A Final Call To Help Support An Artist

I am making a post tonight to let everyone know that Mike James’ Indiegogo campaign is coming to a close and if anyone was interested in supporting an artist produce his own trading card set you can take a look at his campaign page for Welcome to the Show trading cards.

 

Mike has self-funded this set and anyone who makes a donation will earn various perks which include packs, autographs, parallel cards and sketch cards. I have made a donation (two pack perk) and if you are interested here is the link to the Welcome To The Show Trading Cards campaign.

Help Support An Artist

Tonight I want to talk about a fellow artist who I have talked about before here, Mike James. A couple of years ago I had done an interview with him and he donated a John Wall sketch card so I could give it away on my blog.

 

Now he is working on his first independent set, something close to his heart, called “Welcome to the Show”. I did not know this but Mike was a sideshow performer for years and that is what the theme of his set is built upon. To reach his goal of releasing the set he has set up a campaign using Indiegogo to bring the set to reality.

 

I have backed the campaign (I did the two pack perk) and while I do not have a personal connection to Mike James I do love his work and completely support him on this endeavor and I am posting this in hopes that others feel the same way about supporting him.

 

If you are interested in supporting him take a look at his Indiegogo campaign page.

Things That Make Me Sad

 

In the 2015 Topps Museum Collection release there is a cool insert, the 50-card Canvas Collection Reprints set. The set contains modern and retired players recreated from previous Topps cards by some of the top artists. There is also a #1/1 Originals parallel which are sketch cards by various artists based on the Reprints set.

Ken Griffey Jr. has two cards included on the Canvas Collection Reprints (posted above), both illustrated by the amazing Brad Utterstrom, also known as Bradu. Brad did sketch versions too with the Reds version showing up the other day for a $1299 BIN price. Here is Brad's sketch card that is currently for auction.

Another one showed up last week, the artist name is difficult to read it kind of looks like Elmo Perez but I have not been able to find an artist list for the set so I am not certain. The card initially was set with a $175 BIN, when it ended the seller dropped it to a $75 BIN and yesterday the seller removed the card from auction.

 I call it "Derp Griffey", just let the card sink in…

I am a sketch artist and this makes me sad. I have been drawing since I was a kid, I spent 4 years at the Art Institute drawing and I have been doing sketch cards for the past 5-6 years and I personally don’t feel my work is worthy of appearing in a Topps set and then I see cards like this and wonder what the Topps rep thought when they got the cards back from the artist.

So far I have found three other cards from this artist and they are all disappointing. I am really surprised Topps greenlighted these cards they really are not the quality you would expect from a Topps commissioned artist.

Ferguson Jenkins

Clayton Kershaw

Mike Trout

I have done sketch cards on commission, I have included cards in outgoing trade packages and I am working on pieces to submit to Island Dreams and I am very critical of my own work so I try not to rip another artist’s work but I know that even my 9-year old nephew could do better work in his 3^rd Grade art class.

 

If I pulled this crayon sketch card, it does appear at least to be crayon, out of a box of Museum Collection after spending $175-200 I would be livid.

 

Topps Offers Live Sketch Cards At The NYCC

Next week the New York Comic Con opens, 10/11-10/14, and Topps decided to bring something original to the table. This year there will be a collection of illustrators who have worked on various Topps’ releases and they will be creating free hand-drawn sketch cards to be given away by Topps. Each card will be a 1/1 and they will be marked as a NYCC exclusive.

 

The cards will include Mars Attacks, Garbage Pail Kids and Wacky Package themed sketches.

 

The artists scheduled to be participating over the four days of the Comic Con:

Jason Brower
Jacob Chabot
Jason Edmiston
Chris Giarrusso
David Gross
Mark Pingitore
Joe Simko
Jeff Zapata

Jared Kelley Signs With In The Game

Back in July I highlighted artist Jared Kelley and his Upper Deck Masterpiece cards of Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe and Mark Messier. You may also recognize his name if you are a fan of the 2011 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions release, Jared is the artist who painted half of the US Presidents Goodwin Masterpieces cards. A couple of his Presidential Masterpiece cards are currently up for auction including a James Madison, a James Monroe and a Zachary Taylor.

He is in collecting news again with his recent signing deal with In The Game where he will be producing work for the 2012 Sport Kings Series E; set to be released early next year. According to Dr. Price, he is hoping to add something new to his products and as a fan of Jared’s work I am looking forward to his new artwork.

I have talked with Jared and he let me know that the Magic Johnson card that is appearing with the announcement is in fact one of his paintings that will be included in the 2012 Sport King Series E release.

