Palette Box - Artist

Ever imagined swapping blueprints for brushstrokes? That's precisely the journey Bianca, the Bucharest-born visual artist known as Palette Box, takes us through as she recounts her artistic evolution from architecture to the whimsical world of illustration. Our conversation winds through the cobblestone dreams of Italy and the electric avenues of New York City, where Bianca's aspirations are as vivid as her artwork. As she peels back the layers of her process, we're treated to a rare insight into how a seed of passion for storybook illustrations blooms into a full-fledged creative career. It's not every day you get to hear an artist bare their soul, challenge norms with thought-provoking queries, and even share their sweet spot for baking.

This episode isn't just about the allure of brush and color; it's a celebration of community, the unseen threads that connect artists across the globe. From the digital realm of NFTs to the physical gathering in Miami, Bianca spreads her infectious enthusiasm and gratitude, even as she gears up to unveil two secret projects. Our chat captures the heartbeat of the creative world, where patience is as crucial as the stroke of a pen and the strength found in the shared energy of fellow artists is immeasurable. So, pull up a chair, grab a sketchbook, and let's revel in the tales and aspirations that drive Palette Box's journey through the art world.

https://twitter.com/BoxPalette

Chapters

• 0:32 Palette Box
• 12:27 Advice, Dreams, and Favorite Places
• 22:50 Miami Meetup

Transcript

NorCal Guy 0:32

Hey everyone, welcome to this next episode of Noor Cal and Shill. Today we have Bianca, also known as Palette Box. She is an illustrator and visual artist based in Bucharest, romania. Her passion for drawing and illustration started in her childhood, specifically from storybooks. She is fascinated by images that convey a story and outlines images and scenarios that people can identify with. Her work generally starts with simple geometric shapes that slowly build into complex images showcasing vivid colors and strong contrasts. On today's episode of Noor Cal and Shill, bianca discusses her journey into the NFT space, her passion for art and her experiences as an illustrator and architect. She shares her thoughts on hardware wallets, her love for Italian cuisine and her dreams of living in Italy and New York. Bianca also turns the tables and asks me some thought-provoking questions. Stay tuned to hear about Bianca's upcoming projects and her insightful perspectives on the art world. Everybody, please welcome Palette Box. Hey Bianca, welcome to the podcast. How are you doing today?

Palette Box 2:01

Hi, thank you so much for the invitation. It's such an honor for me to be here. I'm good, I'm fine. Thanks, oh great.

NorCal Guy 2:09

Well, glad to have you. You have participated in Click Create. That's where I initially got to see your work and get to know you and then, beyond that, you're helping with kind of like an invitation slash po-app thing that we're doing at Art Basel Miami. And yeah, thank you for that.

Palette Box 2:32

Yeah, thank you. It was such a nice project.

NorCal Guy 2:36

Yes, Thank you. I guess, to start off, do you have a hardware wallet and do you use it?

Palette Box 2:45

Actually, yes, I use one from time to time. I have a ledger NanoS, but lately for the main wallets I have a separate PC that I only use for minting or transfers, so this is why I don't use the hardware wallets so often. I try to be as caution as possible. I use Twitter, Discord and email on a separate device where I don't store any assets. So I don't know why. But I think also that I look at the ledger. It's something very fragile and I'm always afraid that I will break it or lose it because I have a lot of USBs or small stuff still now. But in an event, it is very good and, from what I understand, everyone use one.

NorCal Guy 3:42

Right, it's true, it's a pretty solid device, yeah, so what were your first thoughts when you heard about NFTs?

Palette Box 3:53

To be honest, I didn't quite understand how they worked at the beginning. I heard about NFTs during the first general lockdown via Instagram. I heard and read a few articles and found out about Nifty and Super Rare, but you needed an invitation on the platform to mint, so I quickly forgot about the concept, although I found it so interesting. It was in the early days of my freelancing journey as an illustrator and I was always open to trying new things that could generate real feedback on my work or source of income, of course, or help me join new communities. So I think a lot of freelance artists also join in the space that during time, but from the outside it looked like something dedicated only to big artists who have a lot of followers on social platforms. I only joined the space in the late 2021, during the collections craze.

Palette Box 5:05

I still remember those times when everybody was meeting anything that would appear, the rush and the feeling that you were missing something while you slept. Also, most of the posts I had on my time. I were like shield your post, shield your art. But for me as a newcomer, it was amazing. I had to learn so many things like what one of one is, what editions are, airdrops, type of contracts and many more. I felt a little bit nostalgic in a way, although it was tiring to keep up, but in any case, now I really like the atmosphere much more and the fact that I have real friends and everything seems much cleaner and, in a way, I think, more stable. No more background noise and agitations and you can take all the time to release the pieces and to do as well as you can.

NorCal Guy 6:09

Right, for sure been nice to have this quiet period, for sure.

Palette Box 6:17

Yeah.

NorCal Guy 6:18

So why did you choose art? What brought you to?

