Love and Heartbreak in Professional Sports

Posted by on May 24, 2012 No comments

Growing up a sports fan in the 80′s baseball was my first crush.  I loved the New York Mets and they were very, very good.  I would watch games on TV almost every night either on ESPN or TBS (even though they always showed the Braves and I hated the Braves).  Every morning I would grab The Washington Post sports page and scour the box scores and stats to see how my favorite players, Dwight “Doc” Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, had done and how they compared to the rest of the league.

The purity of my admiration didn’t last long, however, as both Gooden and Strawberry began to have drug problems that later derailed both of their careers. (as a side note, I’m aware Gooden still struggles with addiction and my heart goes out to him)

I was crushed by this, but continued to watch nightly, looking for new players to follow.

Then came the 1994-95 players strike.  I was 16 when this happened, and it pissed me off.  Major League Baseball had dumped me.  I swore off the game at that moment, and have never gone back.  Sure, I’ve gone to some games here and there over the course of the years, but I no longer follow it or love it, and I doubt I ever will again.  I haven’t watched more than a few innings on TV since then.

Being a sports fan, however, I needed to find a substitute.  Though I played soccer my whole life, I’ve never enjoyed watching it on TV.  And basketball and hockey just didn’t hook me.  So that left football.

The NFL.

I’d watched some football throughout my life, but after I gave up baseball, it became a passion for me.  And unlike in baseball my favorite team, the Washington Redskins, wasn’t any good.  Well, they had been good, but that was before I followed them, so it doesn’t really count.  So I had no expectations and I was rewarded with a sub-par team that rarely made it to the playoffs, let alone competed for a title, but that never let me down.

As time went on, my enjoyment of the NFL grew.  I came to appreciate other players and teams, and eventually started playing fantasy football.

To put it more succinctly, I was in love with the NFL.

Things were going great.  The Giants dashed New England’s hope for an undefeated season.  New Orleans won after hurricane Katrina.  Records were being broken left and right, and boy was it fun!  Sure, the Redskins were still bad, but they always were so no big deal!

Then they broke my heart.

I guess I should have seen it coming.  Reggie White died at 43.  There was the Spygate scandal.  And Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner, sure seemed to like to throw his power around.  But who, when in love, pays attention to the obvious signs that they’re about to be dumped?

But then an avalanche came: The lockout; suicides by former players who specifically avoided shooting themselves in the head so that their brain could be studied; thousands of former players suing over improper handling of concussions; and bounties, where coaches were actually paying players to hurt the players on other teams.

And yesterday, the NFL Players Association filed a $4,000,000,000 lawsuit against the league that employs them for collusion in imposing a secret salary cap on teams during what should have been an uncapped year.  And this last one involves my team, the Washington Redskins, who were penalized $36 million dollars because they ignored the secret and apparently illegal salary cap.

Fortunately for the NFL, the ‘skins drafted RGIII (and he’s just so darn likeable), so I’m still in the relationship, but for how much longer?

During all of this I happened to catch the first Capitals game of this year’s NHL playoffs.  I’ve never been a hockey fan and when I’d watched it in the past I found it too difficult to follow the puck or to understand what was going on.  After watching this first game, however, I was hooked.  Though the capitals eventually fell to the Rangers in game seven of the second round, I watched all 14 games they played in during the playoffs and came to appreciate and understand the game as I never had before.  I must admit, I felt something stirring.  Is it a crush?  Is it, dare I say, love?

NFL, I’m starting to think maybe we should take a break..

My Color Technique, Part 1

Posted by on April 30, 2012 No comments

Negative space is very important to me in my work.  Because of this I developed a technique for laying down color that adds an extra dimension and is particularly prevalent in large areas encompassing a single color (many of which are areas of negative space).

Rather than use an ink wash (or even the wedge end of the marker) my technique is to take the fine tip of the marker and fill the selected area one thin line at a time.  Here’s a photo to illustrate the technique:

The process can be grueling, as the entire color fill of an area must be completed in one sitting without any breaks.  This is because as I lay down each line next to the previous line, the adjacent lines bleed together slightly.  If I stop for too long (more than, say, a minute), the first line gets too dry and the second line doesn’t bleed into it.  Instead it bleeds on top of the first line, creating a darker line that is glaringly evident in the final product.

That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy doing my technique, because I actually enjoy it quite a bit: Up to a point.  On fill areas that take 2 hours or less, I find myself falling into an almost meditative state, what my wife and I like to call “The Zone.”  Longer fill areas, however, can become literally painful.  For my recent “Challenger” piece (a small sample of which is above) it took nearly four hours to complete the background fill and boy did my hand hurt!  My arm was numb and felt “dead” by the end.

Admittedly this takes A LOT longer, but the results are worth it.  My backgrounds and other negative space areas are filled with a power and energy that no wash could ever achieve.

The Oldest Tree in Savannah (Chandler Oak)

Posted by on April 25, 2012 No comments

This is a photo of the oldest tree in Savannah: It’s over 500 years old.  How many other trees do you think the Chandler Oak has spawned?

