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

Hi Morgan, thanks for joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

As of the last 4 years, I have supported myself full time from my creative endeavors. In the beginning I didn’t have much traction, however I was hungry so I created a daily routine that included taking online courses, reading books, practicing my craft and writing the business plan. Since there wasn’t much income, I made ends meet by living far below my means and numerous side hustles. I had faith in my daily process and after a year or so I started catching some solid momentum and after closing a gig with a local developer I had the confidence to go full time. With the pandemic everyone was home and constantly on social media, so I took advantage of that by constantly posting and interacting with people online which gave me a lot of exposure. That inevitably led to more opportunities later that continued to push me forward. Today I follow that same daily routine that I started with and I attribute that to my success. I don’t believe in luck, rather I believe in being prepared for the right opportunity at the right time. I think you can achieve pretty much anything as long as you are consistent, passionate and are willing to do things others are not. The hardest part of this process was the sacrifice and having faith in myself even when it seemed impossible to achieve.

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 Morgan Cook- a mural painter and contemporary artist living in Raleigh, North Carolina. My subject is the letter form, whether legible or abstract. With roots in traditional style writing, I combine classic painting techniques with the knowledge of spray paint to capture movement and emotion within the canvas. I work with clients such as Gyms, Offices, Schools, Home owners, Retail and developers looking to add a creative element to their spaces in the form of a custom, hand painted mural. I am experienced in both interior and exterior installations.

Many times clients will come to me with a project they have where they have a wall or space they want art painted in, however the art styles they have to choose from are typically “safe” “bland” “cliche” “overused” so my particular style of art brings a diverse, fresh, youthful energy to the space. I transform bland/boring walls into large scale immersive works of art. With all of my works being custom to the clients, I consult with you on your ideas and work together to bring your vision to life. What sets my work apart from others is the speed and quality at which I’m able to work, the discipline and professionalism from start to finish and my high energy personality. I make it a point to build a relationship with each of my clients and treat each project as if it were my own house.

Each piece created is painted by hand with the finest quality Spray paints and Enamel. I pride myself on my freehand technique and the cleanliness I’m able to achieve with the spray can.

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

The way I built my audience on social media was directly influenced by Gary Vaynerchuk. He encourages making content at scale, So after crafting my business plan I knew exactly what demographic I needed to target. I tried many different kinds of content, Videos, teaching, time lapses etc and kept track of all the data every month. I made an effort to post daily, interact with as many people as i could, respond to every comment and show just as much love to other people i enjoyed seeing. I treated it like a business card and did lots of outreach and direct messaging to work with people/ask questions.

Im by no means a social media wizard but my best advice is to completely disregard what other people think of you and just be yourself and be patient/consistent. Consistency trumps all.

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

Specifically-

I took many classes on Course era. Its cheap and you can take unlimited creative courses. If you can teach yourself this is perfect for you.

Skill/technique wise I’m a self taught artist but I got much value from watching others on Youtube doing the same styles of art and I would try to imitate their strokes/body language etc.

Philosophy wise-

Meditations- Marcus Aurelius
Mastery- Robert Greene
48 Laws of power – Robert Greene
The Artists Way- Julia Cameron
The 4 agreements- Don Miguel Ruiz

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mckcreative.com
• Instagram: @artofmck
• Facebook: Morgan Cook
• Twitter: @artofmck

Image Credits
Justin Wagner, Kimberly Angel.