An Authentic Dedication to Traditional Craftsmanship for Over 35 Years

With over 35 years of experience, 2nd generation Visual Artist and Master Gilder Sean Starr has been creating original art and providing gilding, decorative painting, custom mirrors, restorations, and sign painting services to other artists, architects, interior designers, collectors, sacred spaces and business owners throughout the United States and abroad.

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  • Reese Witherspoon in a pink and blue floral dress exiting a clothing store, smiling with arms open wide.

    Draper James Highland Park Village Dallas

  • View through glass door of the café at Waldorf Astoria Orlando, showing a counter with staff, shelves with snacks and drinks, and modern hanging lights.

    Waldorf-Astoria Orlando Disney World

  • Glass door of Le Margot restaurant with logo featuring a pearl inside an open oyster shell

    Le Margot Fort Worth

  • Display window of Rag & Bone store in New York featuring white sneakers, orange sandals, a white hat with wide brim, hung denim jeans, and a brown handbag.

    Rag & Bone Houston Galleria

  • The photo shows the storefront window of Pookie's Patisserie, displaying a vintage green scooter with a wicker basket filled with green boxes parked inside. Outside, there is a white wicker chair and a round marble-topped table in front of the window.

    Pookie's Patisserie Kerrville

Gold Leaf Sign Projects
  • Exterior of a modern building with a large central glass door revealing industrial machinery inside, flanked by trees and lighting at dusk.

    TX Whiskey Fort Worth

  • Inside of an airport Starbucks with a black wall featuring gold illustrations of mythical sea creatures. Three people are sitting at a table, and one person is standing at the coffee bar with luggage.

    Starbucks DFW Airport

  • Sign for Dallas Farmers Market with yellow background, large white and blue text, a rooster illustration, and benches in front.

    Dallas Farmer's Market

  • Large vintage sign for the city of Grapevine, featuring neon lights and a yellow arrow, with an American flag nearby against a clear blue sky.

    City of Grapevine Museums

  • Two large metal silos with logos and text, advertising Rahr & Sons Brewing Company, set outdoors against a partly cloudy sky.

    Rahr Brewery Fort Worth

Sign Painting Projects
  • Decorative framed mirror with gold detailing and the text 'Costello's Dallas' and a crest, reflecting a kitchen or bar area.

    Private Residence Dallas

  • Interior of a restaurant with tables set for dining, a large mirror with a decorative tree branch design, exposed brick walls, and warm lighting.

    Rumi's Kitchen Houston

  • Elegant dining room with wood-paneled walls, ornate ceiling, and a large mirror reflecting the person taking the photo. There is a long table covered with a white tablecloth and three brass candle holders, red upholstered chairs, a fireplace, and a framed painting of a horse on the wall.

    Drake's Hollywood Dallas

  • Private Residence Texas Hill Country

  • Artist Sean Starr wearing a wide-brimmed hat and white shirt standing behind a counter, with a vintage-style mirror frame and shelves of leather goods and accessories in the background.

    Vagabond Hats Dallas

Mirrors & Verre Eglomise Projects
  • Master Gilder Sean Starr stands on a scaffold next to a covered, gilded religious statue inside a brick-walled workshop or studio.

    St. Mary's Catholic Church College Station

  • Three workers celebrating atop a rooftop with a gilded decorative spire, with snow-capped mountains in the background.

    Historic Nugget Building Telluride, Colorado

  • Close-up of a golden Shiva statue with a detailed headpiece, blue eyes, and red lips. Background blurred.

    Shiva Nataraj Rudra Center Denton

  • A golden Buddha statue with traditional attire and jewelry, against a rusty metal background.

    Matreya Buddha Private Collection

  • Decorative gold-leafed sculpture resembling intertwined branches, placed on a wooden surface with a rusty, textured metal background.

    Gilded Basket Private Residence

Statuary, Architectural & Liturgical Gilding Projects
  • Vintage black racing car displayed on a platform at an auto show, with a gray backdrop featuring the text '1954 Ferrari 750 Monza Coachwork by Scaglietti' and 'The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award.' A trophy is positioned to the left of the car.

