Trizton Delbaugh: Even if I am not Proud of What I Made, I have to be Proud of Myself.
Last month, I was able to record a podcast with Trizton Delbaugh. We talked about art, the creative process, the new and blooming world of crypto art and NFTs. Trizton is one of the most talented people I have met and worked alongside. You can listen to more of that conversation here.
Trizton, who is currently making art under the alias of Alhvcard, is from Denver, Colorado currently living and creating art out of Fort Collins, Colorado.
Trizton is a creative in every sense of the word, he abandons all expectations when creating while still holding himself to a high standard. His early beginnings as a creative began with “classical” art. He had always able to draw, and those humble beginnings morphed into music and have remained a constant throughout his life.
Trizton is a strong believer that talent and the concept of being talented is a fall back. Unless you have the “drive” or the “hunger”, talent doesn’t mean shit, as he would put it. Art and early innate skills came to him naturally, but he is a believer that his talent is hunger and ambition.
NFTs and Crypto
Like many artists around the globe, Trizton’s art has become incredibly more profitable with the increased popularity and emergence of (Non Fungible Tokens) NFTs.
Often, artists struggle to make a living off of their work. NFTs are paving a way for artists to live off of their creations. Trizton mentioned that in Fort Collins, the art scene is particularly difficult to become a part of, unless that is, you are really good at painting landscapes or photographing Aspen trees.
The growth in NFTs and being able to sell virtual copies of art via different online marketplaces and spaces break down barriers for artists. The market/ scene although still difficult to break into, has far less barriers and blockades for artists. There is a space and market for every type of creative on the web.
This concept is still relativley new and developing, having rapidly burst into the mainstream of online culture within the last few months, but has the potentially to change online consumption habits of all kinds in the very near future. NFTs give the artist/creator more power because the value of pieces more than always grows and those same artists can still benefit from the increased value of their piece. The “concept is changing the ecosystem of art” as Trizton put it.
For Example:
If Trizton were to have some pieces held and displayed at a gallery that were purchased, he would get paid, but more than likely the gallery would demand a cut or a overall fee for displaying his art. If he lists and showcases his art as an NFT, more than likely, site/gallery depending, he won’t owe them a cut or have to pay an aggregious amount of money to have it displayed or showcased. If the painting sold at a gallery were to be sold on by someone else, Trizton does not get any of that money. However, if someone resells a NFT of his, he can set a percentage of that resell value to come back to him.
More on NFTs and the changing art scene in the interview here:
Working the Socials and Growing:
“Organic and inorganic connections… getting into group chats and engagement chats” helped cultivate and build up his following online. Trizton began growing a following on Twitter after finding his place as a visual artist in the online music community.
It became apparent to him that he did not have aspirations to perform in front of thousands of people as a musician. Although he still makes music, the professionalism of his art had shifted from musical to visual.
Visual art allowed Trizton to evolve as a creative and have phyiscal evidence of growth within his work. Having the support of peers online allowed him to recieve feedback and cause himself to take his art more seriously. Being in various art engagement chats led to the creation of support groups where Trizton said he’ll “never have to go deeper than a DM to get whatever it is he needs.”.
Overgrowth:
Something that was discussed but not entirely recorded for the interview, was the concept of overgrowth.
Having lived in the city of Fort Collins for a few years now, Trizton feels as though perhaps he has overgrown the city. The Fort Collins art and music scene has been dramatically hurt by the COVID-19 Pandemic and while that can potentially bring new life into the scene, it may bring more of the same.
Trizton, as noted earlier in this article, talked about the opportunities for he and other creatives to be somewhat limited. I had a similar conversation with RJHutch, a rapper in the Fort Collins area on a podcast, in which RJ pointed out there are not too many opportunities for young and aspiring rappers/ hip hop artists to perform at professional venues. While yes, the party scene and the occasional bar will give these young artists a chance, the opportunity for alternative/ indie/ country artists to perform is much more common.
The same can be said about the visual art scene of Fort Collins. The small downtown area, whose galleries thrive off of revenue from tourists, showcases far more landscape, nature photography shows than abstract art shows. While these abstract shows exist, Trizton noted that there is a great amount of growth needing to occur in the Fort Collins scene to hopefully become more expansive and more diverse in quality and content in the next few years. But, for him, it may be time to go.
Fort Collins is not Denver, nor is it New York, or even London. Leaving Fort Collins for Trizton will be transformational. New life and new scenery. The evolution of art feeds off of those two things along with the basics: a new environment and a total change of pace.
Lessons From Trizton:
- Be hungry. It doesn’t matter what your outlet or product is, you have to believe in yourself and go get it for yourself
- Balance is everything, the little things and the big things
- Don’t be afraid of the little kid inside of you, embrace it
- Conversations and stories are everything
- Talent is a fall back or foundation, but it’s nothing if you don't want it and don’t go out and get it
- “I don’t care if I can’t do it, I’ll die trying”
- Don’t change for anyone but yourself, being aware of yourself is key
- “You don’t have to go deeper than a DM to get anything that you need” (NETWORK)
