In a creative landscape increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, few artists have developed a visual language as distinctive and emotionally resonant as Vitalie, the artist behind Surrealistly. Drawing from a background in theater directing, storytelling, and visual symbolism, he creates surreal images that explore identity, memory, beauty, and the hidden layers of human experience.
1. Background
Welcome Vitalie… Can you tell us a little about your background and where your creative journey began?
My creative journey started long before AI. I originally studied theater directing, so storytelling, composition, emotion, and symbolism were always part of the way I looked at the world.
Theater taught me how to create a scene, how to guide the eye, how to build tension, and how to express emotion without always explaining it directly. Even today, when I create visual art, I often think like a director. I ask myself: What is the scene? What is the emotion? What is hidden behind the image?
Later, my path moved into technology, but I never really left art behind. When AI tools became more powerful, I saw an opportunity to bring these two worlds together: the emotional depth of theater and the precision of technology. That fusion became the foundation of my work as Surrealistly.
Before working with AI-generated imagery, what first drew you toward art and visual storytelling?
I was always attracted to images that felt like they had a secret inside them. I love art that does not reveal everything immediately, where the viewer has to pause and feel something before understanding it.
Visual storytelling became important to me because sometimes an image can express what words cannot. A face, a mask, a strange object, a red curtain, a floating symbol — these elements can carry emotion, mystery, and meaning.
I was never interested in creating something just because it looked beautiful. I wanted the image to have a soul, a message, or at least a question inside it.
How did acting and directing influence the way you approach creativity today?
Directing had a huge influence on my work. In theater, every object on stage matters. The light, the silence, the gesture, the costume, the position of a person — everything communicates something.
I bring that same mentality into my art. I try not to overload the image. I prefer clean compositions where every element has a purpose. A surreal image should not just be strange; it should feel intentional.
Theater also taught me to think emotionally. Before creating an artwork, I often ask: What is the inner conflict? What is the hidden drama? What does this image want the viewer to feel? That is why many of my artworks feel like frozen theatrical scenes from a dream.
Was there a particular moment when artificial intelligence became a serious creative tool for you?
Yes. At first, AI felt like a fascinating experiment. But the serious moment came when I realized that AI was not just generating images — it was helping me explore ideas faster and deeper.
It became a creative partner, not a replacement. I could take a symbolic idea, test different visual directions, refine the composition, and push the concept further than I could alone.
The moment I saw that I could use AI to build a consistent visual language — not random images, but a real artistic world — that was when I understood its power.
One important milestone for me was creating the album cover for Tears for Fears for Songs for a Nervous Planet. That experience showed me that AI-assisted surrealism could exist in a serious professional creative space, not just as online experimentation.
Your work often references surrealism, mythology, and symbolism. What artists, films, or ideas have had the biggest influence on your visual language?
Surrealism has always been a major influence, especially artists who use elegance, mystery, and poetic symbolism. One of my biggest inspirations is Rene Magritte. I admire the way his work feels intelligent, theatrical, and emotionally refined. His images are often clean but powerful, and that has influenced the way I think about composition.
I am also inspired by cinema, theater, mythology, dreams, and human psychology. I like symbols that feel timeless: masks, eyes, curtains, water, architecture, flowers, shadows, fragmented faces, and strange transformations of the body.
But I try not to copy surrealism from the past. I want to create a modern surrealist language — something that feels poetic, cinematic, and connected to today’s world.
2. Creative process
How did your project Surrealistly begin, and what inspired you to create it?
Surrealistly began as a personal creative experiment, but it slowly became a world of its own.
I wanted to create a space where I could explore surrealism through modern tools while still keeping a human, emotional, and poetic voice. The name itself reflects that direction — a world where reality is slightly bent, where symbols speak, and where imagination becomes visual.
At first, it was about discovery. I was experimenting, learning, and sharing the work online. But over time, I started to notice recurring themes in my art: identity, masks, emotional duality, dreams, silence, power, beauty, and the hidden self.
That is when Surrealistly became more than a page. It became my visual language.
How does your creative process usually begin; with an idea, a feeling, a symbol, or something else entirely?
It usually begins with a feeling or a question.
