We were lucky to catch up with Myke Adams recently and have shared our conversation below.

Myke, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Well, ever since I was a kid probably 3 or 4 years old, I’ve always known I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path. My dad was a musician so there were always instruments around the house that I was often playing around with. I also had an Uncle who was a painter and a studio art professor. He would visit our family regularly and would teach me something about painting every time he visited us. So the inspiration to be creative was always there from a young age.

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?

I was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. My dad played multiple instruments and wrote songs. My mom was the business savy one in the family who always encouraged me to study business before pursuing my creative path (My dad was unemployed for a longtime before making any money from his craft). There was always music playing in my house…often jazz. I remember one day sitting and listening to Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie with my parents and I completely fell in love with the sound of the trumpet. And when both of those artists came to town, my parents brought me to see them. On the way home from the Miles Davis concert I ask my parents could I get a trumpet for my birthday, and I did. I started playing the trumpet when I was in third grade and continued all the way through my sophomore year of high school. In high school I played in the marching band. That was fun because I got to be part of. many Mardi Gras parades and see so much of the city I lived in. But by the end of my sophomore year I had discovered punk rock and soon bought myself an electric guitar with the money I had saved up from going around every weekend cutting my neighbor’s grass. That weekend job also allowed me to pay for all of my painting supplies. By my junior year of high school, I had had been painting pretty much every day for years. My routine Monday to Friday was, go to school, go to band practice, go to my art classes and then come home and do my home work and paint until I was tired.

After I finished high school I started a couple punk bands and enrolled in College and eventually earned a degree in Business Management/Marketting. After graduation, I spent some time traveling and eventually moving to Chicago where I would soon have my first exhibition at a local coffee house. During this time I would also begin exhibiting my paintings in my home. I probably did one open studio a month. Selling about 3 pieces a month. I also had a full-time retail job that helped me pay the bills. I was also playing in a new band that drew inspiration from rock, funk and jazz. I would play in this band for about 3 years. At this point, I had already had over 20 gallery exhibitions around the country and was feeling like the gallery scene wasn’t for me. I often felt isolated and did not feel like I fit in. So, I started renting out spaces and putting together my own sponsored multimedia art events. And I loved it! I was able to connect with artist and musicians from all over the world and bring them to town for my events. I didn’t really make any money but I definitely felt enriched by the experience.

After that band disbanded, I decided to go back to school and study film and art. At that time, I thought maybe I wanted to be maybe an art director or a production designer. But by my second semester of school, I was convinced I wanted to be a film director.

My last semester of school, my art history professor set up an interview for me to do an internship on a film that was to start shooting in the Fall of that year in Chicago. The film was called “Fred Claus.” And that Fall, and for the next 6 months until we wrapped, I interned on that film. I worked in the art department. One of the best times of my life!

After working on the film and then graduating from school, I organized one more big art event before moving to Los Angeles in 2008. From 2008 until 2016, I found myself doing everything from production assisting, assisting director’s, art direction, producing photoshoots, assisting camera and directing projects. In 2014, I got a call to come back to Chicago and make some paintings for the Spike Lee film “Chi-raq.” Which was an incredible experience. I’ve since done paintings on handful of independent films and commercials. But since I’ve been in LA, most of the paintings I sell are mostly through commissions.

In March 2020, and the beginning of the pandemic and with so much time on my hands, I painted every day. In addition to painting, I also started writing and recording music. Something I had not done since living in LA. It was the most magical re-introduction. I recorded 5 songs in lockdown, Releasing 3 songs in 2020 under the name MA Jolie Fleur. One of those songs “My Pretty Flower” which I wrote with my good friend Chris Williams who plays trumpet on the song, ended up being used in the Showtime TV series “Work In Progress.” And to this day, my focus has been on writing songs for film and tv that I can license.

Since moving to LA in 2008, and being burnt out on exhibiting in galleries, my focus has always remained on my commission work. But this year for the first time in awhile, I’ve started going out to art openings and visiting galleries. Two galleries that I’ve become a frequent visitor of is; El Nido Projects (www.vcprojects.art) and Reisig and Taylor Contemporary (www.reisigandtaylorcontemporary.com). These two spaces inspire me so much! From the artists they show, the calming, intimate and welcoming space to the sincere warmth, care and love I feel when I walk through the doors. Maybe it’s because both spaces are run by artists who just get it and understands the needs of artists? Whatever it is, these two galleries speak to me and get me excited to want to show my work in a public space again…

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

This is a good question. One that I think of often. First, I feel like society as a whole don’t really view creative types like painters, musicians, etc. as a legitimate career path. From what I’ve heard from my friends and some of my peers, family members and society often looks at what they/we do as hobbies. So I think if society were to be more supportive of the idea of creatives choosing the arts as a career path, it would definitely help take some of the pressure off of us. It’s tough enough just trying to survive as a creative. A little bit more emotional support from society could go a long way.

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

For me, one of the most rewarding things of being a creative is the freedom to process and express my thoughts, ideas and feelings. It’s like therapy for me. To be able to recycle those feelings, those emotions and those ideas into a story, is the most gratifying and healing reward.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mykeadams.com
• Instagram: @alone_again_or
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mykeadams
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mykeadams?challengeId=AQGSe9zYFGBCmQAAAYmV3HyANfIdBqtanbFDcy7dU4foBnoNjGeKuJ43dFe4wb87piz11kCfpqF0oNjN6uIc-KO6qP1Y0vHjVw&submissionId=e6355288-f3a2-7517-b470-b43bf822a440&challengeSource=AgFYBkcmr7tcswAAAYmV3UN_ql1XPLfNVBO5SiPlP7N2s4O27Xv85amEYgFb3vM&challegeType=AgGsoYod1MgOTwAAAYmV3UOC9RwXTzngAV1oCIWyRmZauSqFrJLQ_j8&memberId=AgHoB7kMtLr92QAAAYmV3UOFXdyF6_cpVX4FZ5V23hrIaqU&recognizeDevice=AgEYQu
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCSqtDeKJnNQCvj4IVp3jZ6w/playlists#bottom-sheet
• Other: My music: Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/6qWY3jQ3tU4dg0JQQoeUUb?si=q8rV8-NQRe-dNdN7uDP6Zg&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=copy-link&nd=1&_branch_match_id=1212986531448370206&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXLy7IL8lMq9TLyczL1g%2FMTUzMMy1z9XFKAgDkIpUSIAAAAA%3D%3D Apple Music https://music.apple.com/us/artist/ma-jolie-fleur/1521118170

Image Credits
Photo credits; Michael Dunker http://www.photographybymichaeljohn.com IG: @michaeljohndunker