In the Masters? – Nope. No Golf. Not This Year

Didn’t Go to the Masters

What did they tell me when I asked about playing in the Masters?  Nope. Not this year – or any.  I’m not even in the PGA.   Who was I informed by?  My old golfing boss who ran the golf driving range where I had worked.   Twice I asked him why and the third time he told me:  “Well, when you putt you are trying to putt straight, just like you are shooting arrows.” He said, “with all your practice you’d think you would be getting closer to the hole.”  But I wasn’t.  I still hadn’t learned to hook properly either on the greens or on the fairways.  At least I don’t cry after my sixth putt to the flag.  

The fairway – I don’t spend much time there.  I’m usually off to looking for my golf ball on either the left or right side of all that nice green grass.  And I walk the course, never using a caddy.  I have enough people in a foursome to laugh at my play – I don’t want to be paying for one more person to join in on the laugh track.  I lug that bag myself – with two ball retrievers – just in case I break one.

I’m not saying I don’t take my game seriously.  I do – I do everything possible to lower my scores.  I go to the driving range almost every day to hit a bucket of balls, bouncing them off of the golf picker out around a hundred and sixty yards - which is about as far as I can drive a ball.   I take lessons from a golf pro.  At least I think he is a pro because he does wear Bermuda shorts.  And the best thing I do to lower my score is to cheat.  Yeah, cheat.  Some days you’d think I was playing soccer out there, the way I can kick a ball around.  And I am good with a pencil too.  I certainly know how to add.  But I am much, much better at subtraction.

So where does all of this leave me?  Painting.  To relax I was told by my doctor take golf. It can be a relaxing hobby.  Nope.  Not relaxing.  So I took up painting.  The time lapse golf video you see here is a sample of what I do with paint.  It’s short – the demonstration is about 35 seconds and the actual sports art is about seven feet.  If you are on my blog you surely know that I am a sports artist, painting professionally for sports stadiums and arenas and other commercial projects.  I take commissions and would be happy to do a sports selfie of you playing your favorite sport.  You can reach me through my

contact pages

and I will be happy to discuss the possibilities with you.

Baseball Players on Steroids

Baseball and Steroids, Runs, Hits and Lots of Errors

The first thing a new season’s manager needs to tell the players is the difference between human growth hormones (HGH), bovine growth hormone (bGH)and no hormones – and it has nothing to do with utters. He needs to tell the players some side

effects of steroids are reversible but other effects are never changed in the minds of the public.

By taking steroids and bGH a player can inflate his statistics and his body. I don’t mean to pick on Mark McGwire but to use him as an example In 1996 McGwire hit 50 home runs with 390 official times at bat – every 7.8 times he was at the plate. Babe Ruth did that eating candy bars and "light drink." When listening to McGwire’s infamous performance before 

House Government Reform Committee

 in March 2005 there were short pauses while viewers smothered their faces with laughter. McGwire didn’t hit 135 home runs in two years eating bonbons. Originally the baseball was made so you couldn’t hit it easily, high, or far, so 60 home runs a season hitters are usually pituitary freaks. But we want our players to be made by nature not in the lab. Remember when baseball players were small? (For example: PeeWee Reese). Joe DIMaggiowas only 6 feet 2 inches and weighed 193 pounds. 

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? There is a generation out there that thinks DiMaggio invented the coffee maker. Like Joe DiMaggio, baseball players are symbols – of what things were what things are and what things will be. I guess we, as fans, get what we deserve. I just prefer not to see a some great ballplayer pumped up on steroids riding in a convertible waving to a frenzied crowd.

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Jackie Robinson Baseball Sports Art Painting


Jackie Robinson baseball sports art painting by artist John Robertson is 50" x 70" acrylic on unstretched canvas.

Jackie Robinson quote:

"Baseball is like a poker game. Nobody wants to quit when he's losing; nobody wants you to quit when you're ahead". ~Jackie Robinson

Importance of Jackie Robinson


How good was Jackie Robinson as a major league player.  Well,  MLB has a special day every year when they celebrate his achievements – April 15 (of course that is tax day also but they chose that day because it was April 15, 1947 when he played his first game in the majors at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York. And why do  they celebrate him?  Because he was the first African American Major League Baseball (MLB) player of the modern era.  He broke down the racial segregation barrier which had, in the past, relegated African-Americans to the Negro leagues for six decades.

