Meet Joshua Sehnert | Aka Farkey the Cowboy AlphaWolf

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

Hi Joshua, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.
The end goal of my pursuits of animation, storytelling, plein air painting and scenic design is to manifest the creation of themed entertainment spaces of the future. For a decade I have been meticulously planning an immersive, organic architecture inspired theme park called Omega: Realms of Time, which will be an evolution in theme parks for its E-sports competitive environment and incentivized live action roleplaying, which will be seamlessly integrated into an expansive, explorable physical environment through augmented reality. While building an entire theme park is a lofty ambition, with recent technological development, I have shifted my focus to metaverse architecture, As drawing from my experience as a 3D animator, digital modeler and landscape painter, I can foresee the creation of a minimum viable product in the form of a virtual reality experience in the metaverse!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Following the muse of my passions, I have been driven since childhood by my love of animation, art, theme parks and roller coasters. Always looking up to the classical archetypal figure of Walt Disney, I have always intuitively understood the connection between animated storytelling, and its resulting worldbuilding coming full circle into themed experiences. I studied animation at RISD, where I created an experimental dark comedy titled “Mr. Piggy Dies In 25 Dimensions”. Unfortunately, after graduating I discovered the animation industry to be exceptionally difficult to simply get a foot in the door. It is extremely competitive and opportunities are only offered to candidates with previous experience. I spent years frustrated by this systemic gatekeeping which is standard industry practice, and as an alternative took up work as a fine art educator. During my studio time as an educator, I befriended a mentor whom I learned plein air painting from, A skill which would be central to my journey which started upon the shutdowns of the pandemic. It was then that I embarked on a two year road trip adventure, during which I would paint at 54 national parks, and drive coast to coast countless times, from Maine, to Florida, and ultimately the Arctic Circle in Alaska! At the culmination of my journey, I came to understand the connection between landscape painting and spatial design for themed entertainment. In addition, I followed an interest in off-grid commune style residencies in nature, and began formulating programs to host aspiring animators/ scenic designers. Through this proposal, I intend to use my experience in art education to provide the formative career experience to others, which a lack thereof presented an obstacle in my ambition for a traditional career in the animation industry.

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 am a huge fan of the variety of experiences of the Denver riverfront. From kayaking and biking, to the attractions such as the aquarium and Elitch Gardens, the Riverwalk has always been a wonderful space of recreation and activity ever since I was young. When the Denver Meow Wolf was announced in close proximity to a host of downtown attractions, I already knew what a prime location it was developing into.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to give a shout out to the creatives and founders of Meow Wolf for the transformative ripple their attractions have had in themed entertainment and its greater future in immersive experience! For years before their breakout success I had been envisioning a future for themed spaces more dedicated to the individual expressions of a group of artists, rather than the current trend of a group of artists tasked with replicating a popular IP. While I initially was excited for the visual, spatial experiences of their attractions, I was thrilled to discover a whole realm of fresh stories, characters, interactivity and a self referential expansive universe! I knew upon my initial experience that this was the future of themed entertainment, as unlike IP replication which presumes personal connection to the story through popularity, this new form of spatial storytelling puts the individual as an author of their experience through a new realm. It’s thanks to their success that I’m inspired by the possibility of manifesting an innovative theme park experience that empowers the individual to forge a personal heroic journey! 

Website: https://linktr.ee/farkeyvision

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farkeyscapes_abg500/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-sehnert-0b73b650/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FarkeyRight

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

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2oeOmWKQZpNt8MyEdkRKXQ

Other: https://www.artstation.com/farkey

Image Credits
FarkeyVision LLC