We recently connected with Sean Barragan and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Sean thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
In middle school, at the suggestion of my peers. I had been drawing since I was about 2yrs old and by the time I was 13 in middle school, I had gotten pretty good. Many times my classmates would stop to marvel at what I was creating and would tell me I should sell my art. At 13, I then postulated that I’d have my business started by 2015 and I did!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I got into my field by constantly putting myself out there to be found and discovered. I cut my teeth in the art world at a young age by doing graffiti, it requires a certain level of boldness. At not point in my life have I really had to advertise for commissions one job leads to the next and most of the time I have more commissions than I have time. I started with abstraction at the age of 2, then graduated to creating my own characters at the age of 8, then graffiti at the age of 10, and commissions at the age of 14. When I joined the Navy as an engineer at the age of 17 I did tattoo, coin, flag, logo and t-shirt designs for my coworkers in my spare time. By the time I started my business at the age of 21 in 2015 and graduated college in 2023 commissions became a regular feature in my life.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I joined the Navy at 17 and thought I could use its reliability to moonlight as an artist. As I rose in rank and responsibility I had less and less free time. It came to a point where I was doing so much that I never had time to create my own work. Not being regularly creative destroyed my inner happiness. I felt like I wasn’t being me like I was hijacked. I became so depressed that I had maybe 20 pictures of the final 3 years of my 8 years in the Navy. I was there physically but my heart left a long time ago. I originally wanted to do 20 years in the Navy and create as an artist and retire at the age of 37. I realized I couldn’t do that, that I didn’t want to be someone’s pawn for another 12 years. So I left the Navy in 2019 and started pursuing an Illustration degree at Rocky Mountain College Of Art and Design in Lakewood, Colorado. I just graduated in March of 2023 and am so much happier than when I was in the Navy!
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Yes, I want to tell funny and deep transformative Urban Fantasy stories that inspire, educate, and entertain the world. Drawing from the wild lived experiences I had growing up and fill these stories with even more wild characters and the insight and wisdom gleaned from those experiences. I’d like to start by writing some stories out and turning them into graphic novels.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pharociousart.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pharociousart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pharociousart
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-barragan-42922213b/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/i/flow/login?redirect_after_login=%2Fpharoahofaurora
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVWKxOHOSZf9f3dXhppKYsQ