Portrait of a Baseball Fan

My latest commission,  a portrait of a young fan, in pastel from photographs.  At this point I have not had the pleasure of meeting this handsome young man.  I have painted all three grandchildren in this particular family, each of them wearing a St. Louis Cardinal's shirt. The red color is eye catching, a little tough to do in pastel.  Cardinal fans are very, very loyal, and they start quite young.

Painting this picture brought back memories and a little nostalgia for me. My Dad was also  Cardinal's fan and spent many happy hours watching the games on television.  He lived with us for the last seven years of his life, and we knew when the Cardinals were playing because he would start to sing, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."  What a great day for him, when his beloved team won the World Series!  He won the bragging rights over his sister who lives in Chicago. Funny how it is the little things that you miss...

My roots are in portraiture, and for many years I considered myself a portrait artist. Capturing faces on canvas or paper is still a great adventure for me. It is a little more challenging than other types of art, but what a great feeling when you know that you finally "got 'em!"