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Sean Morris x 3rd Rail for Pick Me Up t-shirts.

Pick Me Up Q&A Series: Sean Morris

Sean Morris’ characters live in a surreal semi apocalyptic world inspired by bad horror films, here they practice strange rituals often wearing nothing more than a bikini. This combination would normally result in pretty bizarre work however his simple character based line drawings and naive colour palette make for a winning stylistic combo. He’s bringing t-shirts, vest dresses and a brand new 4 colour screen print edition to our exhibition space at Pick Me Up. Want to know more? Read on…

How would you describe your style?

Catalogue illustrations for things I wish existed / instructional diagrams for things I wish happened.

Wall painted by illustrator Sean Morris.
A section of the 30 metre wall Sean painted with Ghostpatrol in Bunbury, Western Australia.
Tell us a bit about how you developed your aesthetic.

It’s been a lot of experimentation, and following different impulses and influences – but my lines have gradually become more economical, and my subject matter has narrowed as I’ve worked out a set of things that i get excited about drawing, and stopped bothering with anything else.

Sean Morris x 3rd Rail for Pick Me Up t-shirts.
Sean Morris x 3rd Rail for Pick Me Up t-shirts.
What’s your first weapon of choice when creating new work?

Always the sketchbook for scrawling ideas down, no matter how messy or indecipherable they might be.

How different was the design process for your Pick Me Up print/t-shirt knowing that the final image would be interpreted as a screen print?

These days I actually work on most things as if they’re intended for screen printing / riso printing / some sort of commercial production, just because I enjoy the way that those restrictions make me work – sticking to clear, thick line work and one or 2 colours in clearly separated areas.

Sean Morris - Bad Decisions 4 colour screen print.
A few close ups of ‘Bad Decisions’, a 4 colour screen print by Sean Morris to be exhibited at Pick Me Up.

 

You’ve had the opportunity to work on some exciting projects, has anything made you consider a complete career change?

I think I would consider moving more of my focus to film or to publishing one day – for now I’m pretty happy drawing full time though.

And what’s been a highlight?

Traveling for art shows is always the best… LA, New York, London and Madrid over the last few years have all been amazing.

Sean-Morris-Vest-Dresses
Desert Fury 2 colour, hand screen printed vest dresses by Sean Morris.