We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mike Durkee a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

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 background and context?

My name is Mike Durkee and I run Durkish Delights Design Co.

I specialize in custom hand painted murals and help brands solve problems through art & design. I turn boring corporate offices into tapestries of color. I transform dining areas into experiences. Consider me your traveling wall doctor!

Mike, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I make a full-time living with art. It took a long time to get here. I had a full-time job that I slowly grew out of as I was taking on more freelance projects on the side.

Everything changed when a coworker recommended that I paint a mural for his friend’s Asian street food restaurant. They needed a 24 foot white wall in their dining area transformed to capture their vibe.

I met the owner and we had instant chemistry. His vision for the wall matched my style. I designed it, painted it and then my life changed. Suddenly I started to get more mural projects and was booking months out. So I quit my job and pursued my dreams.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

If we’re talking about being an artist as a job; the most rewarding part is making my clients happy. I love the process of bringing my clients ideas to life.

If we’re talking about regularly making art and identifying as an artist; The most rewarding part is the act of making the art. From the very first spark of inspiration to the last brush stroke.

Have you ever had to pivot?

From 2008-2012 I produced a travel channel on YouTube where I documented my experiences living in South East Asia and Hawaii. That all ended when my wife and I decided to move back to the United States to start a family.

I had to reinvent my creative career and went back to what I had always done before traveling. I got back into drawing and then eventually painting. And then Procreate on iPad changed everything. I got into digital collage and graphic art. That eventually led me to freelance design projects and, ultimately, painting murals.

This pivot taught me that the medium might change but the creator is always there. We don’t have to define ourselves by who we were creatively in the past.

Contact Info:

• Website: durkishdelights.com
• Instagram: @durkishdelights
• Facebook: Durkish Delights
• Other: TikTok: @durkishdelights

Image Credits
Image of myself was taken by Ethos & Able Creative