At Bat & Hockey Play

"At Bat" 12x12, acrylic on canvas

This was my first attempt at painting using only whites, blacks, and grays.  I feel like every attempt I've made with that pallet has always lead to unexpected results, most especially with my more recent work.  To be honest, I also chose those colors based off the colors of the Chicago White Sox.  I've had the idea of trying to do more sports figures with team colors, but haven't followed through with that idea yet.

So obviously, with the painting being based around a local sports team, you would think I sold it to someone from around the area.  No!  As a matter of fact, it ended up being purchased by someone in Utah.  Go figure...  Just goes to show that you never know where these will end up.  The nice thing is, the sale of this painting resulted in the commission of a second painting to this client of a hockey player.

"Hockey Play" 12x12, acrylic on canvas

This ended up being my second attempt at using a more restricted color pallet, mostly black, white, and gray again, but with some red and blue thrown into the mix as well.  The client wanted it to compliment "At Bat," and go with their collection of hockey memorabilia at the same time, hence the red and blue.

The tricky thing with painting sports figures in this style is having the figure make sense with all the weird bulges and shapes of any pads, helmets, or equipment he could be wearing.  Whereas when I'm working with a simple figure pose that I can decide whether or not to depict clothing, I'm forced to acknowledge and work with whatever uniform and equipment a football or hockey player might have.  It's an interesting challenge, having to make sense of the contours of a hockey player, especially with how bulky they are.  The hockey stick and skates were tricky too.  I can only imagine how my first painting of a football player will go...