Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Mulkey.
Sean, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was five years old when I first learned how to draw. While growing up, I’ve constantly sketched everyday. From creating my own comic books to fabricating pinball games out of cardboard and construction paper, there was no limit to what I could create. Throughout my years in middle school and high school, I’ve sharpened my drawing skills and soon after, branched out to working with other mediums. Plaster and watercolors were among the few mediums that I’ve experimented with. After I graduated from high school, I took a huge interest in painting. I’ve never had any formal training with this medium, but through the generous donations of art supplies and canvases, I dedicated everyday to teaching myself how to paint. I started out painting with oils, but later fell in love with acrylics. How to paint art books, YouTube tutorials, trial and errors, and a few creative friends I’ve met along my journey helped shape me into the artist that I am today and I’m still evolving now.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There were a few struggles I had to deal with along my journey to becoming an artist. At a very young age, I’ve dealt with being constantly bullied and teased in school and took a lot of rejection from my peers. That brought my self-esteem down very low in which it dramatically affected my school work and how I socialized with other kids. Due to me being constantly teased, it also affected my passion for drawing in which at times, I wouldn’t pick up a pencil and drawing paper for days. Eventually as I immersed myself more into drawing, the desire to create became my only true friend… my place of safety and protection from the outside world that I felt wanted to do me harm. Another struggle I had to deal with was with some of my art instructors during my years in school. They saw that I had amazing potential to become a great artist, but they never took the time to nurture my gift. They’ve just figured that I was way too advanced and that there was nothing more they could’ve taught me, so basically they just let me do whatever I wanted and gave me a passing grade. How lazy was that? I was too young to realize what I was lacking back then, but now I can clearly see the repercussions and I’m working a lot harder to make up for them.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Sean Mulkey Arts – what should we know?
I am a freelance visual artist/painter. “Sean Mulkey Arts” is my business brand in which I specialize in creating original paintings for self-expressive purposes as well as provide custom artwork and prints for both the passionate art lovers/collectors as well as providing artwork for all select commercial platforms. I’m also available for booking at events that desire live paint performances as well. I’m proud to say that my business has granted me a lot of great opportunities such as allowing my artwork to be featured in a music video, TV/web series, a few album covers, art gallery shows, etc. What sets me apart from other artists is my visual art style. I’m pretty known for creating mind bending view perspectives within the environments constructed in my work. I’m very big on storytelling, so creating esthetically pleasing visuals are very essential to my creative process.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
There are so many people on my list who are so deserving of the credit for me being where I am today, that I can’t possibly name them all, but I do have several key players who has definitely left an imprint on me till this very day. My mom and pop, Myra Mulkey and Sean Mulkey, for their love and support of my work and spreading the word to their coworkers and friends. Ayasha Banks, from Albany, GA was my first art patron to purchase numerous paintings at my very first art event. I will forever be thankful for her support and belief in me. Femi Anderson, also from Albany, GA, curated my very first solo art exhibition titled “The Artisan Holiday”. She produced my first set of business cards, flyers and even a promotion video for me on YouTube. That’s love and thank her so much for that. Durrell Smith, my former roommate, friend and just another dope juggernaut in the art world, helped push me to find my creative voice with just one simple question, “How can you relate to these people?” If he ever see this interview, he knows exactly what I’m talking about lol. He’s the reason why I painting the way I do now and I greatly respect this dude. My brother Nicholas Mulkey saved me from an oppressive situation when I was living in Albany back in 2013. Everything was going downhill for me and my artwork wasn’t going anywhere and he stepped in and helped me move up to Atlanta for a better chance of successful with my art. I appreciate him for that. Love you bro! Queen Sheba, a world renowned poet and just an explosion of awesomeness, granted me a staple gig every month painting live at The Apache Café. Because of her, I was able to meet and network with so many incredible people and landed a lot of great opportunities along the way. You rock Queen Sheba! Last, but certainly not least, Hank Stewart… a powerful poet, entrepreneur, a classic man and my mentor has seen immense greatness within me and has granted me multiple platforms to showcase my talent before an audience of high prestige. He has given me the opportunity to present an original piece to Dr. C.T. Vivian… a powerful civil rights advocate and leader within the black community. I have nothing but high respect for him. Again I couldn’t possibly name them all, but you know who you are and I appreciate you dearly.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 229-296-6211
- Email: mulkey.sean@gmail.com
- Instagram: IG: @smulkeyarts
- Facebook: FB: Sean Eric Mulkey
- Twitter: TW: @jazzer1983
Image Credit:
Syrithia Shadae, Luonne Humphrey
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