Why I support tariffs as an artist.

Digital Art by Beau Tardy produced on Quantel Paintbox - 1992

Starting at about age 10 is when I realized how much I liked TV Cartoons and Comic Books and so right then and there I decided I wanted to learn how to draw. For the next 14 years I traced and copied my favorite characters, studied how animation was done, got mentored by cartoonists and eventually ended up in art school. As I grew older I came to understand that there was a wider world of visual arts out there that went back centuries. From Roman and Greek sculptures to Rembrandt and Picasso, our culture had a rich tradition of incredible works of art. I became fascinated with learning how to do figure drawing from live models and classical master oil painting techniques. Even Walt Disney himself insisted that his artists study the classics and for that purpose created one of the most reputable art colleges in the world known today as Cal Arts. 

While at Parsons’ School of Design in the early 80s, I became acutely aware of something that was happening with technology that would impact the arts. Computer Graphics were just starting to appear on TV and the movies and I knew right away that this was the future. This prompted me to want to learn computer graphics and how to shoot and edit video. In 1985 the path forward wasn’t very clearly defined for an art student who drew comics but also liked computers and video. However, I knew that TV Graphics could be a lot better if only trained artists could get a hand on those extremely expensive computers. At the time a TV Graphics computer cost upwards of $150k and would rent out for $1000/ hour and so nobody was eager to let some grubby art kid mess around on their cutting edge systems. But with perseverance I was finally able to convince a video post-production company to give me a shot and that launched my professional career. 

Following that, for the next 25 years I worked as a Broadcast and Motion Designer for TV Networks in the US and around the world. Most famously I worked at MTV doing graphics for Yo! MTV Raps, MTV News and The Real World. I also worked for Nickelodeon, VH1, NBC Sports, The Food Network, Cartoon Network, Fox Networks, etc. Internationally I worked for Global Japan, MTV International and Australian TV. You get the picture (pun intended)!

MTV Logo design by Beau Tardy on Quantel Paintbox - 1992

But in the early 2000s, something happened that shifted everything. Up until then, my profession was a very specialized field with expensive equipment and big budgets. Almost overnight it seemed, the production budgets collapsed. This was due to two factors. The first was the availability of cheaper computers such as Macs, but the second factor was much more insidious. Work was being shipped overseas. Hollywood and TV Networks had figured out that they could buy a bunch of cheap computers and install them in bunny warrens overseas in third world countries like India, South America and China. They could then hire locals for pennies on the dollar and ‘train’ them to do VFX and graphics work. This is why today when you watch a movie all the VFX credits feature a bunch of Indian and Chinese names. There was no way that highly trained professionals like myself could compete with those budgets. As a result, the entire VFX and graphics industry has now moved exclusively overseas. 

Predictably, I had to re-orient my career and readjust my lifestyle. I could no longer work in the field I had spent almost 30 years of my life perfecting. Increasingly, movies and TV shows developed a strange ‘bland’ esthetic, where it seemed the locations, the actors and even the stories didn’t feel authentic. That’s because they would shoot and produce everything overseas, replacing American cities with ‘generic’ shots taken in South Africa or Argentina. If you ever asked yourself why movies don’t seem as compelling as they used to, perhaps that has something to do with it. What’s worse is that the industry blatantly decided to indulge in paying slave wages, whereby an Indian VFX artist today only makes about $9000 PER YEAR! That equates to $750 A MONTH, or $187 a week, which is $37 a day!!!!!!!!!!! (source: https://blog.internshala.com/vfx-artist-salary-in-india/ )

The quality of the work suffers of course. But the bean counters don’t care, they are looking at the bottom line. This is absolutely terrible for artists. How can an American artist compete when he/ she needs to make 10x what a Vietnamese artist makes? Have you ever noticed those paintings at Hobby Lobby or Pottery Barn that sell for $50 or $100? They are made in sweat shops overseas. Why would anybody buy one of those when there are hundreds of wonderful young artists right here who could make a painting with so much more heart and love? Why are we letting overseas underpaid labor dictate to us what our cultural standards are? This system is broken and that is why I fully support tariffs on imports. My only hope is that these tariffs will apply to digital media and art work as well. This is the only way to quell this disaster for our culture and the arts. The other solution is for everyone to start buying art from artists you know and not generic crap from overseas.

BeLove.Art ©Beau Tardy 2025

Susie ™

One NFT copy available here.

ELECTRONISM Quantum Pop Media Art Card - Prototype#00

Prototype ELECTRONISM Quantum Pop Media Art Card NFT now available on Opensea.

This NFT project is the prototype for a large series of ELECTRONISM Art Cards to be minted as collectibles. They are digitally created by Beau Tardy. They illustrate the convergence of Art and Technology and are unique and original. Each card is meticulously designed by Beau Tardy before being minted as an NFT on the blockchain. This ensures that each collectible Art Card is unique and authenticated as being from the ELECTRONISM collection. You can purchase this prototype and become an early adopter of this new expression of Technology as Art.

nEW sHOP~~

‘Apache’ – Original Digital Art by Beau Tardy – Gallery Canvas Framed

I made some affordable merchandise available to purchase through the brand new online shop. This way you can support my work and get unique original designs to enjoy everyday. Let me know how you like these and I will make more available. Thanks for supporting my work and may God bless you@!

