“There are some events when the earth is suffering, that need to be painted.” - Sean

She was born in Pasadena, CA in 1942. She began art school on complete scholarship at Chouinard in Los Angeles. No small feat. Artists like Edward Ruscha, Terry Allen, Guy Dill, Robert Irwin, Edith Head, John Altoon and Bob Mackie the designer all attended Chouinard.

It was the movie business that began Sullivan’s Commercial Art Career. Sullivan also worked several years as a medical illustrator, practicing the methodical deconstruction of the human body with tissue, skin and organs. Sullivan’s subjects morphed from academic canvases to alien worlds which seemed eerie and strange, no limitation to the universe captured in Sullivan's imagination" (From the book Sean Sullivan “A Retrospective”). Sean Sullivan was the president of the San Diego Art Institute for several years.

Images of her works from the Cooprider Family Collection are included in her catalog "Sean Sullivan - A Retrospective" available on Amazon.

"Sean Sullivan did not discover that she was an artist in any unusual way. Rather it simply occurred to her in high school that she could draw, that she understood composition and that she like to paint. These gifts brought her notice and recognition, and the knowledge that creating art makes for a special and powerful relationship between people."

"Sean was an artist-in residence at the Rhode Island School of Design and did an endless collection of paintings for the Roy Rogers Museum. She painted for shows, whether it be the AIDS crisis or the Gulf War, her observations remain committed to the power of life, the certainty of death...."