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BOSS MAGAZINE ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Sean Andre
Images of InspirationBy Joseph
You might know the venerable painter
Bob Ross from Family Guy and a
plethora of hilarious memes scattered
across the internet, and you might
perceive him as, well, the butt end
of many jokes. But for many artists,
like Sean Andre Thomas of Markham,
Ontario, Bob Ross’s television
show, The Joy of Painting, introduced
them to the limitless and awe-inspiring
possibilities of art. It prompted them
to pick up a pencil or a paint brush and
to start depicting their own creations
Like many infinitely curious children,
Sean liked to “doodle and mess
around with crayons,” but he had yet
to comprehend any meaning beyond
his blithe and aimless doodling until
his mother introduced him to Bob
Ross. “My mom used to sit me in front
of Bob Ross, and I’d watch it for as long
as it was on,” reminisces the 26-yearold
artist. “And I was in so much awe
watching it. I was like, ‘Oh my God this
guy’s painting a whole city with just a
paint brush!’
From watching The Joy of Painting,
Sean started to become aware of the
many ingredients of visual arts. And with
the help of other sources of inspiration
like Marvel (he particularly enjoyed
drawing Wolverine from X-Men), he
began to develop not only a talent
for art, but also his own style. Despite
these ambitions, however, a career as
an artist seemed less realistic to Sean
as he grew older.
Sean’s family moved around the GTA
after arriving in Canada from Jamaica,
Fava
and by the time he reached high school
he was living in Markham. He attended
Markham District High School and
pursued a scholarship in basketball,
because like many artists who I’ve had
this conversation with (a good example
would be musicians), he didn’t see an
outlet for art in his hometown.
The passion he had for art subsided and
was eventually pushed aside. “I was just
playing basketball in high school as a lot
of people were,” he said. “My mom kept
telling me, you know trying to convince
me, that I should do something with
my art. But I did the popular thing and
played basketball.” For him, basketball
presented a very clear path towards an
end-goal: get a scholarship, play for a
college team and then get drafted into
the NBA.
Art, conversely, presented a path
that was too ambiguous for him to
be comfortable with. “There weren’t
many outlets. You know, that’s one
thing I didn’t see a lot of,” he said.
“There was really not much there. It
wasn’t promoted. So I took it [art]
lackadaisically. I knew I had this talent
but was there going to be anyone to
see it? Where could I display it?” He did
not get the basketball scholarship he
wanted, so he settled with a graphics
design program at George Brown
College. But he was still not confident
enough to pursue a career in the arts.
While Sean was in college he started
a jewellery business as a way to make
money. His main products were gold
grillz (gold teeth), and he sold them at
a price well below what his competitors
were charging and was making enough
money for his business to remain
viable. “I first got involved with making
grillz when I went to Atlanta,” he said.
“And when I got back to Toronto a lot
of people wanted grillz but they were
going for $400, and I knew I’d be able
to sell them for about $160.”
So he was successful in starting and
then maintaining his business, but
he had a hard time sustaining his
enthusiasm for what he was doing. Too
often he found his thoughts gravitating
towards art. He felt a yearning to do
something more fulfilling with his life.
Eventually, Sean was pushed out of
the jewellery business by competition,
but that’s not something he laments.
He was still at George Brown at the
time and was exposed to inspiring art
initiatives-like the Bauhaus movement
of the early 20th century and the
Manifesto Festival that takes place
every year in Toronto-through his art
classes.
By the time he graduated, he no longer
had a business. He only had a degree
and a passion for art; and he knew he
needed a new direction in his life. So he
took his artistic talents, his inspiration
he accrued from learning about art
ventures through school, and his
entrepreneurial spirit and set out to
establish himself.
Sean had his first solo exhibit in August
where he displayed 13 original art
pieces. Around the same time, he was
chosen alongside 20 other artists to
take part in the Downtown Markham
Public Art Installation project. The
Markham Public Art project called on
the 20 artists to paint murals—based
on the theme of a perfect city—that
would be displayed at the intersection
of Birchmount Road and Enterprise
Boulevard in downtown Markham.
He has also launched a website for
his business Arts Golden, where he
offers his services for any digital media
project. I guess it’s safe to say he’s on
the right track.
Now that he’s taken those first steps
and found his place in a world he
doubted he would find himself a part
of, the question remains: What’s next
for Sean Andre Thomas? “My main goal
now is to get a Kickstarter started and
open an art centre for kids and anyone
really who wants to come create art
and share their art,” he said. “One thing
I try to do with my art is get people
inspired. Inspired to see what I’m doing
and do something like it.”
For Sean, getting people—and not
just young people—excited about art
and to create their own is as worthy an
endeavour as the Manifesto Festival. “I
want people to see beyond what’s in
front of them, like these corporations
and their ads and create their own
brand,” he said. “I’m passionate about
what I do and I want to help push
others.”
It seems the torch once carried by his
syndicated mentor Bob Ross has been
passed, and Sean carries it with the
same intentions to inspire.
“One thing I try to do with my art is get people inspired. Inspired to see
what I’m doing and do something like it.”
WINTER 2013 BOSS MAGAZINE
78
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