Elephant on metal with rust and paint .
Mural of an historical Negro League game , depicting
Satchel Paige .
Once ready , he hand-grinds the metal to achieve different textures and thickness . Then transparent paint is applied . The result is that as the light beams down on the artwork , it seems to move . It ’ s almost impossible to capture this effect in a still photograph , but there are excellent short films that demonstrate this on his Instagram page @ mycoffeyshop .
Sometimes the frame becomes part of the artwork itself , as with the elephant work pictured here .
Besides his work on steel , Coffey is an excellent illustrator , and produces a huge amount of portraiture . Many of his pieces are commissioned portraits of newborn babies , and his pet portraits are especially popular . He is already booked for pet portraits as the Christmas season approaches .
One very important work that depicts a part of history is that of a Negro League game , which is located at the Steel City Arts Foundation in Stanton Heights . The mural is titled , “ The Pittsburgh Crawfords and the Bismarck Churchills at Forbes Field ,” and depicts the actual game , featuring players such as Josh Gibson , Cool Papa Bell and the legendary Satchel Paige .
Coffey , who ’ s been painting since the age of 5 , also paints on canvas . He creates beautiful furniture pieces of wood , and even created a replica of a shipwreck for the Underwater Museum of Florida in Miramar Beach . The shipwreck is made of aluminium and cladding and is submerged , where it will grow into its surroundings as sealife adheres to it .
“ I applied for the grant to do this and was randomly accepted ,” says Coffey with humility . In reality , hundreds or even thousands of artists are applying for these grants and the competition is stiff .
The Chambersburg native came to Pittsburgh in 2005 to attend the Art Institute . He ’ s had his studio for 10 years , and things are going well . He had finished 10 pieces of art in the previous week and sold four . His art is in high demand , and the demand is increasing .
He ’ s inspired by what he sees around him . “ It ’ s about being out in life , the people and things I interact with , the nature I get to experience ,” says Coffey .
You can see more of Sean Coffey ’ s work at coffey-shop . com . n
16 724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE ❘ icmags . com