new world.

After many years of arts and crafts and coloring books, Emily took her first art class in ninth grade and immediately fell in love. Over quarantine, she took time to pursue her newfound passion, selling art to friends for $50 apiece. Now, she is selling her art to clients worldwide.

Emily graduated from Gulliver Preparatory with her IB diploma and decided to take the non-traditional route and skip college. Her paintings have been included in prestigious galleries, and received at Art Basel Miami, making her one to watch as her career blossoms.

1.2ETH

Her determination to succeed through her art and make a difference while she does it is larger than life. As she continues on in her quickly growing career, she plans on creating a clothing line that sends proceeds to charities for the youth and special needs.

This is just the beginning for Emily Miller. Follow along on her journey as she continues to explore the body and the light within us all. Most importantly, remember you are never too young or old to follow your dreams.

On the ‘Destination’ collection: Beautifully crafted with exquisite coloring, the physical artworks are completed with oils and acrylics on stretched canvas. Each NFT comes with the opportunity to redeem the physical piece. A Walk With No Direction

Official Links

RealNifty: https://www.realnifty.xyz/artist/EmilyMiller

Website: https://emilymillerarts.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilymillerarts

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@emilymillerarts

Ola Cichy

About the Artist

Ola Cichy is a Canadian artist whose practice includes canvas painting, drawing, Augmented Reality Art, and music.

Raised on the Baltic coast of Eastern Europe, she started learning art at a very young age under the tutelage of her mother, a professional artist. Over the years since then, Ola has honed her skills while living in seven different countries, and learned from various masters during her extensive global travels.

1.15 ETH

Her art practice is deeply influenced by studies of psychology and years of experiencing diverse spiritual practices. She finds inspiration in the complexity of human nature and mysteries of reality.

Ola’s artworks have been featured in many exhibitions, public art installations and Projection Mapping Light shows across the Toronto area. Her works are also in multiple private and commercial collections worldwide.

The integration she uses with augmented reality is fascinating and adds another facet to these digital/physical pieces. The moody yet saturated colours, with thick and crackling textures, represent going

Full Moon Instinct

1.15 ETH

into the subconscious to peel away layers of old beliefs. Metallic elements symbolizing healing and the precious new substance emerging from a kiln of integration.

When asked about her art style: “As a psychologist, I’m fascinated with human nature and that’s what inspires me the most. I always say I’ve travelled the world but the most fascinating journeys in my life are the journeys into the human soul. This is why I love portraits and abstracts. In abstracts, I feel you can really explore emotions. I’ve been a spiritual person ever since I remember. I dive into spiritual practices and this comes through in my artwork.”

Listen With Your Skin

1.15 ETH

On integrating her work with AR: “Technology is another tool. It feels like another realm. With AR you can embed content into a physical object which would be my painting and it gives this window into another world. I find this a really cool, spiritual concept.”

The Wisdom Of A Broken Heart

1.15 ETH

Find out more about the Artist

Ola Cichy

Official Links

RealNifty: https://www.realnifty.xyz/artist/OlaCichy

Website: https://olacichy.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olacichyart/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ola-cichy-0406831b3/

Leila Pinto

About the Artist

Leila Pinto is a classically trained New York artist. Her work, with a growing following among collectors and curators, reveals a unique artistic point of view and conveys an emotional component that is irresistible. Her paintings have been included in prestigious juried art shows, shown in galleries, received awards, published, and displayed on a grand scale on the Jumbotron in Times Square and at the Oculus in the World Trade Center.

Her artistic aesthetic is inspired by nature in abstract seascapes and emotive responses to the day-to-day challenges of her Wall Street career as a senior professional in finance. In addition to working in oils and mixed media, she is exploring new digital technologies in Art. She participated in a panel on NFTs at Davos; has her own gallery in the Metaverse; was featured in the first All-Female NFT exhibition in Singapore; and was named one of the top 5 NFT artists to watch, follow, and invest in.

As you can see, Leila fits in perfectly with what RealNifty as a platform strives for: that connection and community between physical and digital artwork.

From the moving image and sound of Oceanic 1 to the Vibrant colours of Elated, her six-piece collection is beautiful and is likely to be snapped up quickly!

Leila Pinto

Official Links

RealNifty: https://www.realnifty.xyz/artist/LeilaPinto

Website: https://www.leilapinto.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leilapintonyc/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/leilapintonyc

Paul Smidt

About the Artist

A Dutch artist who’s practice includes canvas painting, art on fashion and digital art. Founder of Kunstbrug IRL NFT Gallery. Based in Oldenzaal, The Netherlands.

In his youth, Paul could be found in his father’s studio. Growing up among the scents of linen canvases, turpentine and oil paint, he looked for his own style of painting, spurred on by his father. This freedom of the creative spirit, continued after the death of his father in 2005.

Experiencing complete freedom of being has become a life goal, which he passionately wants to propagate. That complete freedom of being occurs in magical moments, which often reveal themselves as a miracle unannounced and unimpeded by everydayness. Seeing and wanting to capture this is the intuitive beginning of a painting. The fusion of coarse, thick structures, powerful shapes, bright colors and dynamic lines are characteristic.In this field of tension, light makes the magical moment almost tangible. From then on, the good listener can, again and again, catch a glimpse of the playfulness of life.

After successful exhibitions in the Netherlands, Germany, France and Russia, Paul Smidt’s work now fascinates and inspires art galleries and collectors all over the world. Paul runs his own art gallery Kunstbrug in Oldenzaal, The Netherlands which he lately transformed into World’s first Physical NFT Gallery.

Paul Smidt

Official Links

RealNifty: https://www.realnifty.xyz/artist/PaulSmidt

Website: http://www.paulsmidt.nl/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulsmidt/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArtistDutchNFT