The Artist
Sean Mulkey
Sean Mulkey was raised in Albany, Georgia, and currently lives in the city of Atlanta. He has attained his degree in both mechanical and architectural drafting and design is a self-taught visual artist who has dedicated over 24 years to his passion of painting. Sean considers himself as a neo-urban contemporary painter, creating unique land and cityscape environments for people to explore and get lost in. His preferred medium is acrylic paint, which he uses to express and reconstruct his vision of the world. Sean creates fluid movement throughout his environments using exaggerated perspectives to draw the viewer in.
His art style can be described as very urban, whimsical, animated, and vibrant in color, with touches of grit and familiar details throughout. Sean's work continuously evolves as he pushed the boundaries within his pieces to fully capture the sense of space and depth within his landscapes. His lifelong dream project is to build his "Eternal City" universe for people who desire to explore, play and be free to exercise their imagination however they see fit.
Statement and Creative Process
I’m constantly in search of reasons to escape from the influence of this subjugated society. I often feel as the years pass by, as a society of people, we are becoming more indifferent towards one another all thanks to certain aspects of our economic state and an oversaturation of social media. For the sanctity of my well-being, I seek refuge in the act of painting places of wonder and discovery. My inner child screams for adventure, which leads me to pick up a paintbrush and construct dwellings of interests where my mind can roam free and explore. I often approach the creative process similarly to how objectives on a construction site are executed. Each work begins with a topographical layout on canvas, where the foundation is strategically deployed through abstract based color mapping. I start by laying down a strong structural plan, beginning with a conceptual sketch or blueprint that guides the subjects and background composition.
I carefully build my scenes layer by layer, from background to foreground, using a silhouette method to define subjects with a solid foundation. This approach allows me to avoid any conflict of opacification during the final rendering. The visual details, vibrant colors, lighting, shadows, and other visual effects are added throughout the painting to bring the environment to life. Through this meticulous and strategic process, I bring to fruition unique and immersive worlds that will ignite the imaginations of those seeking to explore, play, and simply escape from their own tangible reality.
ArticulateATL Interview
In this interview, I briefly talk about who I am, my mission, what inspires my creativity as an artist and where I strive to be in the future.
Deep South Outer Space Interview
In this interview, Tindel sits down with me on this episode of Deep South Outer Space as I talk about how I arrived to Atlanta and my emergence as an artist.