Hi Sean, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I am an independent artist who works primarily in the world of caricature drawings. Since 2015, I have been drawing ridiculous pictures of people from all around the world. I started my journey as a professional artist at Legoland Florida Resort in my hometown of Winter Haven, Florida. It was there where I was first trained in the style of caricature as I took up an entry-level retail art job while I was in college. I never really intended to make a career of the weird sketches of people but there was a charm to be had in it. For about a year and a half, I worked as a retail caricature artist and body artist (doing face painting and henna tattoos) at the theme park before I got an opportunity I could not pass up. Many of the mentors and artists that I admired had stopped working at the park in pursuit of greener pastures (specifically drawing at fairs, festivals, etc.) that would pay substantially more than anything we could hope to make from the nine dollars an hour wage we were scraping by within Florida.
Seeing this, I knew I had to do something for myself too and when I went to a local fair to get drawn by another artist, that something I needed would appear. She told me that she had a buddy who was looking for fresh, young artists to work with and I figured, “Hey, I am young AND fresh! That could be me!”. So she gave me his information and I ended up reaching out to him and getting my first gig out in the big world. This was a very exciting prospect for me because I wasn’t just going to one event, but several and I had never traveled by myself before. With a plane ticket and hotel booked I got on my first plane since I was a baby with only $300 to my name and flew all the way from Orlando, Florida to Springfield, Missouri. I grew up in the Florida heat, but the sun in Missouri made it much more like “Misery”. Nonetheless, the first event was a grand slam for me! The gamble paid off and I finally felt like I was at the cusp of getting out of my hometown. I tasted freedom.
For around 3-4 months, I would make a few new friends travel to places I never been before and make more money than I ever have. It was surreal to have such a big change in my life, but the world of traveling does take its toll. It seemed that relationships and friendships do not exactly thrive in your absence. Who would have guessed that? When I returned home, I had one fewer relationship and, without much notice, one fewer job at Legoland. I had intended to make the traveling thing a sort of “sometimes” affair but now that I didn’t have the stability of the park to go back to, I was sort of pushed into the full-time traveling life.
In the years of 2017, 2018 and about half of 2019, I was traveling the Eastern United States drawing at all sorts of places and meeting all sorts of people, but the stress of never really feeling home and the struggle of making lasting, meaningful friendships with the folks I would meet in my life was taking its toll on me. You learn a lot about what to appreciate in life when much of it seems sorely just out of reach. I briefly quit drawing and returned home to Florida with some of the money I saved and went to a trade school to become a massage therapist. The problem was that I had a clock ticking behind me. I couldn’t find a job and my savings started to run thin so I was faced with a choice. Do I move in with my family again and finish school or do I give art one more go and move out of Florida for good?
I chose art. So for one more autumn, I traveled again and saved money again and looked at the places I have been to for a new home. I chose Marietta. I had been to Marietta a few times in my travels, mostly for the North Georgia State Fair that I would draw at. The area is near Atlanta, a place full of opportunity, friends and culture. I took another gamble and moved here quite suddenly and I love it. This city feels like home to me today. I can feel all the hours of work, the long weekends, the emotional labor all paying off whenever I wake up to the beautiful vistas of North Georgia. I have had the privilege and honor to draw in Atlanta a number of times and, fingers crossed, I will have many more opportunities in the coming years. The friends I made her and the folks that have helped me acclimate to this environment are truly the marvels of the world.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not particularly. I have had to learn a lot about myself and how to be happy with me in this journey. This is a good thing, no doubt, but a very grueling experience. Traveling is definitely and wonderful thing in moderation, but when you do it because you have to, you cannot really turn it off and you can sort of feel trapped. One of the reasons I wanted to make a home of Atlanta is because so many of the places I would draw at were so close and there is always something going on here so I would not have to be so far from my home and home-life so often.
There also is sometimes drama between rival business owners in the caricature scene and sometimes as an artist, you need to balance your career with those relationships because grudges exist and sometimes they don’t want you to work with other groups despite you being an independent contractor. One big struggle for almost every artist I know right now has been the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. I shut down almost every live event to draw at and consequently, many folks in my line of work have had to try and adapt so having no normal business for almost an entire year.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
By trade, I am a caricature artist, but I love illustration in general. I am more of an expert in traditional mediums like ink, graphite and charcoal, but have dabbled in digital illustration and graphic design. As far as what I am most known for, it’s a strange thing to ask myself. Most professional artists are constantly critiquing and evaluating their skill and style since that is how we improve our craft, but most the time we kind of don’t give ourselves props. If I had to give an answer to that, I’d say I have had artists comment on my line quality and color choices the most, but it’d probably be my line quality.
What I am most proud of is my work ethic, however. I try to give my best to every person I draw. This sort of feeds into something that I think would separate the artist of a sale from myself. To me how much I sell is not a priority, rather I try my best to make every drawing fun and unique experience. People who do what I do draw countless people so it is easy for the experience of drawing them to feel mundane and lose its luster. I make an active effort to remember that even if I have drawn a thousand pictures, this is still a unique and special experience for the person I am drawing.
Any big plans?
For me, the dream is to experience all the wonders that the world has to offer. I don’t want to really define who by what I do for work, instead I would like to have my experiences mold me. What better experiences are there than witnessing and the natural wonders and all the amazing cultures that the Earth has? So the plan is to make a regular clientele for me to make enough money to go see everything!
Pricing:
- Gigs are paid on an hourly basis starting at $150/hr
- Prints start at $15+s/h
Contact Info:
- Email: twofacecomix@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/the_dorklord
