Beeple's EVERDAYS; FIRST 5000 DAYS artwork auctioned on Christie's marketplace laid a fine precedent for artists, Ali Spagnola the latest to jump on this nascent trend.
Famous YouTuber Ali Spagnola in an attempt to bring joy to people launched a project 14 years ago where she's been sending out free paintings to people based on requests. In that time, the famous singer-cum-content creator has given out a record 2,809 free paintings.
While she receives donations from generous people from time to time, her mission has always been to put a smile on everyone's face by offering them beautiful and personal paintings. With the non-fungible token (NFT) market currently experiencing a massive boom after countless artwork sales, Ali’s fans and well-wishers advised her to sell off some of her paintings as NFTs.
April 9, 2021, the artist-cum-YouTuber published a video “I Sold a $500,000 NFT After Giving Free Art for 14 Years”, a 9+ minute video that talked about her journey into the world of NFTs as well as what moved her to jump on this billion-dollar market.
Currently live on the OpenSea marketplace, she hasn't sold off the artworks yet, the auction still has 19 days left. At the time of publishing this, Ali Spagnola’s 14 Years of Free Painting artwork has a bid of 2.65 ETH, worth $5,639 based on current market value.
The NFT, according to the artist, is an amalgam of all of the arts she's created in the past 14 years, hence the title 14 Years of Free Painting.
Calling quits on the 14 years project, Ali revealed some of the proceeds from this sale will go to the NCGAE (National Guild for Community Arts Education).
Speaking to BTC Peers, the artist revealed that if she doesn't hit the target, she would gladly sell to the highest bidder.