A crypto OG is a reference used for those individuals that have been involved in crypto for a very long time (or the beginning). In the case of NFTs, real NFT OGs go back to 2017-2018, as that’s the time when early NFTs were minted (the idea and concept are older). A.L. Crego is one of those artists that have been around since 2018 — the first transaction on the blockchain I could find from him goes back to that year on the Makersplace platform. He has been active on multiple blockchains like Ethereum, but recently he has been mainly minting on the Tezos blockchain. Crego has an unmistakable style, using black and white tones and electric animations.

I had the chance to ask him a few questions and learn more from his long and exciting NFT journey…

This article is part of the #30NFTArtists30days series, where I write a daily newsletter edition about a different NFT creator during March 2022. Consider getting a premium subscription to support my writing journey ✌️

Agnosic (4a) by A.L. Crego - this piece is part of the Agnosics collection.

How did you discover NFTs?

My first direct contact with them was about mid-2018, thanks to Makersplace, because they contacted me to join their platform. Still, since about 2014, I’ve been familiarized with and very interested in the blockchain itself. I mean, the fact of being able to ‘link’ my digital work with the blockchain to have a way to prove its authenticity. This was curiosity and a kind of need because since I started using the web as a ‘canvas,’ I was always out of Social Networks but watching how people were using other people's work as theirs… So my approach to NFTs is not something that suddenly happened in my life but more as a concept of something we need.

Digital Totem 1 by A.L. Crego - Tezos genesis

You have been around for a long time; what is the main difference between those early days?

The main one everybody is feeling is that we are finally being paid for work we were doing for long years without expecting anything back, but with the intention of this happening. Another significant difference is that the concept of ‘digital art’ is being normalized and started to be watched as genuine pieces of art. This is one critical point because when this happens, digital art and all the digital realm are accepted by ‘new people’ who were never interested in it. Art is working as a link, I think.

Output by A.L. Crego - Piece part of 'Organic Material' a collective exhibition that embraces the human response within the rushing speed of digital space. https://organicmaterial.net

Can you describe your creative process?

It can be very long, depending on the idea! But the main points of it, I think:
The idea (mostly from quotes I write), then choose the format (primarily gifs from photos edited as videos), but they can also be videos or still images.
The format depends on the idea. For instants: Still image. For moments: Gif. For stories: Video.
Then the style/aesthetics inside the ones I can ‘handle’ also depends on the idea.
But I think the creative process is never only on a piece. These times allow us to have a lot of works in progress waiting in folders, so when we come back to them later, we constantly feed each other with collateral ideas.

Identity (A+B) by A.L. Crego on Super rare

Who are your favorite NFT artists?

There are a lot of artists I enjoy/watch/study, some that come to my mind now are: Ruben Fro @Ruben_Fro Lucas Aguirre @lvcasaguirre Sonia Pérez @_Sonia_Perez_ Bahrull Marta @bahrullmarta Goldcat @OriginalGoldCat Jesse Draxler @JesseDraxler Dave Strick @davestrickgifs Many others… the flow of people doing incredible things is constant!

Visual Beat 1 by A.L. Crego

What are you working on these days?

Nowadays, I’m involved as always in some parallel projects, but I perceive them from a ‘decentralized’ point of view as all of them are related somehow. We’ve recently opened a whole VRSpace gallery with Arium to exhibit 300 1/1 pieces. It is a journey over a year that I was creating them developing a style I call ‘giftillism’ where I only use the fundamental element of digital art, the white pixel, in eternal motion using the online native format, gif.
The whole project is decentralized, the pieces are ready to be minted directly into the Eth blockchain (no platforms) under a custom smart contract, and it’s also linked with the VRSpace and a Web3.

Light by A.L. Crego

On another side, I keep developing some series as Visual Beats where I’m digging on the ‘musicality’ of the motion inside gifs, another of portraits of “nobodies,” Agnosics, another bigger one that is titled Amniotic Culture. Some other parallel projects that are always running will be unveiled soon too!