Other Accomplishments


 He won Rookie of the Year in 1947 with a batting average of .297, 175 hits, 12 home runs, and 48 runs batted in.  In ten seasons he played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Championship. He was selected for six consecutive All-Star Games from 1949 to 1954, was the recipient of the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949 – the first black player so honored. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962 and he was the first African American inducted at the Cooperstown Hall of Fame and Museum In 1997, Major League Baseball retired his uniform number, 42, across all major league teams.

A few interesting facts


Robinson died of a heart attack on October 24, 1972 in Stamford, Connecticut, at age 53.  He played himself in The Jackie Robinson Story, a biopic about his life released in 1950. When April 15, 2004, became Jackie Robinson Day all uniformed players in Major League Baseball were required to wear number 42 on their jerseys to honor Robinson’s memory and legacy to the sport

Baseball umpire sports art

Bad Umpire Painting


Now, I know that this is a really bad drawing in ink of an umpire - but what do you expect - me to draw or paint the perfect painting each time.  Do you r really expect a baseball player to hit one thousand?  Do you expect an umpire to make the correct call every time he has to make one?  Well, I
can't paint or draw the great art piece each time I go to the studio - and this is proof of that position.  Think of the great baseball player who hits 300.  That means he fails seven out of ten times.  How is that great?  He fails three out of ten times.

Umpire Heckles  


 How many bad calls does an ump make?  It depends if you are on the winning side of the calls or the losing side. These are some of the comments players and manager had said when getting a bad call:  "You're killing me, blue. Can I pet your seeing eye dog after the game?  It sure sounded like a strike!  How'd you get a square head in that round mask?  Did they stopped printing the rulebook in Braille?  Don't donate your eyes to science, they don't want em'.   Does your wife let you make decisions at home? Pull the good eye out of your pocket. I thought only horses slept standing up! Flip over the plate and read the directions."

Artist heckles


What if you're an artist and the client starts heckling you.  "  That's not green.  Lenscrafter called...your glasses will be ready in 30 minutes.  Flip the canvas over and start again on the other side.  Are you painting in Braille?  Is this going to get any better or is this it?"

All sports need an umpire or referee. And what is important is that they have integrity , and just as import is good eyesight. And even if they do have good judgment it seems that another part of baseball is for the fans and players booing and abusing the umpires – It is part of the game.  So don't think that a machine can replace them.  Because the same thing would happen if you used a machine.  When a call is ruled against the player, instead of using words he is going to take his bat to the machine and blast it down third.

Artist John Robertson Baseball painting of an Umpire
5 feet by 2 ½ feet acrylic on unstretched canvas

(painting is a detail from larger painting 5 feet by 8 feet)

Football Linemen Painting Art NFL

Football Linemen Painting

 In football linemen get little glory but the real football battles are fought there, as they say, "in the trenches" My favorite linesmen’s were from the "old school" Green Bay Packers. During late summer of 1963 I spent a couple of weeks in Green Bay and had the opportunity to watch the Packers daily
practice. In those days the practices were open and we could actually sit on the player’s bench and talk with them.

 My Favorite Linemen

 My two favorite players were Frederick "Fuzzy" Thurston and Jerry Kramer. They were key member of the Packers' offensive line during the team's glory years from 1959 through 1967, when they won five NFL Championships and the first two Super Bowls. Kramer was an All-Pro five times, and a member of the NFL's 50th anniversary team in 1969. Thurston was named to the 1961 and 1962 All-Pro teams. Kramer , 6'3", 250 lb. right guard, (and "Fuzzy" (Fuzzy was at left guard) were an integral part of the famous "Packer Sweep", a signature play in which both guards rapidly pull out from their positions on the line and lead-block for the running back going around the end.
"Fuzzy" is famous for his quote in response to a sportswriter's question asked of him how he prepared for the famous Ice Bowl game (where the game-time temperature was 15 degrees below zero). Thurston's response was "about 10 vodkas."


This photo gives you a sense of the actual size of the painting.  Painting of football linemen by sports artist John Robertson is approximately  88" x 60" (approx. 7 1/2 feet by 5 feet)

Football Painting of Emmitt Smith Running Back Dallas Cowboys Art

This is a painting of the All Pro Dallas Cowboys Emmitt Smith.  The football art of Emmitt Smith running back for the Dallas Cowboys is by artist John Robertson is 50" x 70" acrylic on unstretched canvas.

 Here is a link to a great bio of Emmitt Smith on his official web site.  This is a short bit about him from the site.  "Smith first rose to prominence via an illustrious football career, which included three Super Bowl championships as a member of the Dallas Cowboys and the honor of being the only player to have won a Super Bowl MVP, NFL MVP and NFL Rushing Crown in the same season. Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2010, Smith is the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, having amassed 18,355 yards during his 15 seasons.

