We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Morgan English a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Morgan, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
Ironically having no confidence in myself at all created an air of misplaced delusion. When I “became” an artist I was not looking to be a great one, let alone a good one. I was just having fun. I had zero fear of rejection because of course I would be rejected. I decided on a whim to pick up some canvas and a paintbrush. I never studied how to paint, I just had some lying around. When I started doing more shows I did not have any insecurity about whether I should or should not be in a certain space. I was confident that I should not – so why not ask? Weirdly expecting a no has led to so many yeses.
In my early career as a lawyer that was not the case at all. I was consistently overthinking and one “no” would inevitably crush my confidence. I wanted to be great so badly that the fear of rejection was crippling to the point where I removed myself from the possibility of being let down. I was only looking for guarantees and it led me to shrink my dreams to only what was easily digestible.
Let me paint a picture: In the past, as a lawyer, I went to a restaurant with $1000 and I asked for only water. But as an artist, I’m ordering everything on the menu with only $20 bucks in my pocket.
It took me far too long, but I was able to transfer that delusion to my legal career. I began to merge my worlds and I started working with artists on their legal issues. It was nothing less than a breakthrough. Now I help artists navigate legal minefields with ease.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I graduated from law school and became a full-time artist. This was indeed not the plan. The plan was actually decided 8 months before graduation. I accepted a position to teach law at a University in Germany. At the time I was doing commissions in my spare time for people reaching out to me over social media.
When I started to create my pieces, I admired the lines of contemporary portrait work. I thought that the elevation of line drawings was beautiful, and it felt familiar. I was brought back to sketching faces and bodies when I would be in class drifting off during a law lecture.
Then what became an Instagram, became a website, became my first in-person pop-up show at Juneteenth, became my first residency in the RiNo art district, and became showing my art in one of the biggest galleries in Colorado (all in under 6 months).
Soon after becoming a barred Attorney, I immediately applied to do pro bono work with the Colorado Attorneys for the Arts. I was still teaching in Germany but I wanted to use my degree to start helping people immediately. While in Germany I was teaching internet regulations and soon I became obsessed with artificial intelligence. So, I studied its connection to art law.
When I moved back home, I had my second residency at Hazel Art Bar – and unbeknownst to me it was the place that merged my passions for law, technology, and art.
In that neighborhood art bar, I hosted my first free workshop about Artificial Intelligence, Art, and Law. Surrounded by my art pieces, the community, friends, and family, I knew this was what I had to do.
Ultimately, I want to help people whether the medium is through a portrait or a licensing agreement for my client. Almost every client, panel, and commission opportunity I have had has been born out of a desire to do the work not because I am getting paid, but because it matters. I currently work as an artist in Denver, Colorado and I am the community Organizer for Concept Art Association where I do advocacy work for concept artists and the creative community.
Now I know that I am not just an art lawyer or a lawyer that does art, I am an artist and an advocate.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I would tell them to ask questions. This was easy for me because I had no prior knowledge of the art industry, so I had to ask questions. Network across. I hate networking in general because it always feels ingenuine, but I think if you network with people that you like or would hang out with who are also in your same industry it can take a lot of the pressure off.
Pay it forward. I think it is good practice to also share what you know with others as well. I like to do legal pro bono art consultations and I always share things I am also applying to with my network.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Art and legal advice should be accessible. Most of the information that I currently give is perfectly publicly available, but it is cryptic. Currently, I am looking to start my practice to represent artists and help them become more independent. I want to help them with their legal goals. When legal gets involved it’s usually because of an “oh shit” moment. Like, “Oh shit someone is suing me!” or “oh shit is this contract by this agency a good idea?” Hopefully when that “oh shit” moment arises that they have some confidence to feel that they can handle some situations on their own.
Contact Info:
- Website: maeloftstudio.com
- Instagram: mae.loftstudio
Image Credits
Ali Skooti, Tommy Wilcox
