|
 SEAN PETRIN
by Alesha Brunell
Sean Petrin has been modest in keeping his skills fairly low-key since I met him back in 1991. His amazingly detailed drawings have always been worthy of admiration, but sometimes frowned upon for its darker qualities. The artist's market is a tough one to break into, so he has to make a living somehow. Here's his story:
GASPetc: How long have u been drawing?
Sean Petrin: Since I was a wee little lad. What kid doesn't draw? It was actually when I was 6 that I decided to take it seriously and stick with it. No lie. My friend Chris drew a picture of a castle being attacked by a dragon (he was 12, incidently), and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. From that point on, I was a serious artist. True story. Oh, and no one else in my immediate family are artists. I don't believe in art or music 'genes'.....
GASPetc: Do you have any special training or education in art?
SP: I attended Mass. College of Art for 2 and 1/2 years, before they booted me for my choice of subject matter. (apparently sci-fi/fantasy/horror doesn't have a market, according to them. Yup.)
GASPetc: Have you ever been published?
SP: Yep. 'The Urban Primitive'- By Schwartstein/ Calldera, published by Llewellyn press...... I have like 12 black and white illustrations in it.
GASPetc: Are you currently working now as a professional artist?
SP: Well, a professional NOVELTY artist.... I do pay my bills with my drawing/painting ability, so yeah, I guess.....
GASPetc: What instruments do you use the most on your work?
SP: Ball point pens- I do almost all of my sketches with them... other than that, just acrylic paint, paintbrushes, and the airbrush. Oh, and I use markers for my caricatures.
GASPetc: How long and what steps do you take to complete a painting?
SP: Most of the time I do a thumbnail sketch, or just go to a finished drawing, then I go in with the airbrush, and then the paintbrush. Then the airbrush again, then the paintbrush again. It takes probably somewhere around 20-40 hours for each 8 1/2 x 11 illustration. I'm very slow with the paint!
GASPetc: How long have you been painting?
SP: Hmmm.... I actually still don't consider myself to be a painter- just someone who uses paint.... No 'technique' or anything. But, I guess I've been using paint for about 5-7 years now. I still have alot to learn.....
GASPetc: So you consider yourself more an illustrator than a painter?
SP: Yep- I'm an illustrator, not a painter. Painters are generally considered to be 'fine art'- stuff you would see in a gallery. I do stuff that's considered more pop culture/niche market stuff, not usually shown in galleries. I wouldn't even say that the stuff that I do is sci-fi/fantasy/horror. They're just things that I see in my mind, and I translate them as best I can onto paper or illustration board.
GASPetc: How much do the majorty of your projects sell for?
SP: It depends greatly on the project. If a band wants an album cover that's within my normal field of interest, then probably $150, with the negotiations of percentages of sales. It really depends on the size, time, and subject matter. I'm a really fair guy, so it all boils down to negotiating, I suppose.
GASPetc: How long have you been airbrushing and are you self-taught?
SP: Yeah- my job that I've been at for the past 7 years really threw me into airbrushing. I did get my first airbrush when I was 15, but it wasn't until a decade later that I started to really learn how to use it. Practice, practice practice. Yes, I'm self taught......
 GASPetc: Can you tell us more about your current job?
SP: I work for a novelty art company that does a whole slew of novelty/party type activities. I do caricatures, airbrushed t-shirts, trucker hats, etc., and temporary, henna, and airbrushed tattoos. I work mainly at colleges and corporate events, but there's some private parties as well. It's a good gig over-all.
GASPetc: Have you ever considered doing comics?
SP: I do comics every now and again- nothing too elaborate. The last one I did was called 'Sociopathic Squirell and Fucky Duck in Gone Fishin' '. It's just 6 pages of foul languaged, sociopathic disgustingness. Fun for the whole family. Other than that, if I were to do one seriously, the plot and characters would have to be outstanding or very different from what's out there already. Good comics take alot of work, and I'm not into investing alot of time on something that's sub-par. Maybe someday when I can put a good story down coherently, with good characters and dialogue, I'll do a really kick-ass comic. Until then however......
GASPetc: Would you ever consider tattooing? Or airbrushing automobiles and motorcycles?
SP: Maybe someday I'll do tattooing- I have designed a few tattoos for people though. Yeah- Hopefully soon I'll get my hands on a motorcycle gas tank, and go to town...... I would very much like to get into that.
GASPetc: Is there anything you don't enjoy drawing?
SP: Yeah- still-lifes, and realistic vehicles. I'm not so good at angular realistic stuff. Yes indeed.
GASPetc: What are some of your goals as an artist?
SP: I would LOVE to do album covers!!! I would be psyched to work with my favorite bands for their t-shirts, or covers. I'd give y'all good deals!!! That and book illustrations- hopefully someday I'll finish the story I'm working on...... There's lots of stuff I wanna do.
GASPetc: What do you tend to draw more? What are your favorite subjects for projects?
SP: Strange creature stuff. That's what I love. My main goal as an artist is to show people stuff they've never seen before. H.P. Lovecraft is a very big influence.
For more of Sean's artwork, as well as higher resolution versions of the pieces shown here, checkout his myspace page http://www.myspace.com/seanpetrinart.
Sean's custom artwork for GASPetc.com - Thanks Sean!
|
