Tuesday

Sytiva Sheehan

Sytiva Sheehan is a San Francisco Bay Area painter who is currently expanding into working in three-dimensional art. She is motivated by the desire to use art to bring awareness of important issues to others and to hopefully make some change in the world doing what she loves. Through this interview, we learn more about what inspires her work, what she does when her art is rejected and what her plans are for the future.

What can you tell us about the basics of your artwork?

I work in acrylic, oil, pen, and 2D. I am currently enjoying learning 3D so that I can add that to the selection of what I do. Most of my work starts from a painting or storyboard. The paintings are based on characters to reflect life as it is (or life as you see it). For example, I personally love the elderly so I have taken one character and put her in many situations, even some that are troublesome to look at. This allows me to explore many different facets of life through one character. At the same time, it lets me send certain messages. For example, there is a MUNI (San Francisco bus) painting that reveals young people sitting in the seats reserved for seniors. In this particular painting, the elderly woman is hanging on to a pole. The idea behind this painting is that people who see this painting would not want to behave in this manner, making elderly people stand up while they are seated. Hopefully the image will stick in their minds and they’ll remember to stand the next time that they are on MUNI. Continue…