(Photo by Fran Dwight)

Friends

Posted by on April 24, 2012 No comments

I Love My Friends!

The Challenger Disaster

Posted by on April 12, 2012 No comments

On January 28, 1986 at 11:39 AM EST the Challenger space shuttle disintegrated above the Atlantic Ocean, killing all seven of it’s crew members, including teacher Christa McAuliffe.  NASA had arranged for the launch to be broadcast into many schools because of McAuliffe’s participation in their Teacher in Space Project, so many who were students at that time saw the destruction live.

I was one of those students, and the experience has had an important effect on me (which is why I’m currently working on a drawing about the disaster).  What’s more profound to me, however, is that an entire nation of children were also affected by this tragedy.

It’s very likely that most of the people who witnessed the tragedy as school children rarely, if ever, think about the effect that it’s had on them.  I was in third grade when this happened and I remember the teachers literally freaking out when they realized what had happened.  I remember seeing kids confused and crying.

Undoubtedly, this incident has impacted the way in which all of us who saw it as it unfolded think and have interacted with the world since that moment.  My current series, “The Other Side of the World,” aims to explore that underlying influence which guides us without us even realizing it, and how it connects us all in a deeply profound way.

Connecting Through Tragedy

Posted by on April 6, 2012 No comments

On April 26, 2011 an EF4 tornado struck Tuscaloosa, Alabama and the surrounding area, creating a path of devastation over 80 miles long and as wide as 1 1/2 miles. It took the lives of 43 people in Tuscaloosa alone. President Obama visited the site three days later and said that he had “never seen devastation like this.”

In September of 2011 my wife and I moved across country and one of our stops was in Tuscaloosa. As we were in town you could see remnants of the destruction. What I found more interesting, however, were the traces of how the people of the town came together after the tragedy. Several of the local restaurants had letters and other remembrances pinned to the walls.

It reminded me of the time just after the attacks of September 11, 2001 which, coincidentally, was about to hit it’s ten year anniversary. Most Americans can recall how we all came together then, putting aside any differences as a united whole, supporting each other through the tragedy.

My current series, “The Other Side of the World,” is all about connections.  Specifically how events connect us spiritually and how that impacts our present and future without us consciously realizing it.

When I look at events like 9/11 and Tuscaloosa, it reminds me that humanity, for all it’s faults, cares for itself.  As hard a shell as we may surround ourselves with as individuals in our day-to-day lives, it is our similarities, rather than our differences, that define us when the species is in danger or is hurting.

Jeremy Kennedy (http://table-blue.com/)

Posted by on March 31, 2012 No comments

My friend and fellow artist Jeremy Kennedy recently sent me two really nice pieces.  Here they are:

For a bunch more good stuff check out his website at http://table-blue.com/ !

New Titanic Print Available!

Posted by on March 29, 2012 No comments

I’m very happy to announce the release of my very first archival pigment print! For a mere $50 + shipping you can own your very own 20×24 copy of this piece commemorating the 100 year anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic! Check out my Etsy site for more information!
https;//www.etsy.com/shop/PiecesOfTheOtherSide?ref=ss_profile or click the Etsy link in the links section at the right side of this page!

The Shinmoedake Volcanic Eruption

Posted by on March 23, 2012 No comments

Here’s an amazing picture from The Shinmoedake Volcanic Eruption in Japan:

(I found it on TotallyCoolPix.com where there is lots of great photos, in case you’re interested!)

Talent

Posted by on March 15, 2012 No comments

When I was in elementary school there was a kid name Lacy who could draw really well.  We were into Transformers and Thundercats at the time and he would draw the coolest renditions of our favorite characters.  I was completely envious.

In my freshman year of high school I had a friend named Brian who could draw the most amazing action heroes.  They were the toughest, baddest mofos you’d ever seen.  The epitome of the anti-hero.  Again, I was jealous of his abilities.

I had an art teacher in my senior year of high school named Mr. Drexler.  He was able to bring out the best in his students, and was considered by both myself and my peers (as well as the other teachers in the department, I believe) as the best art teacher the school had to offer (and we actually had a pretty good art department).

He once said, “I don’t believe in talent.”

Even though I felt I had the mental makeup of an artist, for so long I truly believed that I’d never be able to draw as well as Lacy or Brian.  That their ability was inherent to them.  That they were talented.

This statement made me realize that I could learn to draw well.  Sure, to be truly good at something, it helps to have some affinity at it.  There are people who just understand numbers better or who are better with language or what have you.  But just because you’re “not good with language” doesn’t mean you can’t learn French.

Since then I’ve never had to question whether or not I’d be able to pull-off an artistic project I had in mind.  It’s just a matter of focus and perseverance.  Even now I don’t consider myself a “Drawer” (for lack of a better word).  Drawing is just the tool I’m using for my current body of work.  I also have a sculptural project in mind for my series The Other Side of the World, and there isn’t a doubt in my mind that I’ll succeed at it, even though it’s out of my comfort zone.

I don’t believe in talent.