Meet Sean Theodoratos | Photo-Realistic Artist & Wildlife Photographer

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

Hi Sean, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
The pursuit of art and photography all came into my life by chance. One of my neighbors was moving and he gave me some blank sketch pads and before I knew it I was drawing everyday. This happened just before the pandemic and I saw this as an opportunity to not only practice my self-care, but also an opportunity to immerse myself in newly discovered passions. As a social worker, we are taught that self-care is essential to maintaining a healthy work/life balance and luckily for me, my creative pursuits not only recharge me for my helping career, but they both enhance my life in many ways. Not only do I have the opportunity to experience wildlife and nature through my photography, but I get to recreate moments and share those experiences through my artwork and prints.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have always had a keen awareness to detail and I believe that this is why I enjoy creating photo-realistic drawings. My main focus has been botanical illustrations but as of lately, I have been adding birds into my portfolio. As a photo-realistic artist, it is essential to have reference material and this is where my photography has become so important to my creative process. Taking my own reference photos not only gives me the opportunity to create wildlife prints but it gives me full creative control and ownership over my colored pencil illustrations. Reaching this point has not always been easy but when you are passionate about what you are doing and it is a form of self-care, challenges do not really seem as intimidating as they would be without that passion. A vital lesson I have learned along the way is that it is okay to slowdown and enjoy the process… colored pencil almost requires it! My art is about capturing the beauty in a moment so that it can be experienced again through the recreation of the illustration.

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?
Living in Colorado, there are so many good areas to observe wildlife. I would take them to see the Ospreys that nest near Grand Lake and a visit to Barr Lake State Park would be a must (especially during spring migration)! The amazing thing about Colorado is there are so many places to experience wildlife and nature, from my backyard to the mountains. After a day of wildlife photography and nature, the next stop would be Thai Food at either the Thai Pan or Thai Pot.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The medium that I work in is colored pencil and the other artists in this community are some of the most supportive people I have ever interacted with. Recently, I made the decision to pursue my art career and I received mentorship from John Middick of the Sharpened Artist. He met with me in a mentorship role and helped me gain the confidence to begin pursuing my creative goals.

Website: www.seantheoart.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sean.theo.art/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sean.theo.art

Other: https://www.instagram.com/sean.theo.photography/ https://www.facebook.com/sean.theo.photography

Image Credits
Creme de Cassis Dahlia Reference Photo Provided by: @oh_happy_dahlias