Morgan G. Makes

Meet Morgan, a 13 year old artist who loves to draw cars! Morgan started making artworks for the love of it, but his natural ability soon started drawing lots of admiring attention! 

Last year Morgan won a commission from the Swindon Advertiser to showcase his stunning black and silver steampunk style artwork on one of the Swindon’s “Swindogs” - a collection of impressive six foot balloon dog sculptures completed as part the town’s Big Dog Art Trail! Morgan is so far the youngest artist to be invited to paint a Wild in Art sculpture. It was bought by a company in York for £3,100 and now resides in their head offices!

At first, Morgan wasn’t drawing cars, but during an event linked to the Swindon Art Trail, Morgan was asked if he could draw cars.

He quickly sketched out a yellow pickup truck for its owner who was so impressed he showed it around. Before Morgan knew it he had a queue of car owners asking for Morgan to draw their car for them!

Morgan has been drawing cars ever since! He has

even been invited to draw at live motoring events!

At Christmas, Morgan was invited to draw live at Lamborghini Bristol’s Customer event, he drew a Huracan which he had sold before he’d even finished it! A few nights later he was invited to Fivezerossupercars. For four hours Morgan was drawing live in front of an audience, resulting in a rather impressive McClaren P1, which was also bought on completion!

Morgan has had an impressive waiting list of customers and he is making money from his hobby! Morgan has an amazing car racing rig all set up in his bedroom, all paid for from the commissions he has received for artwork! He even drew a car belonging to the editor of the Classic American magazine and it was featured in their January issue!

2024 sees Morgan face his biggest challenges yet! He has been commissioned by Castle Combe Circuit for a special project and has also been invited to exhibit at Masters of Motoring in June! During the event Morgan will be drawing live, selling prints and taking commissions!

Morgan isn’t just limiting his artistic talent to cars either… following the success of last year’s sculpture trail, he has recently won a commission for this summer’s OxTrail, supporting Oxford’s Sobell House Hospice!

ROADSTER! got to have a chat with Morgan about his artwork and his love of cars…

WHEN DID YOU START DRAWING?

I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember, but I think we started to notice I had a talent when I was about 9 years old.

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START ILLUSTRATING CARS?

I had thought cars were difficult to draw before. It wasn’t until Ben asked if I could draw his dad’s pickup and showed me a photo, I quickly sketched it and his dad was so impressed!

DID YOU LIKE CARS BEFORE YOU STARTED DRAWING THEM?

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t like cars! My favourite film when I was little was Pixar Cars and I had all the die cast models. I also had Hot Wheels. We always watch Top Gear too.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CAR AND WHY?

I like so many, but the Aston Martin Valkyrie is one of the best track cars ever made! I like that is it has an open wheel from the cockpit view. It’s basically like an F1 car that’s road legal!

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE CAR TO ILLUSTRATE?

My favourite was the Porsche

911 RSR - an awesome

looking car! It was the first

car I drew at A3 size so I was

able to include a lot more detail.

WHAT TOOLS DO YOU USE

FOR YOUR ARTWORK?

I draw on paper especially for

markers. I use HB Pencils for

sketching the shape first, then

Uni-ball fineliners for outlines and brush tips for the darkest shadowed areas. I have a set of 320 Ohuhu brush tip alcohol markers which blend really well. I use a set of 72 Prismacolor Premier pencils for added shading and gradients. Lastly, I use white Posca pens for highlights.

HOW LONG DO YOUR CAR ARTWORKS USUALLY TAKE?

The A5 ones I started with normally a couple of hours. An A4 sized drawing takes approximately 4-6 hours. A3 size at least 15 hours. I have just completed my first commission with a full background and it took over 35 hours!

35 HOURS! HOW DO YOU FIND THE TIME?

It’s very difficult to manage time between school, homework and karate. I draw mostly during the weekend and school holidays, but sometimes I just want to play on my racing sim!

DO YOU PREFER TO DRAW CARS OR WHAT YOU DID BEFORE?

Everything is part of a learning process.. I drew from my head before but then I got interested in anatomy and structure. I practice a lot. When people started asking for me to draw cars my style was very quick-hand and loose. The more I draw, the more I’m improving my techniques. Now I’m attempting more realistic representation. I’m still progressing.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR PLANS FOR MASTERS OF MOTORING?

I’m hoping to complete a few drawings to have on display. I will be live drawing over the weekend, my mum will also be drawing so I can escape to check out all the cool things happening over the weekend! I’d really love to get track ride if I’m allowed!

DO YOU WANT TO BE AN ARTIST FOR YOUR CAREER?

I know I’ll always have art as a hobby. I’m really interested in the design and technology side too. It would be great to have a career involved in the motoring industry. I’d not rule out racing cars either!

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR YOUR ART OVER THE YEAR?

At the moment my mum and I are painting another two sculptures for an art trail in Oxford this

summer. It’s very exciting! I’ll continue

doing car commissions whenever I can.

I’m hoping to develop a signature style

as my work progresses.

DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR

KIDS INTERESTED IN ART?

I would say find what interests

you and then practice…

Practice a lot! Don’t get

discouraged by comparing

yourself to others and only

focus on your own

development.

THANKS MORGAN! WE THINK YOUR

ART IS FANTASTIC!

Our full interview with Morgan was featured in Issue 5 of Roadster!

Find out more about Morgan at:

https://www.instagram.com/morgangmakes/