    1954 Ferrari Pebble Beach Concours D' Elegance Winner

  • Man wearing a helmet, goggles, and vintage riding gear sitting on a black Indian motorcycle with remnants of dirt flying around in an outdoor rural area with green grass and hills in the background.

    Indian Motorcycle Hill Climb Tribute Bike

  • A vintage red race car with the number 81 displayed on its side, inside a museum or showroom with other racing cars and memorabilia in the background.

    1930s Sprint Race Car

  • A vintage biplane with black fuselage and red wings parked on a concrete surface outdoors, with residential houses and a grassy area in the background.

    1929 Fleet Bi-Plane Silver Leaf

  • A boat with the name 'Dee Dee's Hafer' painted on it in gold and black lettering, along with the year 1948. The boat is white with a red bottom edge, and part of a vehicle and other boats can be seen in the background.

    1948 HaferCraft Concours D' Elegance Winner

Classic Car Lettering & Gilding Projects

Collaborations

  • The Cranberries "Ghost Sign" Project

  • GAP Jeans National Ad Campaign

  • Man wearing a helmet, goggles, and vintage riding gear sitting on a black Indian motorcycle with remnants of dirt flying around in an outdoor rural area with green grass and hills in the background.

    Indian Motorcycles Tribute Bike

  • Fort Worth Magazine Cover Art

  • Toadies "Heretics" Album Cover Art

Lectures & Live Painting

Sean has provided dozens of lectures and live painting demonstrations on gilding, sign painting and design at Museums, Universities, Arts Organizations and Corporations for over two decades.

Sean is an advocate for bringing awareness to the preservation of traditional craftsmanship.

2005: "Meet the Artist" and Studio Tour Tacoma Chamber of Commerce, Tacoma, Washington

2006: "Lyrical Abstraction" Exhibit Agora Gallery New York, New York

2012: "Lecture and Workshop" Texas Women's University, Denton, Texas

2015: "Lecture and Workshop" Limerick School for Arts & Design, Limerick, Ireland

2016: "AIGA Fresh Meet Series" American Institute of Graphic Arts Dallas, Dallas, Texas

2016: "WMC7 Guest Speaker" Weapons of Mass Creation 7, Cleveland, Ohio

2018: “For Hire: Contemporary Sign Painting in America” Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, Texas

2019: Private Corporate Design Talk Dallas, Texas

2020: Live Painting Groesbeck Grand Prix Groesbeck, Texas

2023: Live Painting Wheels Watches & Whiskey College Station, Texas

2023: AutoMoto Film Festival Talk with Artist Robert Williams Los Angeles, California

2024: "Gallery Talk: Gold Gilding and the Medieval Collection" Meadows Museum Dallas, Texas

2025: ASCO Equipment Live Painting Event San Antonio, Texas

2025: Private Talk “The History of Gold in Spiritual Practice and Freemasonry”- Robert Burns Masonic Lodge Round Rock, Texas

Want to Discuss a Lecture or Live Painting?

Art is Love: Nepal
The Award Winning Documentary

Art is Love: Nepal, filmed in 2019 and released in 2024, is hosted by Visual Artist Sean Starr and produced by filmmakers Daniel Driensky and Sarah Reyes of Exploredinary. The film explores the subject of preservation of the arts in Nepal amidst a rapidly transforming global society centered on technology through film and dialogue. Follow us as we travel to Nepal where we take a deep dive into the hand crafted work of multi generational artisans, the cultures of the people inhabiting remote Himalayan villages and the intricate temples and rituals of this diverse region. The name "Art is Love" refers to the selfless act of sharing one's creative talents with the larger community as an expression of love.

Watch the Documentary

Traditional Gun Engraving by Hand

In 2020, Sean's attention turned to traditional hand-gun engraving after studying under several of Texas's top gun engravers. Blending influences from Traditional Western and Native American designs with subtle elements of Art Nouveau and his background in sign painting and gilded glass, he has developed a unique, bold style, creating one-of-a-kind, never-repeated designs on each gun he engraves.

Starr Engraving