My Brother, The Talented Artist My little brother David wears many hats. One of them that I am most proud of is "Extremely Talented Arteest."
Dave has been taking art classes for as long as I can remember, and he always blows the assignments out of the water. They may not be ON TIME, especially, but they are always awesome and unbelievable.
This year, I asked David to create a painting for Robbie for Christmas. I have had an idea in my head that I have been wanting to do for Robbs for a long time, and I finally decided to do it, and found the right artist :)
There was a photo floating around online last year (I can't even find it to post on this blog) of Sidney Crosby on the ice, shot from above, and his shadow was changed to look like he was hoisting the Stanley Cup. This was a really great photo, and Robbie had it on his computer desktop for a long time.
I sent this photo to David, and said, "Go nuts."
This past weekend, I went to Springfield for a belated Christmas celebration with my family, and David delivered the painting. It exceeds my expectations and wildest hopes by miles.
This kid never ceases to amaze me with his talent and his eye for visual art. I took some photos of it last night, as it was out on the porch drying. The photos don't do the painting justice, of course, but I want to share it with the Humzoo community.
I hope you guys like it. Because Robbie and I sure do. We are going to build a mantle over the fireplace just for this painting.
Ladies and Gentlemen of Humzoo, I give you, Crosby on Ice, by David Gladish, acrylic on MDF.
You can kindof see the shadows of the skate lines in the ice. David had an awesome idea to make them really stand out. He glued white thread to the board, and then painted over it to create a 3D effect. It turned out SO amazing.
Thanks again David. Your painting is fantastic. Better than I ever could've asked for. I know how much work went into this, and I appreciate it more than I can ever describe!
What's Dave doing now? Missed you guys when you were in town.
-jon
Epic painting.
- Zach
I say make another one and see if Sid will give you big money for it!
If I may, I'd like to give some insightful critique:
1. It took genius to think of this idea, and the execution is totally creative (with the technique used for the skate lines in the ice).
2. I think that beyond the inevitable Stanley Cup win, this painting shows Sid's competitive yet modest attitude towards the game. I don't think that he flaunts any of his talent, he just uses it to take advantage of the opposition, and if he doesn't take advantage of them, he praises them for how well they played. Its hard to capture personality in a painting that doesn't show a face, but this painting just does it all.
3. I'm an artist myself, and could never dream of creating something so powerful. It took guts to create an image that is sports related, as sports are generally frowned upon by the uppity artistic community. This painting has it all: composition, excellent color, realism, fantasy, drama, and personality.
I'd love to see more of your brother's art work! Even if the Pens never get another cup with Sid, this painting will still mean something to those who view it in the sense that it will give them hope, and even if you only game so close to living a dream, at least you had the chance to chase it!
Thanks again for posting this, and thank your brother for creating a masterpiece!
I assure you, when we received the painting, we just sat and stared at it. When I first saw it, I really did cry. Ask my brother, I think it freaked him out.
Thanks for everyone's comments!
GO PENS!