Street artist Sean Curtis makes a name for himself

Amidst the constant humming of cars and chatter of students passing by, a young man sets down his skateboard and takes a seat on the familiar Aderhold steps. Sean Curtis looks like a typical Georgia State student but upon closer observation, there is a small green splatter of spray paint on his backpack.

Curtis is a senior studio art major from Fayetteville, Ga. whose murals and artwork can be found scattered throughout the city. From his Sweetwater logo work to the mobile masterpiece that is his graffiti car, Curtis has made street art into a profession.

The 22-year-old’s interest in art started early, with a 90’s cartoon.

“It all started with Dragon Ball Z, man, in third grade,” Curtis said. “My friends and I would have competitions to see who could draw the better Dragon Ball Z character, and it just kept growing from there.”

Curtis decided in high school that he wanted to pursue art seriously. After graduation, Curtis was accepted into the Savannah College of Art and Design Atlanta, but  soon found tuition too expensive without a scholarship.

“I knew no matter what I wanted to be in Atlanta. Georgia State had an art program and it was way cheaper,” Curtis said.

Curtis had an interest in graffiti before his classes began, but said his program has helped him grow as an artist.

“Even before my classes started the city affected me; I’d always admired graffiti and it made me feel like I could do it,” Curtis explained. “Different classes I’ve taken here — like print making and sculpture — have given me opportunities that I wouldn’t have had otherwise and forced me to evolve.”

Two years ago, Curtis began nurturing his own art business.

“It started out with a bunch of logos designs for like Miller and Jameson just painting in different bars,” Curtis said.

Through connections he made doing these designs, his mural business began to grow. But Curtis found himself longing to showcase his original work.

“I started to think ‘I don’t want to just do logos,’” Curtis said. “So last year I started to focus on my art and started making lots of canvases and really focusing on street stuff to hone my skills to get to the point where someone would pay me to put my art instead of just their logo.”

Curtis is constantly conveying his hauntingly detailed perspective in his projects. He began working diligently, canvasing his personal artwork collection that he calls his “monsters.”

Curtis describes his work as vibrant and colorful, with extremely dark undertones, “like a really bad acid trip.” The collection showcases how influential the street art culture has been to his projects.

Curtis said street artists Alex Pardee, Ralph Steadman, Mr. Never Satisfied, PLF and Brian Bullard are his influences.

Curtis described that his work, like street art in general, is intertwined with hip-hop culture.

“The hip-hop culture used be 4 realms: DJ’ing, breakdancing, MC’ing and graffiti writing,” Curtis said. “It used to be if you considered yourself a part of that culture you do all of them. So I’ve always had a love for real hip-hop.”

Curtis has drive and talent, but described how he faces the same post-collegiate uncertainty that many students do.

“I really want to take this mural business and make it something that I can make a living off of. It’s just really hard to come up as an artist in a big city.”