1/1 Artist Spotlight: Efdot 

ONE37pm's 1/1 Artist Spotlight is a series that focuses on giving love to 1 of 1 NFT Artists. Whether they're from the traditional art world or just got started in art through web3, we want to highlight and help you get to know those who are up and coming.

A 1/1 NFT is a unique, one-of-a-kind digital collectible where no other exists other than the piece itself.  Each 1/1 collection has a limited amount of editions available, with the number dictated by the artist. We hope to introduce you to talented and incredible people in the NFT space and the reasons they love doing what they do.

Visual artist and Skateboard Eric Friedensohn, also known as Efdot, is best known for bridging worlds with his unique and abstract hand-drawn art style.

ONE37pm had previously sat down with Efdot for an episode of Web37 where we introduce him, his background, and recent collaborations.

Listen to the episode here:

Now, straight off a collaboration with the Chicago Bulls, we chat with Efdot for more insight on his goals for the future, his inspirations for creating, and more.

ONE37pm: How has your artist journey changed since joining NFTs? 

Efdot: Looking back on the last couple years, I feel like my trajectory changed in a few ways…

From a business side – I built Efdot Studio slowly from 2014 til now. Most of those early years, I didn’t have a healthy balance between commercial work and personal art.

Like a lot of creatives out there, I felt that I needed to constantly take on more and more clients to survive.

Since starting to put my work out as NFT’s, I have been able to create a much better balance of client work / personal work, versus my previous model.

I have also been able to be more picky with the commercial work I do take on - some clients even now want to work with me on web3 projects, and that’s exciting. 

Not every day is easy, but I feel more excited than ever about the art I’m making.

ONE37pm: How did you start getting into NFT’s?

Efdot: In 2020, I found myself stuck at home, up late listening in on clubhouse chats, beginning to wrap my head around crypto and the concept of digital assets.

Being new in the space I felt like a fish swimming in a pool of sharks... I needed to listen and keep asking questions for what felt like hundreds of hours, before I was even close to thinking about minting or selling my first piece. For that year I continued running my studio as normal, while at night I tried to immerse myself in spaces with knowledgeable and trusted sources. 

My first NFT’s were minted in August 2021 on Foundation as 1/1 animations. Later that year I put out my first collection, a series of abstract compositions called “Open Minds”.

After the success of that collection selling out and ending up on the homepage of Opensea, I dove deeper into the space, growing my collector base with dynamic color-changing editions, telling one meaningful story at a time.

For my own life, I see NFT’s as an upgrade to my previous model of selling my 1/1 art and limited edition items from my studio. It’s an exciting way to collaborate, connect and deepen relationships with friends, clients and collectors.

ONE37pm: Maybe hard to choose, but Physical or Digital?

Efdot: This is a cop-out answer, but I love the combination of both physical and digital… I like switching between the two every day. 

Animating my physical paintings has been one of the coolest experiments from this year - and I’m excited to take on more commissions like that, for collectors who span across both.

ONE37pm: How would you describe your art style?

Efdot: My style is always evolving but at the moment it feels like: Bold, colorful, optimistic, abstract meets figurative, simple, clever, thought-provoking. 

I love making pieces that feel simple and approachable on the surface, but as you look closer, you find there are hidden layers of story and meaning embedded.

ONE37pm: What is your favorite piece?

I’m really proud of this one animated painting that I made this year called “Momenta”. To me it represents the energy of many of the people I have met in the last year.

ONE37pm: What do you hope to accomplish in the next year?

Efdot: I have *mostly* let go of planning out my accomplishments… I am going to keep doing what I do best, and see what happens!

The philosophy is: if I can consistently make my best art, everything else will fall into place.

I hope to do my first solo show in NYC, but only going to do it when it’s right. And of course I hope to continue growing out the Efdot ecosystem, bringing my people along for the ride.

One more concrete goal I am excited about is relaunching my podcast “Extra Paint” - where I share conversations with other artists I’m learning from.

ONE37pm: When do you feel most inspired to create?

Efdot: When I’m traveling is when I usually get the best feelings of inspiration.

But when I am at home, usually late at night, is when I am most creative. Sometimes I will stay up drawing until 2 or 3AM. I love the quiet of the night!

ONE37pm: What single, most important, advice would you give to an up and coming artist in the space?

Efdot: Don’t rush. Move at your own pace and in your own lane. No one can create like you can, so don’t compare your path to others’.

Thanks for reading, and shoutout to 137pm for the great questions and feature.

You can follow Efdot at on Twitter, Instagram and learn more about his work on efdotstudio.com.