To keep up with his work you can follow Jared’s blog.

Gypsy Queen Sketch-Relic Cards Follow Up

Yesterday I posted a story about the new Topps Gypsy Queen sketch relic cards. Each card is hand painted by artist Monty Sheldon. This morning Monty Sheldon left a comment on yesterday’s posting explaining the process on how these cards were created. I still would have loved to see these cards as a complete hand painted card sans relic but this is definitely something original by Topps and they did use amazing patches so I can understand the collectability with them.

Sheldon posted the 4-panel process with each card from origination to completion and it is quite cool to see each step. One cool thing that you will notice is that he changed some of the backgrounds from the original images, this worked out well because they highlight the player so much better plus it gives each card a more “historical” feel. Here are some of my favorites from the set starting with my Mariners and ending with the hometown Diamondbacks (including an old school D-Backs Schilling). I don't know why but the Gaylord Perry calls to me, probably because of the hideous 1970s-80s Padres uniforms.

Click each image to see a larger version.



Ichiro




Gaylord Perry




Albert Pujols




Cal Ripken Jr.




Old School Black & Purple D-Backs Curt Schilling




Modern D-Backs Brick Red & Black Justin Upton



All images are courtesy of Monty Sheldon (via his Facebook page)

Gypsy Queen Sketch-Relic Cards

Last Saturday artist Monty Sheldon, a well-known and very talented artist, posted images of some 1/1 sketch cards that he completed for the upcoming Topps Gypsy Queen release. The detail that went in to these hand painted cards is amazing. Just look at the uniform of Ichiro, the folds of the fabric and shading is so in depth it looks almost real. The effort Sheldon took to detail every player individually takes real talent. Ozzie’s facial hair is a perfect example of the time he took to paint these cards.

With that being said I have to say that the relics added are like a blemish to these cards, almost a slap to the face of Monty Sheldon. They weaken the design and flow of the card and obscure the time and effort that the artist put in to the card. Why would Topps do this? I realize that Topps went with some amazing patches in most of the cards but in my opinion ruined a great card.

I have to ask, why would Topps use beautiful multi-colored patches in 21 of the cards but make the Red Sox (and Victor Martinez) fans endure plain jersey swatches? (I included Victor Martinez with the Sox because his swatch is from when he was with the Red Sox). Even Gaylord Perry’s plain swatch is multi-colored yellow.

I am truly saddened that Topps would do this to an amazing 1/1 sketch card. If this was the original plan why would they not have Sheldon paint 2 of each card with one being the sketch card and the other being the sketch relic card? As an artist myself I would be more content to have a complete sketch card instead of one containing a patch.

Meet The Artist- Mike James Part II

As part of the conversations I have had with Candian artist Mike James I recently did an interview about his art work as well as his sports and team alligiences.


- I have to ask, are you a collector? If so what do you prefer to collect?

"I used to be a big baseball card collector starting in the early 90s - once I started painting full time in the 2000s I switched to being a hockey card collector - most of the paintings I was doing were of hockey players, so I used them as reference often. I have stopped collecting almost completely now - just buying the odd card here and there."


- How long have you been creating sports related artwork?

"I have been painting since the mid-90s. I started painting portraits on baseballs as a way to pay my way through university. Most of the work that I do now is sketches and painted jerseys. I was painting full time 7 or 8 years ago, but now I work full time, so this has become more of a hobby."


- What is your favorite sport and do you have a favorite player/team?

"Growing up, Cal Ripken was my favorite player, and I used to go to see the Orioles play every time they came to see the Blue Jays. I am still a big baseball fan and hockey fan as well (although I am Canadian but don't know how to skate!!!) - As for hockey, my favorite player is (Alexander) Ovechkin, but mostly because I really enjoy painting him as he is very distinctive looking."


- I have seen your work appear on jerseys, baseballs, canvases and sketch cards; do you have a favorite medium that you prefer to work with?

"I started with pencil crayons, and moved onto acrylics. I prefer not to use oil paint because I can't get the same type of detail that I can with the acrylics. I have only started using pencils again this past year."


- I first came across your work while writing a piece about the Topps You Sketch It cards. Using the Topps Sketch It cards you created a number of ACEO cards; will you continue using these cards or similar opportunities?

"I started sketching my own cards last year before the Topps 'You Sketch it' cards came out - the first custom group were not nearly as detailed as the ones I am producing now - took me a little while to get back into the swing with pencils as I hadn't used them in quite some time. I have done a number of the Topps cards now - mostly for collectors, but some of them I have sent in to Topps to see how they do."


