We recently connected with Artist Plott, founder of Til Death Do Us Art, and have shared our conversation below.

Artist, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

Deciding to start your own business is always scary, but once you take the time to do a little research you see it’s not that scary after all. I have close friends who are years ahead of me in their businesses. It’s not about waiting till the right time, it’s about choosing your own path. You can spend years waiting for “the right moment” but eventually you have to do it. So you might as well go ahead and DO IT. The only thing stopping you is yourself. You don’t have to be making millions or even thousands of dollars to start a business. You just have to have the drive to do it and stick with it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

People know me as “The Artist 336” because that’s how I started my creative endeavors. I started out as a recording artist but that has vastly expanded since then. I’ve become a photographer, videographer, and even director. Now of course, this wasn’t always the plan but it’s how my life has chosen itself. I’ve always known I would be involved in the creative field it was just a matter of how. At the time, music was the most accessible way to me. Since then, I’ve met tons of individuals who were looking for a photographer and I was like “I can do that.” So I did. Then people around me were looking for videographers and I was like “I can do that.” One thing led to another and I found myself focusing more on working with others than working on my own music, and ENJOYING it. The thing that separates me from other photographers/videographers is I LOVE IT. There’s no denying that it gets hectic and stressful handling someone else’s vision and trying to implement what they want while also balancing what I want. But when those two things meet in the middle, that’s when the amazing happens. THAT is what I am constantly looking for. I pride myself in what I create. I don’t say yes to everyone and that’s not because I have an ego it’s because I know what I want to create and what I want people to see from me. That’s what I’m most proud of. I want people to see photos or videos and be like thats a Til Death Do Us Art project.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

For me, I’ve built my audience on being me. People who know me outside of the social media know I move with the upmost intention. I don’t meander, I don’t lie, I am upfront and honest about what I do and my work shows that. When it comes to collaborative work, I know to meet in the middle. When it comes to my own work, it’s my work. Some people don’t like that and that’s cool. But I’m not going to bend over backwards to meet someone in the middle and that’s how I’ve built my business. When you go to my page you see the WORK. There is very little in between and that’s what has worked for me. I don’t believe that works for everyone, depending on how you want your audience to shift, you may have to show more of yourself in the real world. But that’s not really me, I capture the moments and then it’s on to the next one. That’s what my page is, it’s moments in time.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Anything Alan Watts. I know that’s cliche as you can get, but I really do take a lot from his writings and speeches. The man, in short, is just telling you to live life. “You’ll be doing things you don’t like doing in order to go on living, that is to go on doing thing you don’t like doing, which is stupid.” We live in a world where’s it’s easy to get stuck living in a cycle and I do my best to not do that, because it’s boring. Waking up, going to work Monday through Friday 9-5 and just waiting for the weekend is BORING. I want to be able to do my job whenever and not feel like I’m working.

Owen Lindner. OWIE O. That man has changed the way I look at life. I swear I wouldn’t be doing what I am now if I hadn’t sat down and talked to him for a podcast. “What have you got to lose? You have everything to lose because chances are if you don’t do it, you’ll still be right here.” And I have kept that quote with me constantly. When it feels scariest to jump, that’s when you jump.    

Contact Info:

• Website: theartist336.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/theartist336
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheArtist336
• Twitter: twitter.com/theartist336
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpjHaAUTdcv1mBOvLq499Bg

Image Credits
Marquette Cates Jr. @unclekettes_photography Artist Plott @theartist336