Sometimes I start with a very simple idea, like: What does silence look like? What does identity feel like when it breaks? What would a memory look like if it became a room? Then I search for the right symbol to express that.
Other times, it begins with one visual element — a mask, an eye, a red fabric, a flower, a strange architectural shape — and I build the story around it.
For me, the strongest artworks are often simple in composition but deep in meaning. I like when the viewer can understand the emotion immediately, but still keep discovering new layers after looking longer.
How do you maintain a personal artistic voice within your process?
This is one of the most important questions for any AI artist.
AI can create many beautiful images, but beauty alone is not enough. The artist’s voice comes from taste, intention, editing, symbolism, and knowing what to remove.
I maintain my voice by being very selective. I do not accept the first result. I refine, reject, reshape, and direct the image until it feels connected to my visual world.
My work often has clean composition, strong symbolism, dramatic emotion, and a surreal but elegant atmosphere. I try to avoid visual clutter and obvious clichés. I want the image to feel mysterious but not confusing, beautiful but not empty.
The AI may help generate the material, but the artistic identity comes from the decisions behind it.
What have you discovered about creativity through working with artificial intelligence?
I discovered that creativity is not only about making something by hand. It is about vision, direction, sensitivity, and decision-making.
AI challenged me to become more precise with my ideas. If your idea is weak, AI will not magically make it meaningful. But if your concept is strong, AI can help you explore it in powerful ways.
I also discovered that the role of the artist is evolving. We are becoming more like directors of imagination. We guide, curate, refine, and build worlds.
For me, AI did not make creativity easier in a lazy way. It made the possibilities bigger, which means the responsibility of taste became even more important.
3. Looking Forward
How do you see AI changing the future of visual art and creative industries?
AI will completely change the creative industries, but I do not think it will remove the need for artists. It will separate people who only generate images from people who have real vision.
Many people will be able to create beautiful visuals, but not everyone will know how to create meaning, emotion, and a recognizable artistic identity.
I think the future belongs to artists who can combine imagination, storytelling, taste, and technology. AI will become part of the creative workflow in design, advertising, music, film, fashion, publishing, and many other industries.
But the human part will still matter. Maybe even more than before.
Are there themes or ideas you feel increasingly drawn to explore in your future work?
I am increasingly drawn to themes that speak about humanity: identity, freedom, memory, emotional isolation, beauty, power, and the invisible forces that shape us.
I am also interested in creating artworks with social meaning, but in a poetic way. I do not want to make obvious political or social posters. I prefer symbolism. I want the viewer to feel the message before they fully understand it.
Recently, I have been exploring cleaner, more focused surreal compositions — images that are visually beautiful but carry a strong emotional or philosophical idea.
Do you see yourself expanding into film, immersive experiences, or other creative mediums?
Yes, definitely. Because of my background in theater and directing, I naturally think beyond still images. I would love to expand Surrealistly into short films, animated visual poems, immersive experiences, album covers, stage visuals, fashion collaborations, and cinematic storytelling.
I see my artworks almost like frames from a larger universe. Each image could become a scene, a performance, or part of a visual story.
The dream is to build a surreal world that people can not only look at, but enter.
What advice would you give to artists who are curious about working with AI tools?
My advice is: do not let the tool become the artist.
Start with your own ideas. Build your taste. Study art, cinema, photography, theater, design, mythology, and symbolism. AI is powerful, but it needs direction.
Also, do not be satisfied with something just because it looks impressive. Ask yourself: Does it say something? Does it feel like me? Would I still care about this image tomorrow?
The strongest AI artists will be the ones who use the technology with intention, not just speed.
AI can open the door, but you still need to know where you want to go.
What services do you provide and how can people contact you?
Through Surrealistly, I create surreal visual art, custom AI-assisted artworks, album covers, editorial visuals, campaign imagery, and concept-driven creative pieces for artists, musicians, brands, and collectors.
I am especially interested in projects that combine symbolism, storytelling, music, emotion, and surreal visual identity.
People can find my work and contact me through Instagram:
Instagram: @surrealistly
Website: surrealistly.com
I am always open to meaningful collaborations, especially with people who want to create something visually memorable and emotionally strong.