Painted baseball cards: a bit of creativity while we stare outside the window and wait for spring

 

Rogers Hornsby, one of the greatest hitters of all time, famously said that during the winter he stared outside the window waiting for spring. This year, it's especially apt to think of him as we wait for the end of the pandemic. It's been an awfully long time since my last post. A year filled with pandemic drama, social distancing, drama, and generally adjusting to a new normal will do that to you.

Since March, I've returned to collecting baseball cards, something that I did many years ago, and never really gave up, but I've been doing a lot of thinking about them, especially how they fit in to the broader world of art and design. I love how they reflect trends in commercial art, and the number of enthusiasts--of all kinds--who are taking cards and making the art their own has been truly inspiring. I joined SABR, the Society for American Baseball Research, and began to both research baseball cards as art and make my own. 

Thanks to the Babe Ruth Chapter,  was able to present my research earlier this fall, and I also started to paint on vintage baseball cards from the 1980s through last year. My first gallery is here (or if you choose "Handpainted Vintage Baseball Cards" from the "Pages menu), and watch the pages on this blog for more as I post them.

I've intended these cards to see what's possible, but if you are interested in them, please let me know. When I make art it's for myself and for the world at large. Especially now, it's to make a point for our pandemic-affected world that as hard as it is to stay indoors separated from many of the people and the things we love, there is still a place for creating. Here's to making new things so that when we can get back into baseball, picnics, family events, and other gatherings, we can always create and add something to our world.