Eye Cough: Painting to Survive

Eye Cough’s journey with art started in the most natural way.

They were just a kid zoning out with crayons and printer paper at their Nana’s house while the adults talked. It could have ended there, just a kid doodling. But their Nana dropped an elephant statue in front of them and told them to draw it. And they did.

The drawing impressed everyone.

That little hit of validation planted a seed they are still chasing today.

Planning vs Freestyling

These days, Eye Cough’s process swings between careful planning and wild freestyling. When there is money on the line, like a client mural, they usually sketch it out first. It has to be something people can agree on. But deep down, the freestyled pieces are the ones they love the most. When a client gives them free reign, it is like lightning strikes. No overthinking. No second-guessing. Some of their best work happens when they just show up with a paint roller and trust themselves to figure it out on the wall.

One of the pieces that still means the most to them is simple, a Tubby Toad sitting on a Toadstool. It was painted during the 2020 SpraySeeMO Mural Fest. The mural is tucked away in a random alley where nobody just stumbles across it. You have to know it is there. That hidden, secret feeling is part of what makes it special. It is not trying to scream for attention. It is sitting there, waiting for the right person to find it.

The Struggle to Keep Going

When it comes to inspiration, Eye Cough pulls from both the real world and their own imagination. Real textures, real light, real perspective but always with a dreamy twist that gives the work a life of its own. They want the murals to feel grounded but still mysterious enough to leave a mark on you after you walk away.

What most people do not see is the mental weight that comes with it. Eye Cough admits they think about quitting almost every day. Since childhood, there has been a love-hate relationship with art. Painting is not always some passionate, magical thing. Sometimes it just feels like work. Like labor. Like duty. But quitting has never really been an option. Art is how they survive. Without creating, they feel like a slug, stuck, heavy, disconnected from the world.

Even with the ups and downs, Eye Cough is pushing forward. They dream about being that old badass painter still killing murals at 50. Right now, their focus is shifting more toward spontaneous creation, less sketching, more just showing up and letting it happen. More honest moments. More catching lightning.

Style Over Everything

They are also pouring energy into YouTube, hoping for deeper human connection through longer videos. If they had it their way, they would leave Meta behind completely. But real life is messy, family updates, secondhand deals, all the little things that keep them tied to the platform they would rather escape.

When asked what advice they would give to other artists trying to carve out their space, Eye Cough kept it real: Style is king. Do what you love. Do it a lot. If you focus on quantity over quality for long enough, the quality will eventually catch up. Nobody can fake your vibe. Nobody else can be you better than you.

At the end of the day, Eye Cough paints for survival. But through that survival, they create worlds for the rest of us too, one mural, one freestyle, one hidden alley at a time.