Sean Ellmore is the furthest thing from a starving artist; if anything, after working with the world’s biggest stars, he wants more. “I see myself as a paparazzi with a paintbrush,” the now LA-based illustrator tells Beyond The Pines about his portraits– a mixture of pop culture milestones and a travel-sized Winsor and Newton watercolor palette– which can be seen covering (one of) Miley Cyrus’s glam room walls in an Architectural Digest feature from 2020. Though Cyrus is a recurring customer of Ellmore, the 28-year-old has also worked with the likes of Doja Cat, Charli XCX, Lorde, Kim Petras, and once received a funny commision request from Chrissy Teigen.
“She [Teigen] commissioned me to create this hilarious piece of Reba McEntire and a baby elephant hugging, holding wine glasses,” said Ellmore. “It was an inside joke between her and her friend Yashar Ali. Chrissy had it printed on a dinner plate, and that was one of the weirdest commissions I’ve ever had.”
However, Ellmore is better known as TikTok’s pop culture encyclopedia under @seansartaccount, with his informative paint lessons attracting nearly 500,000 followers and millions of likes. Whether he wants to recreate a professional photograph or put his own spin on a low-quality 2000s TMZ scene, his game is mastering the iconic, making sure people know that Justin Timberlake did not directly apologize for ripping off Janet Jackson’s chest plate during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show. Ellmore’s secret weapon, a black blow dryer, also makes numerous cameos, which caps his entire painting process to just over an hour.
“I’ve always loved watching deep dives on literally anything. For example, so many iconic historic [read iconic] events came from Lindsey Lohan calling Paris Hilton the C-word, which is my favorite pop culture moment ever!” Sean details the origins of his Pop Culture Paint Lessons on TikTok. “I thought, ‘Why not paint it and tell the story behind it?’ No one else was doing that kind of long-form content on TikTok.
“The script and research came together really easily. When I posted it, the video got a million views within a few hours,” Ellmore continued. “People were like, ‘Oh, we love this.’ So I kept dusting off the pop culture history books for each video, and each one kept getting more views”. The ongoing series has attracted brands like the NFL, MTV, and Spotify to create similar content.
Ahead, Beyond The Pines catches up with the LA illustrator, delving into Ellmore’s personal inspirations, pop culture beginnings, and favorite celebrity happenings.
BEYOND THE PINES: What drove your interest in pop culture?
Sean Ellmore: I don’t know the exact moment, but I remember being very aware of Britney Spears during the “Blackout era” in middle school. I was so absorbed in the celebrity gossip of the Paris-Lindsay-Britney era and wished I was ten years older so I could actually be a part of it. I would see all the headlines and read the magazines in grocery stores or snoop on my parents’ computer to follow all the celebrity news. I’d look at sites like Perez Hilton and thought it was all so juicy. It’s weird that I was so young trying to figure all this out.
BTP: Has celebrity portraiture always been the focus of your art?
SE: I was really drawn to movies; my big thing when I was little was “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Wizard of Oz”. I would ask my mom and grandmother to draw things from those movies for me when I was two years old because I wanted to carry the pictures around. But they weren’t good enough, so I started doing it myself.
The first time I tried to take art seriously and learned how to shade things was in 2009. It was a portrait of Lady Gaga [from MTV’s Video Music Awards], and from then on, it’s basically been portraits. I never strayed away from that.
BTP: How do you go about selecting reference images for your paintings?
SE: Sometimes I’ll see a picture and immediately know, ‘That’s it.’ Other times, especially with older moments like from the early 2000s, there might only be low-quality photos or videos, so I have to create my own version. I’ll take reference photos of people’s faces and recreate the scene using different elements. I try to pick the most famous or recognizable image when it’s a more iconic moment. But there’s not always a rhyme or reason—I just know when I see it.
BTP: Can you walk me through your art process from start to finish?
SE: I always start by sketching on my iPad because if you sketch directly on watercolor paper and erase, it ruins the surface. I transfer the sketch to watercolor paper using my computer screen as a lightbox. Then, I start with a base layer of pink or red tones to lay down the shadows. After that, I build up the flesh tones layer by layer.
I don’t mix colors on a palette; I mix them directly on the paper. I also use a travel watercolor palette because I hate using tubes and mixing colors. I use a blow dryer between each layer to speed things up because I’m very impatient. Once I’ve finished the painting, I scan it and digitally add highlights to make it pop more.”
BTP: Who have you enjoyed working with most?
SE: Miley will always be a favorite. Her projects are always fun and random. One of my favorites was also Charli XCX: I did a bunch of work for her “How I’m Feeling Now” (2020) album and booklet. That was super cool, especially since we got close during the “Pop 2” era.
Another favorite was Chrissy Teigen. She had me paint this bizarre illustration of Reba McEntire and a baby elephant hugging as a joke for her friend Yashar Ali. That commission was hilarious because it was printed on a dinner plate.
BTP: How did your friendship with Miley Cyrus begin, and how did it lead to the wallpaper in her bathroom?
SE: I’ve been a Miley fan since the first episode of “Hannah Montana”. When I started getting into art, which I’ve always done, I started getting into fan art, specifically drawn to painting her. I would always do art from the “Bangerz” era and post it on Twitter. Many Miley fans and big fan accounts would repost it, but I never got her attention. But all of her fans followed me and were like, ‘Make prints, and we’ll buy it,’ so I started making money from it. I got invited to Miley’s events, and all of her team knew who I was. In 2019, she finally started liking my stuff, and I was like, “Oh hey, finally! After ten years!”
Then COVID happened, and she reposted one of my paintings on her Instagram story. I had open DMs with her, and when she was doing her “Bright Minded” live show on Instagram, she posted that she was looking for artists and animators to collaborate with for the intro. I sent her a DM with animations I had made of her before, and she responded with, ‘Holy shit, this is amazing!’ Then she followed me, asked for my email, and hired me to do some work.
She later asked me to create wallpaper for her house. She wanted it to feature every iconic hairstyle she’d had throughout her career, from “Hannah Montana” to “Plastic Hearts”. We collaborated, and I made 32 portraits for the wallpaper that was part of her house renovation for Architectural Digest. It was all very collaborative, and I got to play with so many details. I gagged when I saw the final result.
BTP: Is there anyone you’re still dying to work with?
Sean Ellmore: Lady Gaga is definitely on my list. She was the subject of my first fan art, so working with her would be a full-circle moment. I’d also love to do more work with Madonna. I’ve done some advertising for her, but I’d love to do something directly for her. I also love the whole pop music scene, so I’d happily work with any of the pop girls—except maybe Dua Lipa. I’d still do something for her if she asked, but she’s not at the top of my list.
BTP: What does pop culture mean to you, and what does it mean to capture it in your portraits?
SE: Pop culture is the ultimate escape. Growing up as a closeted gay kid in a small town in Pennsylvania, I couldn’t relate to people the way I wanted to, so I’d escape into the glamorous lives of celebrities and the fantasy lands of some classic films. Now, it’s crazy that I can walk into a room, and those people I once idolized can be there. It’s still an escape, but it’s also something that’s much more tangible now.
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BTP: Have you considered opening a gallery in LA for a few months to showcase your work?__
SE: Yes, I’ve been talking about doing a solo show for a while. The issue is paying to frame and hang everything because I have around 300 paintings. I’ve done gallery shows before but want to do a solo exhibit with more locations. I’d love to have it in LA, then take it to New York, Philadelphia, and maybe other places. It’s something I’m super excited about.
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