New NFT collection ELECTRONISM on Opensea

ELECTRONISM collection by Beau Tardy. 

Brand new NFT collection ELECTRONISM by Beau Tardy now available on Opensea. This collection features lush electronic art created specifically to be displayed on digital devices large and small. The full-resolution files can be displayed on large monitors as well as phones. These NFTs are each an edition of 1, so each one is unique to the owner. Go to Opensea to see the full collection. More artwork will be continuously added to the collection.

Dizzy Worldwide TV Graphics Reel from Year 2000 -DizzY2K!

Check out the Dizzy Worldwide Production TV Graphics Reel from the Year 2000! It features work we did for MTV, MTV2 and many other networks. Y2K at it's best. And if you enjoy the video, you might want to get the DizzY2K Poster that was designed in 1999 by Australia's Deuce Custom Farm. 

Go to the DizzyShop >>

New NFT Collection 'Shiny Objects'

Shiny Object #1. Digital Art by Beau Tardy. ©2018-2021

I am close to launching my new NFT collection called 'Shiny Objects'. It features brilliant and unique digital art specifically designed for large format or mobile screen display. This series was created as part of an effort to create new art everyday for a period of six months. What I discovered was that in working this way, I could build momentum and every new piece is informed by the work created before it. The progression is not linear but the discoveries are sometimes surprising. It is a form of channeled creative freedom, which is very different from the way I typically work. This methodology is very productive and comes from years of doing digital work for TV networks and broadcasters, where there are demands on a daily basis. Doing art on a daily basis focuses the effort and is a great way to put together a collection of new work.

Shiny Objects Collection. ©Beau Tardy 2018-2021

Only the best pieces will be made available. You will not be able to access this art any other way as all other online copies of the art contain watermarks and are purposely down-rezed (low resolution quality). This is the only way to obtain full resolution, non-watermarked, authentically sourced art directly from the creator to display as it was meant to be displayed. The first collection will contain 20 unique digital pieces and will be available to purchase as NFTs once I have decided which NFT platform to publish them will work best. I will inform you of the minting here on this website. Up until now I have been using Mintable.com but they have not been very helpful and so I am thinking of changing platform. Also my social media feeds will progressively shut down as I vehemently oppose censorship and their using my art for their profit without sharing any profits with the creators. I will keep you informed on this website. Thank you for checking in.

💫💥NFTs Coming Soon!

 💫💥NFTs Coming Soon!

ASCII Art ©Beau Tardy 2021

So it looks like the heat is off Ethereum gas prices a little and that might be good news. I am looking to mint a nice collection of NFTs in the next few days if I can get Opensea.io to not charge me super high fees. I will keep you posted and hopefully you will excited by my first official collection of NFTs. Keep an eye out and keep following me on this website as I no longer post on social media. Thank you!

MTV promo graphics for Guns & Roses in Paris contest ('92-93) made by Beau Tardy on Quantel Harriet.

Sometimes the Art Director of on-air graphics at MTV, Chris Harvey, would put out an open call for a job that needed some extra attention and a fresh look. I really wanted to do this graphic open for a contest MTV was running. It was for tickets to a Guns & Roses Paris concert. I spent some time on this but it was shot down. I actually had a little argument with the Art Director over it, the one and only time we had a disagreement. It did not make it to air and I'm not sure what they ended up using. I guess I took it a little personal being that I am French...😏

Heart of Flames new NFT Art

Heart of Flames - Digital Art by Beau Tardy

Just a quick reminder of this new NFT available at Mintable.app . Click on the image to be taken to my NFT store. Thanks for checking in!

I did this digital collage as a representation of the East devouring the West. The new subconscious gods of our imagination have been replaced with manufactured made in China detritus. Also Sonic has exactly the same proportions as Mickey and is a blatant copy. Heart of Flames by Beau Tardy 16"x24" print ready digital art available as an NFT.

MTV Show Logos by Beau Tardy in 1992

MTV Show Logos designed by Beau Tardy
in the on-air graphics department at MTV in 1992.

During the regular course of daily duties at MTV as a designer in the on-air graphics and animation department, I was often tasked with coming up with logos for show opens. Often these would be animated, but sometimes the producer just needed a digital logo to take into an edit session and composite it with other footage. These were designed on Quantel V-Series Paintbox and Harriett. The better producers would come in and sit during the session while I designed the logos, others just phoned it in. Some producers became friends and we would spend countless hours in session coming up with great ideas for graphics. These logos are for the more typical MTV fare at the time and were used by the News or Promotions department for their shows. I don't know which ones of these actually made it to air simply because I couldn't afford cable at the time in my little shared tenement apartment on Ave. B in the Lower East Side. They payed us very little and worked us like crazy. But I was happy to get my work on MTV in front of millions of people.