1/1 Artist Spotlight: Shay The Surrealist

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.

Shaylin Wallace "Shay The Surrealist" is a 23-year old digital artist from Wilmington, Delaware. She is best known for her surreal-minimalism with a dash of fantasy.

She strives to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, catching her audience’s attention with her surreal, yet "so real" pieces.

An artist who pushes her own limitations creatively, Shay excels in multiple mediums including photography, graphic design, and digital illustration. She uses art as a way to connect and communicate her deepest thoughts and emotions. Some of her collaborations and clients include Netflix, Adobe, AMC, Warner Bros, and Mercedes Benz.

ONE37pm chatted with Shay about her NFT journey, art style, and goals for the future.

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

Shay: My artist journey has expanded since joining NFTs. I started hearing about NFTs in late August 2020. I didn’t do much research about it, but I saw some artists I followed on Twitter mint their artwork on platforms such as SuperRare. I officially started my NFT in February 2021 and minted my first piece on AsyncArt. It was such a surreal feeling selling my first piece. It changed my life and made me have hope that one day I could live off my art without having to freelance or take on commission work all the time. 

ONE37pm: Do you prefer physical or digital art? 

Shay: I love both physical and digital work. I prefer working digitally when it comes to creating my artwork. My passion is photo-manipulation, creating surrealistic compositions in photoshop. I haven’t felt that same passion when working in physical mediums. The best thing about digital work is that I could create physical copies, such as prints if/whenever I please. 

ONE37pm: How would you describe your art style? 

Shay: My art style is surrealistic, but also very minimalistic at times. I consider my style as surreal-minimalism. I also love colors and have been using them more frequently in my work. 

ONE37pm: What is your favorite piece? 

Shay: To pick just one of my artworks as my favorite piece is so difficult, but if I have to choose, I’d say Blossoming Within (2020). I created this piece in July 2020 during the pandemic and protests. It was such a wild time for black folks and there was no escape from this cruel world. There were times I would break down due to the violent images that would cross my feed. I felt hopeless at one point and went through a terrible art block. One night, I had this urge to just look at stock images, with no intention of starting a piece. I found some images and began working in photoshop. I felt calm while creating it. After I finished making Blossoming Within, I sat back from my computer, mesmerized and started to cry. It was as if everything I was feeling, good and bad, I put into this one piece. This piece made me feel hope, that everything’s going to be okay and to keep moving forward. 

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

Shay: I hope to have my very first solo exhibition next year. I already have the vision, but it’s a matter of planning and funding to make this exhibition exactly how I imagine. I also hope to have my artwork auctioned off at Christie’s or Sotheby’s. That would be a dream come true for me.

ONE37pm: When do you feel most inspired to create? 

Shay: I feel inspired when I’m naturally called to create something or when I’m in the right mindset. My best ideas come randomly to me, as if they’ve found me rather than me finding them. Honestly, I could say that I’m always inspired because I have so many interests that surround art or creativity. There’s no limits to one’s creativity.

​You can view more of Shay's work on SuperRare.