Artist: Sean Crim
Title: Determination
Year created: 2018
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Edition: Original
Height (inches): 24
Width (inches): 30
Depth (inches): 2
Signed by the artist
Signed Area: front
This piece is unframed.
Description of piece:
Lush colors and generous brushstrokes characterize this piece, "Determination", which is part of Sean Crim's "Animals: The Spirit Within" series. A ram symbolizes a new cycle of personal power, plus conquest, preparation and new beginnings. This series dives into the conscious verses unconscious realm of animals bringing them together in unity. His series illustrates the relative representation as well as the emotion, energy and inner spirit of each animal. He uses the exaggeration of color, layering texture and contrast to convey both realistic and abstract features in his pieces. Each piece has its own self value on what underlying emotions are felt and within one’s emotional state. He embodies his own seer-intuition, inner-self and energy into each animal, and what each animal brings about in his own self. Each of these pieces explores the emotional and psychological self of what the animal brings out within one’s own inner person. This invites the opportunity to look beyond the animal itself into one’s own psyche as well as seeing the animal as it is, creating the sense of being in a multi-dimensional realm. The viewer can view each piece in a physical, emotional, and psychological state.
Artist bio:
Sean Crim is a Los Angeles based artist, primarily working in oil on canvas with a focus portraying strong, meaningful content through seer-intuition, inner energy and present being. His contemporary style depicts abstract expressionism involving his emotional and psychological self with his present intuition from personal experiences and mental achievements. He utilizes color, content, contrast and texture creating bright, powerful and enlightening works of art. He creates and provides a sense of self-enlightenment, positive, powerful energy and a look into one’s own self creation and desires. His work impacts one’s self by taking them to another place, realm, inner-state and feeling that makes them look deeper within themselves, pushing their boundaries of what they truly want and desire in life and within. His art is full of self-exploration into always dreaming, creating and being true to one’s own self. Born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1992, art was always a huge part of Sean’s life. Art was his form of therapeutic, creative expressionism, conveying his inner thoughts and feelings without explaining them in words. It created a positive escape from reality, freeing him from the stigmas and labels of society and allowing him to truly be his own self. In the fall of 2007, Sean took his art to the next level while attending Georgetown Preparatory School in Washington DC. His art focused on realism, more specifically on portraits of people who influenced and positively impacted his life.
Throughout his high school career, Sean was honored with multiple awards for his work across the DC area. Upon graduation in 2011, he painted a detailed portrait of his grandfather who passed away the day after his birthday in 2010. Sean surprised his grandmother on graduation day with the painting, immediately bringing her to tears while she smiled ear to ear with pure joy. In this moment, Sean realized how his art connected with people’s emotions and feelings, altering their current state in a positive manor. The experience with his grandmother demonstrated how powerful art can be, how it can change people’s perspectives, and elicit positive, meaningful change. He continued his art at Wake Forest University, where he earned his BS in Finance and minor in Studio Art. His studies brought him back to his art foundation and a deeper understanding of where his art could go. After graduating from Wake Forest in 2015, Sean took a job at HFF in commercial real estate in Atlanta. He left HFF in the fall of 2016 to help his mom, Judy, start her dessert company, Judy's Sweets & Treats. While helping start the dessert company, Sean received a commission painting. This moment was the rebirth of his art and it rekindled his passion. He finally felt true happiness again and was reminded of the life-changing aspects he could bring to himself and the people around him. Watching his mom pursue her dream, Judy’s Sweets & Treats, Sean realized that he too could pursue what he was really passionate about. No matter the journey, everything always brought him back to the one thing he truly loves, art. Building his foundation, Sean began working primarily on commission pieces, creating a body of work, and bringing happiness to others. Sean moved to Los Angeles in the summer of 2017 to truly focus on his art and build his career. He started creating bodies of work that were focused around positive mental health and positive mental reinforcement. The pieces became an expression of his emotions and inner-self through memory and personal experiences.
In November of 2017, Sean showcased his art in the Malibu Art Walk. The feedback and accolades he received pushed him to continue and expand his portfolio. After a trip to Napa Valley in January of 2018, Sean started a mini-series called the ‘Sensation of Wine’, illustrating the movement, emotions and energy of having wine. This was followed by his first actual series in the summer of 2018, ‘Perseverance’. Sean honed in on the ongoing theme of self-exploration, positive mental change, and inner-strength. The series consisted of bull skulls that represented one’s confidence and tenacity to overcome challenges and to achieve whatever you put your mind to. While working on ‘Perseverance’, he began his series, 'Animals, the Spirit Within', which exemplified similar inner emotions, self-perseverance and strength through the spirit, emotion and stance of animals. He finished this series in late fall of 2018 and showcased it at The Regent Cocktail Club in Miami for Art Basel 2018 Miami. Most recently, he completed a mini-series on dessert, 'Following your Happiness', in the winter of 2019. Exemplifying his abstract expressionist style, the series was a reflection on what reconnected him with art, his mom’s dessert company and finding true happiness. Sean’s newest pieces are transitioning into mainly abstract as portrayed in his series ‘Into the Light’. The paintings focus on his inner emotions, intuition, personal growth, and ability to always find the light no matter how dark it becomes. Sean’s work is being displayed across the US in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Washington DC and Atlanta. Sean continues to bring awareness, create connections, and impact the art world on a larger scale through his focus on positivity and personal growth. This is only the beginning as he continues to learn, grow and transform his passion for art.