Palette Box 6:22

art. I think my passion for art started at an early age. In my childhood, I was always fascinated by storybook illustrations. Later on, this passion kept growing and I was introduced to design and the concept of illustration and graphic design. This is one of the reasons I also got into architecture school. I'm currently in the final year, finishing the masters in architecture, thank you which will mark the end of a long six years journey. Yeah, it was a little bit hard, but here we are. As you've seen, architecture is a frequent topic in my works. Almost all of them are tied to it. I think it's something very fascinating in art all over and in all sorts of form. I'm very grateful that I have this ability to create something that will resonate with people, even if I never meet them in real life. It creates a sort of beautiful and special connection between the artist and the audience, and I could never see myself doing something apart from a creative or artistic field.

NorCal Guy 7:56

So I'm curious what kind of jobs did you do before you went into architecture? I like to hear the background and see what kind of jobs you had when you were young and in high school pre-college type of jobs you had.

Palette Box 8:20

Yeah, I'm very lucky that I had the opportunity to pursue my dream of being an artist and an illustrator and I began my journey into artistic direction during my first year of university. In high school, I was into mathematics and informatics field. It wasn't something related to art, but I realized that isn't for me. That's when I learned how to use in the first year of university, to use illustrator and Photoshop and I was really amazed at the things that I could create in them. I'm really looking forward to finish the university and being able to focus full time on the artistic side on things in my life and opportunities that are coming.

Palette Box 9:18

Yeah, and during the university, I was also co-founded a graphic design studio and I had the opportunity to work with some very cool clients like Washington Post, Samsung and some local brands. So far, this was my only job and I was very proud that I managed to achieve and I hope I can stay on this path in the future. In general, I am passionate about everything that means art, such as music, photography, movies and also the creative direction in advertising. It seems to be an interesting domain to be part of the campaign's creation for different brands. Yeah, nice.

NorCal Guy 10:11

So if you are an animal, what would you be and why?

Palette Box 10:19

Yeah, this is a funny question. I really love it. I think I would be also. I would love to be a dog, especially if you know the threshold with the small legs. This summer I gave my step sister a baby-dash-and-girl named Kiki for her birthday, and the whole family loves her. I would love to be like her because she is so spoiled by everyone and it looks like she has a very nice life. I'm gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie that I am with her sometimes, especially in cases when I'm a little bit stressed and I look at her and she seems so calm and she doesn't have strong emotions like people when it comes to making decisions and big decisions in life. So what can I say? I really wish I could be her, like her sometimes.

NorCal Guy 11:26

That makes sense. That makes sense. So do you have a favorite food?

Palette Box 11:34

This is an easy one. I think for everybody it's a favorite question. I could eat pasta and pizza every single day for the rest of my life. Yeah, the simpler the recipe is, the better it is. Every time I go to Italy, I like to find the best pasta places that have homemade pasta. And another thing that I love is tacos, but I haven't been in Mexico yet to taste the traditional ones and I think they're amazing. But I found some cool places on my trips to Europe and I think tacos could easily be in the second spot of my favorite restaurants Nice.

Palette Box 12:26

Yeah.

NorCal Guy 12:27

So do you have a piece of advice that's been given to you, or do you have a life mantra or something that you keep on going back to, that you live by like a piece of advice or something?

Palette Box 12:44

Yeah, although it might sound a little bit cliche, but the best of advice I have been given is probably to never give up on my passion.

Palette Box 12:57

I think it's very important to follow your dreams and to be passionate about something, even if it means for having a regular 9 to 5 job and doing what you love in your free time, because we all know that sometimes it might be very hard to live from what you are doing.

Palette Box 13:18

But in the end, if you are not giving yourself the joy to dedicate time to your passion, it's like a piece of you disappears somehow, and I also think that things we are passionate about are very tight to our inner child, so this is the best way to keep this alive inside us. Also, so far, I think that the hardest thing for me in my short career in art is to be patient, and I'm starting to learn more and more to be patient and not rush things because one way or another day will be solved. Yeah, my personality always dictates that in everything that happens to me, I want to be as fast and successful as possible, like maybe anyone else, which doesn't really exist in anyone's reality. I'm learning how to do it and now I can say that all the good things and relationships I've formed took time and, in the end, lost.

NorCal Guy 14:29

So if you could live or move anywhere, where would you live and why?

Palette Box 14:37

Yeah, I love this question a lot. One of my first choices really would be Italy, for sure. I have always been fascinated by its heritage and traditions and I think it's the country I have visited the most so far, because it's so close to Romania and it's always a pleasure to get back and discover more things. I'm always a huge fan of classic architecture and I think they did a great job preserving the historical site and buildings. I could walk endlessly on the streets and look at the architectural details and visit the galleries and the museums, also drinking coffee. But another place I would love to live for a short period would be New York.

