San Francisco 49er's Art Levi Stadium painting

Levi’s Stadium Art Paintings

One of sportsLevi’s Stadium Art Painting artist John Robertson’s San Francisco 49ers football art at the new SF 49ers Levi’s stadium. It was fun to see his work on the 48 foot by 200 foot LED video display screen at Levi's Stadium art collection where he has a number of sports art paintings.

Sports Artist John Robertson completed the group of football paintings for the 49er’s a couple of years ago.  As you can see in the photo that the painting was projected up onto the Levi’s stadium jumbotron screen overlooking the playing field.

 About the Joe Montana “the Catch” painting

 The painting is of the 49er’squarterback Joe Montana throwing a pass in the famous “The Catch” play where the defensemen lineman Too Tall Jones, from the Dallas Cowboys is rushing him and eventually knocks Montana to the ground.  Joe Montana did get the pass off and the football play depicted in the painting is completed to wide receiver Dwight Clark. 

About the Levi's Stadium Art Collection

 Here is some information about the art from the Levi's Stadium website: http://www.levisstadium.com/art/

"The Art Collection at Levi’s® Stadium celebrates the 49ers legendary history, the organization’s current success and the vibrant culture of the greater San Francisco Bay Area. No other multi-use stadium contains the quantity and scope of original artwork that this collection has procured. The galleries highlight diverse, local artists and include pieces that have personal ties to the 49ers organization. The 49ers are thrilled to present a collection that enhances the building by creating a fully integrated visual experience.

Guests will encounter larger than life portraits of 49ers greats, alongside charcoal sketches that celebrate notable regional figures such as Steinbeck and Kerourac (actually created by John Robertson’s artist wife, Lynn Hanson) Visitors may marvel over pieces from the Ranchos of the Santa Clara Valley and the timeless psychedelics of the storied Fillmore Music Hall. The collection has been crafted to engage and provoke everyone from the casual fan to the art aficionado."

"The Art Collection at Levi’s® Stadium is home to over 200 original pieces and more than 500 photographs. The museum-quality artwork featured is comprised of mixed mediums such as acrylic, charcoal, enamel, oil, pastel, pen and ink, stencil, metals and sculptures. Of the 23 original artists showcased, 20 hail locally from California. The photographs in the collection are from the archives of the 49ers and their esteemed group of team photographers, as well as from the San Francisco Chronicle and many local libraries and historic centers..

Joe Montana San Francisco 49ers Sports football art

Joe Montana the Greatest

As almost everyone knows Joe Montana, "The Comeback Kid" was one of the greatest football players ever to play the game. Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with San Francisco 49ers and played there 14 seasons.  I can't imagine being on top of my game for 14 years.  Up until 1979 I never lasted more than about six months at the same job.  It wasn't even until I was thirty four before I graduated college.   That means I am older than Montana and he had a fabulous career long before I even began to settle down. 

Montana started and won four Super Bowls and was the first player ever to have been named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player three times. He also holds Super Bowl career records for most passes without an interception (122 in 4 games) and the all-time highest quarterback rating of 127.8. Montana was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000, his first year of eligibility.  Let's see.  What had I accomplished.  Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  I shouldn't say "nothing" because I did hold the record for the shortest time holding a job at a plastics manufacturing company.  I started at eight in the morning pulling small plastic gears out of drawers and then placing them in small envelopes and mailing them out to customers.  At nine thirty it was break time.  I asked my supervisor where the bathroom was.  Next to the bathroom door was the front door.  Out I went - the front door - and never went back.  I lasted one and a half hours.  Straight to the beach, I did, I did.  Never looked back.  Try to beat that record, Montana.

Doctor Give Me the News

Would I want to be Joe Montana?  Not now, I wouldn't.  As Montana says, " ... the physical stuff tries to catch up with you.’’  Tries to catch up??.  it does catch up.  The extensive physical problems he suffers is from more than two decades after he ended his NFL career in 1994.  Montana has spent more time at the doctor's than he ever had on the field.   When standing in a swim suit he has more knife cuts on him than a butcher's side of beef.  When he walks, it's like watching a drunk sailor sway side to side.  And painful.   His knee can’t straighten despite a half-dozen surgeries.  And he thinks it is bad now.  Wait until he is my age and has to go to the bathroom four times a night.   He'll be dragging his leg across the bedroom floor.

And then there is the metal problems - potential mental problems. His path to thinking may be affected.   He’s had three neck fusions.  There’s nerve damage in one of his eyes.  “It acts like a lazy eye to some degree because every time you’re tired, it kind of goes wherever it feels like a little bit,’’ Montana said.  I have something like lazy eye only it's in my lazy brain and I kind of wander down to the beach and eat shrimp out of the tide pools.  A doctor said Montana's problem resulted from head trauma.  And Montana said,  “Can’t figure out where that came from.’’  I guess he can't remember the hits. 

The moral of the story.   You think I need to tell you the moral of the story?  That is easy to figure out.  Life after football is bleak.  There, I told you.

 Joe Montana Football painting

The great San Francisco 49er quarterback Joe Montana image . The art painting is 30 inch by 48 inch, ink and acrylic on gallery wrapped frame/stretcher bars.  The orange you see is old newsprint articles about Joe Montana and San Francisco 49ers collaged to the canvas then treated, then inked and painted.  Sports artists by John Robertson paintings

Football Painting Joe Montana "Too Tall" Jones famous "The Catch" play of the SF 49ers

This San Francisco 49er's painting of mine hangs in Levi's Stadium depicts one of the most memorable events in NFL history - the January 10, 1982, NFC Championship Game between the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers.  

The story behind the painting.   The Cowboys defensive end Ed "Too Tall" chases a backpedaling Joe Montana toward the sideline, and seems certain to either send him out of bounds or sack him. But at the last moment, and after pump-faking to get 6-foot 9-inch "Too Tall" Jones to jump, Montana throw a high pass to the back of the end of the end zone to Dwight Clark for the wining touchdown.  Montana said that "Too Tall" Jones knocked him to the ground so he didn't see Dwight Clark make the catch.  "Too Tall" Jones reacted to the play by saying to Montana "You just beat America's Team".  Montana said to Jones, "Well, you can sit at home with the rest of America and watch the Super Bowl."

The 5 foot by 6 foot painting, acrylic on canvas  hangs in one of the hallways of the new e49er's Levi's stadium in Santa Clara, Ca.  One an earlier post you can see it photographed on the stadium's large video screen.