-Is this where you sell your work or is there a way that interested collectors can find your work or get in touch with you?

"I only list items here and there to showcase my work when I don't have any other art on the go - my (eBay) user-name is all-star2002. If people are interested in my work, they can email me at this address: allstarillustrations- as long as they know that this is a part time gig, so never sure what my schedule is like."


- We have seen your work appear in the hobby before, in the 2003-04 Be A Player “Brush With Greatness” insert & jersey grand prize, do you have anything coming up in the near future that collectors can be looking forward to?

"Ahh...there are some things in the works, but don't want to give too much away...but if you look closely at some of the images that have been released from the new upcoming Heroes and Prospects baseball set...you might just see a pencil sketch or two..."


- Can you highlight some of your work over the years?

"The main charities/people that I have worked for over the past number of years include: The Children's Aid Foundation on and off in the 90s with painted baseballs of Blue Jays players, Shoot for a Cure, Great North Road - I did a few pieces for Frameworth, and I have also done numerous paintings for Jason Ward (of the Canadiens, Rangers, Kings etc...) and a number of other players as well


Keep an eye for a forth coming follow up to my conversation with artist Mike James, I will be completing my "Meet The Artist- Mike James" segment with a final posting including some more of his artwork and possibly a special contest.

Meet The Artist- Mike James: Part I

I would like to begin my post with an apology to artist Mike James. I made some assumptions and accusations without knowing the full facts and I am truly sorry for not doing more investigation before writing out my original post regarding his artwork.


Back in June I wrote up a post titled "You Sketch It... I Sketch It" about the "You Sketch It" cards that Topps was including in random packs of the 2010 Topps Baseball release. The cool thing about these “You Sketch It” cards is that artists, both established and aspiring, were able to create their own personal sketch cards and submit them to Topps to possibly be included in future releases. These cards were also being used by artists to sell their work using a dedicated medium (the Topps sketch cards), often people were jumping on the Stras band wagon and attempting to make big bucks with their sketches. Tonight’s post is about how things are not always as they seem.

In my post I pinpointed three specific sketch cards, a Strasburg, Ichiro and Abraham Lincoln card being auctioned for a price that I felt was a bit high. Imagine my surprise when the artist who created these cards contacted me regarding my post.

The artist is none other then Canadian artist Mike James. If you are a hockey collector you may recognize his name, he worked with In The Game and created the 2003-04 Be A Player Memorabilia “Brush With Greatness” insert set and the corresponding contest where collectors could win a Mike James one-of-a-kind hand pained jersey for specific players.

Since August Mike and I have had an on-going conversation, definitely a highlight for any collector and we discussed a number of points that I included in my original post.

First, regarding the prices, Mike let me know that he actually was not intending on selling the cards at that $60-75 price points but was actually garnishing interest in his work which worked out well. He was commissioned to create additional custom cards and eventually sold off the original three sketch cards at a much lower price.

Second, I brought up the $12.00 shipping cost, which many eBay buyers would agree is a high price. I never took in to consideration that these cards are coming from Canada, not the U.S. Mike wanted to make sure that each card was not only shipped securely but also offered the protection of tracking with his orders and this is what brought the price up. Considering that we are dealing with 1/1 custom sketch cards being sent internationally, tracking is definitely something that is needed to protect both the artist and the collector.

I want to thank Mike for taking the time to contact me and for being as personal as he has been. I made the incorrect assumption that he was just trying to make money on Strasburg and the “You Sketch It” phenomenon and that was unfair of me.

I conducted an interview with Mike and will be posting that up soon as Part II to this post. He has sent me some images of examples of his work and I will be including those images with Part II.

2009 Topps National Chicle

Today Topps released a sneak peak of an all-painted set, the 2009 Topps National Chicle Football set, which is scheduled to be released later this year. No other information has been released besides a preview of a single card, Mark Sanchez, and a list of the artists who provided work towards the set.

The artists include:

Ken Branch
Jason Davies
Brett Farr
Chris Henderson
Don Higgins
Dave Hobrecht
Brian Kong
Mike Kupka
Paul Lempa
Monty Sheldon

Being a vintage collector I love the original 1935 National Chicle set and more or less I have been impressed by many of the retro releases over the last few years but I do not see any connection between the original set and the Topps 2009 National Chicle set.

As an artist I am intrigued here and I will reserve judgment until more information is released and I can get a better overview at what is to come from the set.