I have had a lot of things going on over the last three years and I should have been blogging about all of them, but I a) didn't quite have the time, b) not all of the things keeping me busy were art related and c) the things that were art related were on the down low. But I'm now out of "stealth mode" and happy to announce the launch of my company All-American Sports Art.
About 16 years ago, I was working for a transportation company while trying to make my art a full time gig. After chasing down who was doing things I liked in the sports art world, I met Joe Macnak who was running a company called International Sports Decor. That company was publishing signed limited edition prints of legendary Dallas Cowboys painted by Vernon Wells. Wells had made a name for himself doing a series of images for Upper Deck trading cards in the early '90s and the line was well-received. Joe and I first met in 1994 and tried to put some limited edition lithograph deals together that would feature particular athletes. My work was featured in a sports art gallery at the Ballpark in Arlington at the time. Long story short, it's really tough to get those deals done, especially in the days before digital printing. In the era of off-set lithography, you would have to be out of pocket up front the cost of printing the entire edition, plus athletes like to have their money up front for each piece before a single item has sold. There is also the risk with athletes of professional athletes that the athlete could get caught doing something appalling and the market for his merchandise just goes away.
In 1996, Joe and I came up with the idea of creating art for the college football fan that takes the specific athlete out of the equation. I painted football uniform scenes for 20 major schools and we test marketed 8x10 and 16x20 matted and framed pieces to furniture stores around Texas. There was some interest, but not enough to get momentum.
Fast forward 14 years. I get a call from Joe out of the blue. We hadn't done much together in a while. I had moved around the country, started a company, gotten married, had a couple of kids, etc. Joe said that he had come across a company that provides art products for big box retailers nationwide and they had loved the concept of the college-themed sports art and home decor. Based on their feedback, we resurrected this project. Uniforms needed to be repainted to accommodate changes, backgrounds changed to reflect more modern sensibilities and in the end we added a broader variety of spirit products for each school. The result is a huge selection of canvas giclees that really speak to each school's alums. If you check out All-American Sports Art, you'll see over 450 product combinations for roughly 45 schools, as well a way to buy my original artwork and those Vernon Wells pieces I mentioned earlier. I am currently adding to the product line every day.
So, check me out. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and my college sports blog Old School All-American.
I promise to check in more often.