Palette Box 15:38

I think it's something very poetic and it's a must-go place for any creative in your life. I'm very curious about how it feels to live there and I'm sure I will visit it at some last one. Everything seems so dynamic and things are moving so fast, and I saw it on the movies. I think it's fascinating to live there. Plus, there is the pulse of any large existing brand and business, and maybe from the outside, everything seems to be much more with rich, although I know that it's difficult and not everyone succeeds. Only that the possibilities in my country are much less, given the fact that here aren't departments or well-made industries in art like in the US and otherwise. The opportunities decrease here and only luck, I think, is that the internet exists and that's how, I think, you can reach everywhere, if it's not physical, of course, but your art and your PCs and your work can travel around the world. So I hope to be able to arrive in the US as soon as possible and to meet you.

NorCal Guy 17:05

Yeah, that'd be great. So do you have any questions for me?

Palette Box 17:13

Yeah, yes, I do have three questions, so my first question would be from a collector's standpoint, what's your favorite way of discovering new artists? For example, do you follow any specific pages or communities when you do so?

NorCal Guy 17:35

Well, I guess there's certain people who respect their thoughts and their opinions, so if they happen to retweet something or say, hey, you should check this person out. That's the main way For me to kind of get a fast track on an artist because they already have a recommendation. Outside of that, I haven't done this in a little while, but occasionally I'll go on Foundation and scroll through current auctions and see what's there or like super rare current, like what's happening right now. Those are like the main ways for me. I don't do a whole lot of scrolling of the timeline, of the Twitter timeline, just mainly notifications and messages.

Palette Box 18:49

Yeah, cool. I think it's a little bit overwhelmed. When you have a lot of notifications or DMs, you can skip a lot of auctions and bits, I think on Super Rare Foundation and the main platforms are the best way to discover. So my second question is for you what motivates you to keep pushing in the web space every day?

NorCal Guy 19:22

Man, that's a hard one. I think it can have a positive impact on the space overall as part of it. The other part is I would be lying if I didn't think it had a good investment potential as well. So I guess there's two sides to it. When I first got into the crypto art space, it felt like the early crypto days to me. That really motivates me because, I don't know, I really believed in crypto. I still do but it was Like a different passion in the early days and I feel that in the Crypto art space and that that is a, I guess, something that's kind of unique to be some on in a space like this that you know is on the ground level and it's so small, it's kind of cool to be a part of something that's growing that fast and could be Really interesting in the future.

Palette Box 20:41

Mm-hmm. Yeah, I totally agree. I think I'm obsessed. We've worked three streams, yeah, and the third one was the best secret for Goodbeastkids recipe.

NorCal Guy 21:02

The secret is Using a small biscuit cutter.

Palette Box 21:08

Yeah, nice.

NorCal Guy 21:11

Yeah, I use a biscuit cutter. That's like yay, big, about one and a half inches across.

Palette Box 21:18

Yeah, nice which. Yeah, I really love them.

NorCal Guy 21:23

They're really good. They're really good. The. The recipe is in the discord. The click create discord.

Palette Box 21:30

Okay, I recently started doing something in the kitchen from time to time nice. Um, yeah, I made a carrot cake, banana bread and apparently they turn out to be really good. Yeah, my family approves that. Nice, nice yeah that's great.

NorCal Guy 21:51

Hey, my favorite Romanian dish is Mamaliga.

Palette Box 22:00

Yeah, it's so good With cheese.

NorCal Guy 22:04

I know it's so good, I love it, I love it.

Palette Box 22:08

Yeah, me too.

NorCal Guy 22:10

Yep and oh, and I Always say it wrong the salad de la bou of beef. The salad of beef.

Palette Box 22:21

Mm-hmm, yeah, yeah, that was good to you.

NorCal Guy 22:25

I'm still a day both. Is that what it? How you say it, something like that. Salad.

Palette Box 22:32

Okay, so that's a day both.

NorCal Guy 22:38

Clearly my wife isn't teaching me Romanian.

Palette Box 22:43

Yeah, maybe I can speak to her.

Miami Meetup

NorCal Guy 22:48

Maybe, maybe. Yeah so do you have any other questions?

Palette Box 22:54

No, these are the questions for you, do you?

NorCal Guy 22:57

have any upcoming projects you'd like to talk about or any shout outs?

Palette Box 23:03

Yeah, I encourage everyone can To take part in the Miami meetup and I'm so, so, so sad because I couldn't be there. And thanks once again for the trust with the poster design. As for the upcoming projects, I will have two new drops this month coming shortly, but I will post more details soon and I will put. I posted some whips already and I think this might be the last tool for this year and I can't wait.

NorCal Guy 23:41

Right, well, definitely DM me when you have those ready to go.

Palette Box 23:46

Yeah, sure, thank you.

NorCal Guy 23:49

Well, bianca, I want to thank you for coming on the show today. I really appreciate your time and I hope you have a great evening and Thanks again.

Palette Box 24:02

Yeah, thanks for having me on your podcast. It was a pleasure chatting with you. We should a great day and enjoy your coffee and Energy to keep on what on what you are doing this day. This because you are doing amazing things for the artist and For this space. Thank you so much, oh.

NorCal Guy 24:54

Time.