Haze Long NFT Artist Interview

Natalee

3 years ago

Can you tell us about your background and what lead you down the path to becoming an artist and ultimately experimenting with NFTs?

My name’s Haze and I am an artist based in Malaysia. My background includes film, 3D, web programming, and artistic skillsets.
My professional career as an artist started as a street artist over a decade ago. I also perform regularly as a speed painter(creating something within an extremely short amount of time on stage).
In fact, I even founded my own creative company that rose to the top 5% of Cradlefund under the Coach and Grow program, which oddly… caters to Tech startups.
As a creative influencer, I currently have a 130k audience spread among my social media accounts. I’m so grateful that I can use my social media platforms to give back to the community that has given me so much. Every week, I share tips and tricks for learning new techniques, as well as offering resources on a freemium pricing model.

The concept of NFTs has been around for a while. I didn’t want to jump into something without having a clear sense of what it would look like in the long run. I want to be able to express my vision using all the skills that I have in 3D, videography, web coding and art both traditionally and digitally.
The Last Dream is an ongoing NFT collection of mixed media artworks. My artworks are a statement of life, both virtual and reality decentralized in the form of art.

Where are you from, provide your background

Malaysia

What are your passions besides art?

I was a victim of child abuse for more than 20 years. The aftermath is something that I’ve been dealing with for years, and it’s taken me a long time to become functional in society. My primary calling in life has been advocating for the safety of children at home and across the world.

Therefore, The Last Dream is a project that supports charities who focus on child abuse prevention, response and psychological healing.

Who are your favorite Artists?

James Jean, Audrey Kawasaki

What made you pursue NFT art?

Art, coding and technology has always been a part of me.

How did you come up with your specific style?

My first step into the art world is as a muralist and street artist. However, I was a commercial artist instead of a fine artist. This means that I have no outlet to express my style, as I was constantly using my creative know-how to service client’s needs. I was their brush, their palette and their painter for their ideas.

Over the years, I got unmotivated and could no longer continue. I got tired of clients asking for “any style, anything but your style”. I started my Youtube channel and I was very lucky that it gained alot of subscribers. Using the support and income generated from the channel, I took 3 years in the pandemic to experiment and came up with my current style.

How has your style evolved over the years?

I used to be the artist to paint the subject matter that other artists avoid. Subject matters like buildings, piles of coins, rubbish and abstract detail that others would just turn away from. Deadlines were tight, and I came up with unique ways to paint the unpaintable.

It made me an artist who could simulate almost any style and for the longest time, this made me unable to pick a style and settle down.

I used to aim for the style that is still unknown to me, the learner in me wanted to keep learning. This led to chase after chase, not to mention – artist blocks. I get artist blocks each time because I was addicted to steep learning curves.

Today, I pick the style that makes me the happiest and the most productive. I am done trying and chasing. I just want to be the most natural artist I can be, using the skills that I already have.

What are your other passions besides art?

There is a saying – if you are creative, you can never run away from being one. I love running a business, being entrepreneurial. It takes a certain common sense to being a successful business woman and I love the thrill of it.

But before I was an artist, before I was an entrepreneur.. I was obsessed with mathematics and code. My initial career choice was to be an architect, where I can marry both maths and art. Although I had aced every single public examination, I couldn’t get a single scholarship as the government in my country favours the main race when it comes to education. My family could only afford to send me to a film & animation degree.

After I got my first class honours in Film & Animation, I taught myself code and worked in web development for a while before succumbing to my creative desires.

So this NFT project, The Last Dream is one where I will use all my skills and talents. You will be able to find digital artwork, hand painted traditional ones and also artworks that is purely coded. I have nothing to lose and everything to offer.

If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be?

Iceland.

What is your Favorite NFT?

Mask Obscuras by Jenni Pasanen

What other information would you like featured?

The Last Dream NFT project launches on 1st June 2022. Join the waitlist to be the first group to mint Haze’s NFTs.