LA artist hoping for $500,000 NFT

NEW YORK - Ali Spagnola was introduced to art through finger painting as a child.

"I was always doing anything creative when I was younger so I can say when I first started," Spagnola says.  "Finger painting was really cool so probably around then."

She now uses digital platforms to showcase her artwork.

"Most of my art is on the internet.  I consider myself a YouTuber even though I am a visual artist and musician but what I make I get to put online," Spagnola says.

Online right now and creating quite the buzz is a piece called Free Paintings Project, a combination of her nearly 3000 individual pieces combined into a single digital image.

The image is now the subject of a closely watched auction where the bidding is being done on the website "Open Seas" as a nonfungible token or NFT -- a bitcoin-type platform where digital tokens are tied to original artwork that can be bought or sold.

Poised at 500,000 in Ethereum, the high bid as of Tuesday was $5,000. Bidding ends May 1st.

It is an interesting contrast as Spagnola gave her works away freely for 14 years before exploring this new avenue at the encouragement of friends and family.

She also has a message for others.

"Share your passion. If you want people to see what you're working on and connect with them then put it out there don't hesitate," Spagnola.

The headline of this story has been corrected to state that Spagnola is based in L.A.