Meet Sean Danconia | Artist & Creative Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sean Danconia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sean, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Well, there were two adjoining and corollary motivations. One—I wanted to develop and sell a very particular sort of “fuel”. That is—ART—which can take many forms (cinema, music, literature, visuals, etc.). This type of “fuel”—concretized by an artist—can (and should) inspire us to live great, meaningful lives. Of course, not all Art does this. Some has the opposite effect but that wasn’t what I was interested in. I was after portraying a certain style of existence and a specific type of heroic idealism. And then living in that world at the very same time.

And second, I wanted to take Ferris Bueller’s Day Off to its ultimate, logical conclusion (without totaling a Ferrari).

I saw many people around me doing what their parents told them to do (regarding career, love, etc.,), or what they believed society expected of them—and they simply weren’t happy. I didn’t want to make that error with my life. So Carpe Diem all the way.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I started my career in fashion, importing Italian clothing and accessory brands. But my real love was film, and my main goal was to write and direct my own movies and animation. Along the way, I had my head chopped off in both industries and while I was licking some wounds and almost out of money, the former head of MGM licensing—Warren Schorr—kindly shoved me in another direction by not only suggesting that I create paintings of the movies and animation that I dreamed of making, but set me up with an art manager, Michelle Smart, to facilitate this. That’s a rare act of kindness in Hollywood, just for the record.

I did think that the suggestion was crazy but since I didn’t have anything else going on, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to do an art show. And so I did. A new gallery had just opened in Little Tokyo (Los Angeles) and the owner, Brian Lee, agreed to host an event with me based off of my cell phone case (true story). Michelle bought me my first set of paints and brushes. We did well that first night and that was a new beginning for me.

Over the next 14 years, I would manage to become an official artist for King Features, the Bob Marley and Marilyn Monroe estates, Sanrio (Hello Kitty), Tezuka (Astro Boy), Warner Bros. (Scooby and The Flintstones), Disney + Pixar, etc. At the same time, I used the money and opportunities in art to fund a media / animation studio and went back into that industry while still working in art, which is what I’m currently doing today (and Michelle is still my art manager). Although the art is almost always easier and more pleasurable because as a friend once said “it’s only you and the canvas”.

Anyway, it was extremely difficult as a career path. There were absolutely amazing highs and terrible lows. So you get what you paid for with the price of admission. But if you find your own customer base, and can deal with actual human beings—one on one, all things are possible. And I have been so lucky to have had amazing clients, fans and venues that have supported me for years.

My art itself is a combo platter of all the things that I find interesting in culture, pop-culture, history, philosophy, spirituality, etc., and it plays off of iconic and iconoclastic themes, but always subordinate to a positive, life-affirming vision of what life could, should and ought to be.

The art likely falls into the Pop-Surrealist sub-category of Pop-Art but I call it “UltraMOD” after both the 60’s MOD movement and as a minor nod to the sometimes amusing, rebellious aspects of Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange.

The art itself is mixed-media as I employ photography, acrylic paint, CGI, hand drawing, collage, spray paint and many other techniques in the textured creation of each piece.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I saw Bowen House online, when I was still in LA. I don’t know why but it looked like the sort of place that I imagined JR Ewing would have stopped for a drink before going to visit one of his “companions” in the city. Anyway, it lived up to expectations. Great food, intimate and perfect atmosphere. Same with the Honor Bar in Highland Park Village. But I also spend more time eating the excellent Pizza (from Jimmy’s dough) at Bryan Street Tavern.

Having said all that, to me—nothing is quite as interesting as spending an evening in The Stockyards (Longhorn Saloon and H3 are my favorites), along with Main Street in Grapevine which has that Route 66 vibe that I love (Willhoite’s Restaurant is great).
I know that Fort Worth is not technically Dallas but the two cities sort of work together to generate one giant experience.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are a ton of individuals who educated, mentored, invested and believed in me over the years. And I wouldn’t want to offend any of them by mentioning one and not the other. However, there is one person who gave me a shot that I took, and was initially successful with. But I was too young, inexperienced and more than mildly on fire…to handle it correctly.

So I sort of blew that whole thing up without meaning to—sky high. As such, I owe him—Eric Grundy—and his wife an enormous debt of gratitude and a sincere apology. They were wonderful to me.

If you’ve watched Yellowstone and saw the kid that was “adopted” by Beth and Rip—that’s sort of a mild metaphor of what went down although I didn’t have to live in the barn.

Website: https://www.danconiagallery.com/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/danconia_art

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danconia/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seandanconia