ART BORN SAGA


Redwood National Forest


Hailing from the land of the water riders ( Venice, California ), Sean grew up in a semi-nomadic life of poverty along the entirety of the West Coast. His final destination in his teens would be the mysterious and beautiful tree cities of the Pacific Northwest. Upon coming of age, Sean eagerly joined the warrior clans of the great Merica tribe ( United States Army ) to prove his worth, see the world, escape his abusive environment, and pay for college.

During Sean’s youth, he was fascinated with marking things with colored grease and sharp sticks of burnt wood (painting & drawing ); it helped him gain distance from a dangerous environment and helped him process the things he couldn’t understand at the time. During his travels as a young warrior, Sean discovered that these same healing and entrancing marks with which he was obsessed could be etched into the skin of his fellow warriors ( tattoos ) and worn into combat and, for some, life afterward.

As time passed, Sean became dissatisfied with just marking his comrades with images. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop envisioning worlds and peoples that had never been seen before. After five years of tribal warfare ( war/conflict ), multiple deployments to Afghanistan, and many travels to far and exotic lands as an elite tracker ( Reconnaissance Sniper/ Squad Leader ), Sean yearned to return to the stillness of the silent trees that guarded his secluded forest home. It was finally time for him to rest his hurting body and mind. During the long journey home, Sean encountered many dangers and obstacles and, unfortunately, experienced many losses. He knew he could no longer survive the harsh, cold nights alone. So Sean ventured into the wilderness ( life ) and was drawn to healing a pack of other injured beasts   ( severely injured/feral dogs in need and his lovely wife ) that hurt and loved as he did.

Together, through their shared pain and experiences, they slowly but surely rehabilitated each other into an unbreakable and unstoppable team. The family he had always dreamed of - but never had the opportunity to have - was now his, and his newly healed heart and mind sang. Forged anew, Sean and his beloved and thriving pack formed a base of operations on the outskirts of the largest forest city, Portland, OR. Sean went on to earn his BFA in Illustration and MFA in Applied Craft and Design with a focus on visual storytelling, mycological education, and ethnomycology.

Sean now spends his time as a full-time Illustrator and Craftsman, creating visual works depicting fascinating worlds and the beings and creatures that inhabit them, learning new ways to teach people about mushrooms, rehabilitating more furry creatures in need, and going on endless expeditions into the wilderness to discover and study fungi and embrace the beauty and gift that is life and nature in the PNW, with his ever-growing beast pack. ( Love & Passion )