stairways to dreamscapes

welcome to issue #21 of moments, our bi-weekly newsletter. if you’re new here, this is the space where we share product updates, highlights from our community, and a curation of our favorite gems.

what’s new? we’re very close to launching a gallery tool 👀, working on two nyc gallery shows, and busy watching our community rise up the leaderboards through their creations and collecting acumen (needless to say, it’s packed 😅).

another week with hundreds of gems we can’t get enough of. vibrant portraits, whimsical line drawings, abstracted graphics and more. the quality of the art being shared on primitives continues to blow us away.

we pulled a few of our favorite recent gems – tap in below to get started on adding them to your collection :)

this week’s featured creator is jayson koo (@jaysonk0312). an artist and videographer, jayson’s works imagine surreal digital environments. our community manager sydney recently sat down with him to chat about his inspirations, process, and journey towards creation.

where are you from and how did your artistic journey begin?

i'm originally from south korea but i grew up in california. my first encounter with art was through photography. i wanted to get into making digital art sooner but i was intimidated by it at first. around 2020, i woke up one day and thought to myself, “i'm not going to improve unless i try.” i downloaded blender [and] i started to experiment with surreal environments.

process wise, you start with an idea. then you find your inspirations, form your concept, do the modeling, and so on. you experiment with it, you make the structures, shapes, and then you get into little nitty details like textures and where the sun is coming from and all that. to me, that part of the process is truly bringing your imagination into it.

what inspires you?

my biggest source of inspiration is music. i realized if i'm crammed working, nine to five, inspiration doesn't really come to me. when i'm on a road trip, listening to music, that's where my ideas really out. and being the pacific coast highway in la is my golden time to really get my mindset right. that said, if i'm specifically talking about digital art, i usually look on pinterest and instagram for creators and artwork that inspires me.

is there something that you hope people understand when they look at your art?

i want to bring them a totally different perspective. i think the point is to get people think, “wow, this concept could actually exist and looks really interesting.” i just want to inspire people by showing them art that didn't exist before.

was primitives your introduction to selling work online?

when i got back into digital art again, i started to post it on my instagram stories and so many people dm’d me, telling me to make nfts of them. i think the biggest advantage of primitives is that it's so user-friendly. everything's very simplified. i was able to just click, upload, select pictures, and we're pretty much done.

new in: projections are here. you pick the gem, we tell you how many points we project you’ll be able to earn by collecting it. for example: want to add @lisamary’s Abstract Vol. 1 to your collection? we think it could net you 22 points over the next week :)

one week into leaderboards, and y’all have gone to work earning points for thoughtful creations and diligent collecting. congrats to all our top creators and collectors, with a special shoutout to @nktkns, @danbell, @donosaur, @marcus, and @sashayart_ who hit the leaderboards for the first time :)

want to earn your spot on the leaderboard next week? dive in to create and collect to cement your status in the community.

• the fifteen nyc gallery shows that altered the course of art

• a mesmerizing look at the overlooked drawings of ruth asawa

• what does it really cost to open a gallery?

• is this painter the ultimate menswear artist?

is there a creative friend you think might like primitives? share our newsletter with 10 friends to earn a limited edition hat :)

primitives is building an online space for creatives. we empower anyone to discover new creators, mint and share work, build collections, and join communities. keep up with us on twitter, instagram, tiktok, and at primitives.xyz.