Conversations with Dani Lola

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dani Lola.

Hi Dani Lola, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started social media in the era of YouTube. When I was growing up the term influencer didn’t exist until YouTube blew up, and the term YouTuber began to be used. I was in high school at the time and took my first trip to Europe with an educational program, and simultaneously watching my favorite YouTubers pushed me to start my own channel in college, a vlogging travel YouTube channel. I began college in 2015, and my need for artistic expression grew, so I became involved with more forms of social media, revamping my Instagram to have a ‘theme’, posting on Tumblr and Twitter, starting a podcast about international politics, and eventually a tiktok. Everything is still very random and not cohesive. I began posting my day-to-day life on Instagram and tiktok more often and eventually left my podcast. Going to college gave me a reason to express myself through fashion as well, and now that I had these platforms, I slowly began to let go of the fear of showing more of me and my looks rather than just the places I’d go.

In the year 2021, I applied to a fine arts school in Paris on a whim and was accepted. I received a late acceptance, meaning that I had to apply and receive my VISA, find a Parisian apartment and roommates, and pack up everything, and move within the span of one month. Living in Paris truly was challenging for my self-expression, I didn’t realize how important it was to me until I felt judged for wearing colorful clothing or having large curly hair. My time in Paris was a lesson for me in learning how to be bold and have confidence in my boldness and ignore the stares (Parisians have no shame in staring). After leaving college, my whole life has revolved around artistic expression, whether through fine arts, fashion, photography or my new custom nail art business. Living as a freelancer gives me room to create unique custom pieces for others on their walls, and monetize my styling of thrift and designer fashion pieces. And although I usually say that I have an “artist’s brain” freelancing and social media has pushed me to learn how to market myself and learn that side of business, as well as networking.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Creative ruts are the biggest challenges in any kind of artistic path. Social media is helpful in that there are so many inspirations and one can just continue to keep scrolling and be inspired by other creators, however it can get overwhelming. The pressure to keep up with “the Algorithm” is demanding, some say you must post three times a day while other experts say you have to post upwards of 10. There are countless “experts” online that claim to have conquered the algorithm but adhering to their suggestions is daunting because it is not physical labor but mental, and time-consuming. As someone that has struggled with depression and ADHD when ambition is lost, I might have zero motivation to create, and the progress that I’ve built up for months can be lost. Physical art is not much easier, creating life-size oil paintings takes focus and hours (weeks) of work, and still the general public is not necessarily well studied on fine art and many times prefer the novelty of AI.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I would consider myself an all-around artist. I like to create and what I create, I post. Currently, I paint oil commissions, do fashion and travel content on TikTok & IG, and run a custom press-on business. I treat everything I put out as art pieces.

When I do styling videos on tiktok, I like to style unique pieces, items I’ve found thrifting, experiment with patterns or color, and then I edit and cut the videos, voice over, choose audio, and an engaging title. This never takes less than two or three hours, and the goal is to be able to re-cut and splice up the film to create a few separate videos to justify the hours of my day that I’ve spent and the mess of clothing that’s left in my room afterward. I am known for being a big advocate for slow fashion and supporting up-and-coming designers. I love this part of social media because I get to spend money on items that are custom-made for me by real people with an ambition for artistic expression, and I get to wear their vision.

I launched my press-on business in October, these are unique custom hand-painted nails with designs that are a product of me working back and forth with my client to achieve their vision. I like my press-ons to look as though they have been painted and not bought at the department store. This venture was an exciting one to launch because it allows me to receive the satisfaction of painting and art making in small scale; it also forces me to practice my fine arts skills that I studied in France for. The entire process is a client experience where they and I create a vision, I size them, and clean up their natural nails, and am able to spend hours painting to deliver their uniquely crafted design that can be worn again and again. Some designs take 5+ hours to create.

I simultaneously take art commissions, I paint oil and acrylic on canvas that can be up to 5ft by 5ft large. These commissions are much slower as they can take months to create, but I feel that something of quality truly takes time, which is why I am such a supporter of slow fashion. I have certain styles which my followers resonate with, an almost abstract mixed with surrealism, and I use a few bold colors. Art is emotionally tied to me, and these oil paintings can not be sped up; I create when I feel that the ambiance is right. For my viewers, however, I speed up my videos so they can watch the process from start to finish on my @artistfromneptune accounts.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
My creative drive is always there, and I feel that even if I did not do social media it would shine through. Experimentation is something many others may be scared of but has taken me far. Being an extrovert also helps in settings where I have to put business first and network.

Pricing:

• 2ft x 3ft CUSTOM Oil Painting 400$*
• 3ft x 4ft CUSTOM Oil Painting 500$*
• Custom press-ons 55$

Contact Info:

• Website: https://artistfromneptuned8c.myportfolio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danilolatravels/
• Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/amorcitoluxe/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@danilolatravel?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Image Credits
@artistfromneptune