Emmitt Smith was inducted into the  Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.  Here is a link to his Hall of Fame speech.  Very inspiring.

To get an idea of what  gracious guy Emmitt Smith is one only needs to read what he had to say when DeMarco Murray became the all-time leading ball carrier for the Dallas Cowboys.   Smith's single season record was 1,773 yards set in 1995. Murray also wrapped up the rushing title as the league's top running back.  "I couldn't be happier for him," Emmitt Smith said. "He is very deserving of this recognition. This is something that I know DeMarco will share with the whole team, because he knows that they all had a hand in his success." .... "I am proud of him because I know how hard it is to do what he did this year," Smith said. "I am also proud because I've watched him bounce back from some injury setbacks in his first few years. He's a worked through all that, and he deserves to have this record. I want him and the whole team to keep up this level of play and carry it into the playoffs."

Basketball Painting Dunk Shot Image

I have painted this image of a basketball dunk shot a number of times for a variety of clients.  This is a new one painted last week. The clients are all aware that I am duplicating the painting for them.  I am in the photo so you can get a sense of the size of the painting.  The original paintings were done for an NBA Basketball commercial for Fox Sports Net   They own the originals and the art was painted in a different color scheme.  The painting is approximately 48” x 60” acrylic on unstretched canvas.

New Jersey Devils Hockey Goalie Martin Brodeur Sports painting

Image sports painting of New Jersey Devils Hockey Goalie Martin Brodeur.  The art by sports artist John Robertson is approximately 48” x 60” acrylic on unstretched canvas.  Brodeur has played his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career with the New Jersey Devils.

In his 21-year tenure with the Devils, he has won three Stanley Cup championships and has been in the playoffs every year but two. Brodeur has won two Olympic gold medals with Team Canada in the 2002 and 2010 Winter Olympic Games, as well as several other medals with Team Canada in other international competitions. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Andre Ethier Los Angeles Dodger Outfielder image sports painting


Baseball art painting of Andre Ethier by artist John Robertson is approximately 4 feet by 7 ½ feet, acrylic on unstretched canvas. 

Andre Ethier, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder. This season will be the eighth of Andre Ethier's career.  He is the Dodgers' everyday right fielder.  One thing I really like about him is that he supports one of the same organizations that I am in interested in.  He is involved with various charities including the Union Rescue Mission, whose efforts are dedicated to serving men, women and children experiencing homelessness

Basketball Art Image Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers


Basketball Painting of Kobe Bryant
Image of Kobe Bryant dribbling against a defensive player. I just heard the other day that Kobe has been playing for the Lakers here in Los Angeles for around 14 years. And the one fact I keep forgetting is that he came out of high school to play. The painting is 11"x x 14" ink, watercolor and acrylic on drafting film


Art Boxing Image Painting Sports Art

 
This sports image of a boxer was a commissioned painting from a woman who’s boyfriend is a fighter.   Have you thought about having a sports portrait of your partner, your children or yourself?   Just contact me at JohnRoberetsonSportsArt@gmail.com.  Prices start at $250.00 for a small painting.  This sports painting of the boxer portrait shown above is approximately 12” x 15” on  14” x 17”  drafting film.  Ink, watercolor and acrylic. 



Image Jim Thome designated Hitter Philadelphia Phillies baseball art

Art Baseball painting Jim Thome designated Hitter Philadelphia Phillies. The 41-year-old slugger is a solid bat off the bench. As I am an older guy it is good to see an old guy still swinging the bat. The baseball image of Thome is about 8" x 10" on a 11" x 14" drafting film. Ink, watercolor and acrylic.

Baseball Art – First Baseman Albert Pujols Los Angeles Angels Painting

Portrait art. Painting of trophy baseball player Albert Pujols. He is in the Los Angeles Angels lineup, playing first base and batting third. Painting is 8" x 10" acrylic, watercolor and ink on 11" x 14" drafting film.

Painting Hockey player Sports image

Art Hockey image – sports art painting.   NHL Vancouver Canucks hockey player painting I did a few years ago but just came across the photo – so I thought I would post it on the blog.  I have no idea who the player is.   The painting is approximately 3 ½ feet by 8 feet  acrylic on unstretched canvas.  The dripping and running of the paint really gives it a sense of motion – and the feeling of melting ice.

New York Giants / New England Pairiots image

Sports art. Football art. Painted a small football painting of players from the Superbowl – Image is of New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw 44 and New England Patriots linebacker Tracy White 58. The painting is 8" x 10" on a 11" x 14" piece of drafting film. Ink, acrylic and watercolor.