Daily Inspiration: Meet Maxx Vail

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maxx Vail. 

Hi Maxx, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
My journey has always been destined to be unique. My interests never matched with others as a kid. My schooling has and still remains unconventional. My work life has always been a constant battle. But here I am. Still creatively building myself and what I like to do. 

As a kid, my siblings partook in many activities that I mostly avoided. Activities involving mostly sports and academics. My dad is an artist and during the time that my parents were together, I grew up alongside him always working on art. Inevitably, this piqued my interest and introduced me to a world of limitless opportunities. And this is where I fell in love. 

Shortly after, I began to draw. Cartoons at first, and that is what it remained as for a long time. But I quickly became obsessed with learning other creative outlets and still do. Like movies, writing, editing, technology, music, etc. My passion for learning and creating was never tamed and this was and still remains a driving factor of who I am. 

Once I built a foundation of some miscellaneous skills apart from drawing, I redirected my focus to it. I grew bored of my “style” and my cartoons and made a promise to myself. This promise being that I never want to be a one-trick pony. I never want people to expect things from me as an artist. I want to learn different styles, history, technicalities, I want to learn as much as I can. So, this is what I started to do. 

I went to a film school for two years for my interest in film and television. While working towards a degree in writing and directing, I created a small art company known as The Moonlight Culture™. During this period, I created a new original piece every day for 80 days in a row. I also simultaneously created merchandise such as stickers, posters, hats, shirts, you name it. However, after some time focusing on myself, I went back to myself. 

I branched off from the company and worked on my look. How I wanted people to recognize me. I changed my style, found my style, and started to work in all sorts of mediums. I wanted to become an artist for myself in my name. That name being, KosmiK. 

And now we are all caught up. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When it comes to any negativity and issues on my journey, it is hard to really put a nail on one thing. For the most part, it’s probably safe to say that being an artist was not the most popular thing when I was in middle school and high school. I do not know what it is like now, but that was not the case at all. It always made me question my decisions and my character. Also, those that just “joked” about my abilities and compared me to those who were, let’s say good at sports or something. This always took a toll on my mental health, but everything always did. I have just always felt like maybe I was cursed for being good at something that is not always perceived well and something that does not have a lot of work opportunities. 

There was also and still is, a constant battle on if I need school or not. Of course, anyone can have this debate. But with art, I always really was annoyed by it. I am self-taught and I feel strong in what I do. But self-taught does not get you anything “career-wise” unless you just happen to get lucky. Which, for the most part, I have not. 

Most of the time, my obstacles are never explicit. They are usually guided and created by my own self-deprecation. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I was first and foremost a cartoonist. However, after 17+ years of drawing, I have branched out my style. I will not lie and say that this has all been smooth sailing. It took me a very long time to find “my” style and I still constantly change things about it. I am known for and specialize in using a diverse and hefty amount of unique styles and drawings per piece. I like never doing the same thing once. I do use similar styles but I refrain from overuse. I also am known for combining poetry and politics in my work. Stuff that is bold and portrays a strong message. It is extremely cryptic most of the time, but that is mostly done with intention. 

I think that my overall diversity and style is what sets me apart from a lot of artist doing something alongside me. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
There has not really been a lot of luck when it comes to my art. I think that I have had a couple of good opportunities from close friends and family just to show me support. But I have never had much exposure to my work outside of those already in my life. I think my luck comes from the family and life that I have even if it is tough sometimes. But I am grateful to be able to do what I love even through the struggles. So, no luck on my part and no true exposure. Just a lot of “grinding” which I hate saying, but overall, just a lot of persistence and optimism. 

Contact Info:

• Email: itsmekosmik@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsmekosmik/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/itsmeKosmiK