When Two Worlds Collide: An Interview with Tommy Wilson

One of the latest artists to make a splash in the CryptoArt scene, Tommy Wilson is not only a talented digital artist with a unique and identifiable pop art style, but he’s also a pitcher quickly rising in the ranks of the New York Mets.

When I think of a professional baseball player, a talented artist isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. The life of a pro baseball player requires constant work on their body, nutrition and the game and so when I came across Tommy’s digital works I was immediately impressed by not only his talent and style but his ability to juggle these two completely different worlds. 

Leading up to Tommy’s first SuperRare drop we had the chance to interview him and get more insight into his amazing story and artistic process. Very excited to share it with the CryptoArt community!

I was born and raised in Southern California and I have always been working on these two things, baseball and art. Baseball ended up being my current career path but doing artwork is still one of my favorite pastimes. I have been making art my whole life. I was surrounded by all things art and music. My parents and my sisters are all very artistically and musically talented, so as a whole we were always doing something artistic. I got to focus on digital art because I was always fascinated with video editing and in particular, animation. I had never really made my own artwork until recently. I was using the artistic skills I had learned to help others but I’m excited to release works that are truly my own. 

I’m actually very excited to be the first!! It’s very humbling and I hope that being the first can help me bring the two worlds together. Most of my artwork is baseball centered. So I hope to bring people from the art world to see how much of an art form it is to play the game of baseball. I also hope to bring people from the baseball world into the world of CryptoArt and to help them tap into whatever creative endeavors they would like to get into as well!

Managing the time between art and baseball is difficult. Baseball is full time as I have to focus on my body, nutrition, sleep, and anything else that will keep my body in the best shape. With any spare time that I do have, art is where I go. I typically use the night hours to work on my art as I am not at the field or working out, and I feel like at night is when I am most creative. It is pretty difficult to juggle both, but I am lucky to be able to do both things that I love!

My teammates have seen my artwork. They dig it and usually are motivated to get into something creative of their own. I love being able to get them into their next creative endeavor as I said earlier. I am slowly warming them up to the world of CryptoArt. When the conversations do arise, many questions are asked so I have to motivate myself to share. Sharing on social media and having those conversations are becoming more frequent and I am sure they will hear about CryptoArt sooner or later.

My process starts from watching baseball throughout my life and being inspired by something I see or hear. I then take that inspiration to my computer and type out ideas or even start sketching what is in my head. It is super important for me that I get my idea out quick before I forget it. As for what I use, I won’t go into too much detail because it includes many different applications, but I am a big fan of all things Adobe!

I typically focus on events and stories in baseball. The most iconic moments and players that have put an incredibly positive impact on the game of baseball and the world today. As for my theme, I love anything that instantly catches my eye. I try to replicate that theme and make my art as eye catching as possible. On the other hand, in all of my art pieces there will be subtle movements, shapes, or words, that people may never see, even after owning a piece. I like the mystery of that and the intricacy it takes when making the artwork.

With most of my pieces, I want to put a smile on someone’s face, inspire them, and maybe make them feel a bit nostalgic. It depends on the piece but when it comes to the viewer those are the feelings I want them to encounter.

I usually spend a handful of days on one piece. I have a method to each piece and each piece has about 4 different parts. Once I am finished with each part, I typically take a while to look at it and make sure I like it before I move on to the next step. There are usually a couple spots that need touching up so I make sure to take my time and don’t rush through a piece. I try not to be a perfectionist, but I also have to make sure I really like the piece before releasing it. 

My biggest art influences are anyone that was a part of the pop art movement, but mainly my parents. My Mom teaches music and taught me music as a child. Learning music and instruments was a big influence on my art and is still a part of my life. As for my Dad, he has been painting his whole life. His paintings are incredible and as I grow older I realize how technical and beautiful they are. As many people know, he became a big part of the pop culture world at a young age and has used his art to portray his experiences. His style is my absolute favorite and a lot if my style is inspired by him. He is such an incredible artist and many people are unaware of that. He truly is my favorite artist; no bias. 

A couple of my favorite artists on SuperRare are Micah Johnson and Twisted Vacancy. Micah is actually the one who introduced me to the CryptoArt world and watching his process of making his paintings and then animating them digitally is amazing. Working with him has been a blast and I always look forward to seeing his next creation. Twisted Vacancy’s pieces are incredible. They are so detailed and I love the style. It is very unique and I also am always looking forward to seeing Twisted’s next piece!