Art by Juan Rosales

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Satchel Paige Prismacolor Sketch

Here's a grayscale Prismacolor sketch I recently completed of Baseball Hall of Famer Satchel Paige.

HOF Sketch Card Project: Rogers Hornsby

Nicknamed "The Rajah", Rogers Hornsby played 23 seasons in the Major Leagues, during which time he established himself as one of the greatest hitters in the game's history. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1915–1926, 1933), New York Giants (1927), Boston Braves (1928), Chicago Cubs (1929–1932), and St. Louis Browns (1933–1937). Hornsby would finish his career with 2,930 hits, 301 home runs, and a .358 batting average. The winner of 2 Triple Crowns, Hornsby would bat .400 or more 3 times during his career. He was named the National League MVP twice, and was a member of one World Series championship team. After retiring as a player, he managed the Browns in 1952 and the Cincinnati Reds from 1952 to 1953. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1942.

I completed this sketch card in November 2012.

Ten random facts about Rogers Hornsby:

His first Major League hit came on September 13, 1915 against fellow Hall of Famer Rube Marquard.
Hornsby's career batting average of .358 is second to only Ty Cobb in MLB history.
He is the only player to hit 40 home runs and bat .400 in the same year (1922).
On September 13, 1931, Hornsby became the first big leaguer to connect for an extra-inning, pinch-hit grand slam, as his Cubs defeated the Braves in 11 innings, 11-7.
He became a scout and third base coach for the expansion New York Mets in 1962, one year before his death.
Hornsby led the National League in slugging percentage nine times, a record that still stands.
An intense competitor, Hornsby was known as being difficult to get along with and was not well-liked by his fellow players.
Hornsby was an avid gambler and would end up losing much of his earnings over the course of his lifetime.
He won seven batting titles in total, a feat tied or exceeded by only five players (Cobb, Tony Gwynn, Honus Wagner, Rod Carew, and Stan Musial).
He hit more home runs, drove in more runs, and had a higher batting average than any other National League player during the 1920s, which makes him one of 4 players in baseball history (along with Honus Wagner, Ted Williams, and Albert Pujols) to win a decade "triple crown".

Curtis Granderson Prismacolor Sketch

Here's a color sketch card I created of Yankees star Curtis Granderson, using Prismacolor pencils.

Sandy Koufax Prismacolor Sketch

Here's a grayscale sketch I created of Baseball Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax. It was created using Prismacolor pencils.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

HOF Sketch Card Project: Nolan Ryan

One of the most dominant and intimidating pitchers to ever take the mound, Nolan Ryan spent a Major League-record 27 seasons with the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers from 1966 to 1993. Nicknamed "The Ryan Express", the hard-throwing hurler regularly hit 100 miles per hour with his fastball, and is famous for holding the all-time career strikeout record (5,714), as well as pitching more no-hitters (7) than any other pitcher in history. Ryan was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 - his first year of eligibility - as he was named on an astounding 98.8% of the ballots; he fell only 6 votes short of a unanimous election, and remains second behind Tom Seaver for the highest voting percentage ever.

I completed these sketch cards in October 2012.

I completed this sketch card in November 2012.

10 random facts about Nolan Ryan:

In 1973, Ryan set his first major record when he struck out 383 batters in one season, beating Sandy Koufax's old mark by one.
On April 27, 1983, Ryan would eclipse Walter Johnson's career strikeout record by collecting his 3,509th strikeout against Brad Mills of the Montreal Expos.
Upon signing with the Texas Rangers before the 1989 season, he would become the first player to play for all four MLB original expansion teams (the Mets, Angels, Houston Colt .45s/ Astros and Washington Senators/Texas Rangers).
On August 6, 1992, Ryan had the first and only ejection of his career when he was ejected after engaging in a shouting match with Oakland Athletics outfielder Willie Wilson with 2 outs in the 9th inning.
Against the Oakland Athletics on August 22, 1989, Ryan struck out Rickey Henderson to become the only pitcher to record 5,000 career strikeouts.
Ryan is currently the only major league baseball player to have his number retired by at least 3 different teams (the Angels, Astros, and Rangers).
He was the final active player from the 1960s to retire from Major League Baseball, outlasting Carlton Fisk (the final active position player) by three months.
In February 2008, Nolan Ryan was hired as president of the Rangers.
Ryan played during the administrations of seven U.S. Presidents – Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, Jr., Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton – equaling a 20th Century record that had been set by Jim Kaat.
In 1995, the Texas State Legislature declared State Highway 288, which passes near Alvin, as the Nolan Ryan Expressway.

Sketch Card- Shane Walsh (The Walking Dead)...Graphite Style

One of my favorite scenes from The Walking Dead took place when villainous character Shane Walsh completed his transformation from human to zombie in Season 2. I have captured him as he appeared shortly after making this turn.