Sports Propaganda

My initial goal for 2012 was to design 1 print for every week of the year, resulting in 52 prints. I figured even if I fell short it would result in significant output and I’d have a ton of fun printing it all. So far in week 9, I have 7 designs completed (3 are still being approved by MLB) so I am well behind pace, but I’m still pleased with the clip which is greater than last year. Hopefully I’ll be able to offer something new to alot of baseball fans this year no matter what.

I started the year by plugging a significant hole in my print lineup which was lack of current Dodgers prints. Los Angeles is obviously a major fan base so when the Dodgers had some stand out players I decided it was time. Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw have to be two of the most exciting young players in the game and they both happen to play in Los Angeles. Here are both designs side by side:

Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw

Each print is hand made in a limited edition of 200. Both have a metallic silver which is hard to see online, but when the print is in front it looks really killer.

Including this past years World Series prints and the Topps series print in 2009 I have printed 4 different Albert Pujols designs – all with the Cardinals. I figured I would make it 5 when he was signed to a long term contract with the Angels. I had nothing current for Angels fans to choose from so who better than arguably the greatest right hand hitter in the last 50 years or so (maybe ever?). Pujols signing for 10 years ensures some interesting times ahead for Anaheim. Im certainly looking forward to him coming to Fenway Park where i can see him face my Sox.

Albert Pujols art print

The 4th print I completed only days ago is one honoring one of the greatest players ever to wear the famed Yankee pinstripes – Lou Gehrig. I was fortunate enough come to licensing terms with the Gehrig family with an agreement in which 10% of the proceeds will be donated to ALS research. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), otherwise known as “Lou Gehrigs Disease” is a fatal neuromuscular disease that results in rapid muscular atrophy, corresponding weakness and ultimately death. Gehrig died of ALS in 1939 and the disease continues to be fatal, resulting in more than 5600 new diagnosis’s per year.

As a player Gehrig was known as “The Iron Horse”, having played 2,130 consecutive games during his time with the Yankees. He along with Babe Ruth comprised the heart of the “Murderers Row” Yankee dynasty of the 1920′s and 1930′s. He was a 6 time World Series champion, a Triple Crown winner and 2 time AL MVP. He is considered one of the finest players of any era. I am particularly proud of this print, which I dont say often.

Lou Gehrig Art Print

Notice the horses in the lower parts of the prints
I was able to snap a few shots of me printing the first color of the Gehrig print:

Chris Speakman Printing

Edition of 250 – check it out here: http://www.sportspropaganda.com/yankees.html

I just finished up work on the US Pond Hockey Championships’ 2012 commemorative print, which is shipped and will be available at the event this week in Minnesota.  Its the seventh year of the tournament and the second year in a row I’ve created a print for it.  I’m excited about the way it came out, I’ve found it fun to work on non-baseball work.  Below is a sketch and some step-by-step images as well as the final stack of 100 prints.  I’m hoping to have the opportunity to work on more commission work this year.

Good luck to all of the participants of the event – it looks like they have a few dozen rinks set up on Lake Nokomis.

ODDS and ENDS:
I sold out of my second David Ortiz print this week, the first being the “United We Are Strong” print (which was my first ever baseball print) and the most recent being inspired by Uncle Sam’s classic “I Want You” poster.  I think this will be my last David Ortiz print for a while, unless of course my Red Sox win the World Series.  It will be the first time I dont have an Ortiz print for sale since the beginning of Sports Propaganda in 2006.

 I’ve spent the last few weeks illustrating and trying to plan some new ideas for 2012.  I have a number of prints already about half complete, including designs for Kemp, Kershaw, Gehrig and and brand new Pujols with his Angels jersey on.  The last one will probably be the first one released.  After those, I’m looking at some other Hall of Famers such as Sandberg, Gwynn, Ripken and some stadium designs which seem to be quite popular.  I’d like to design a bit more this year and hopefully offer a wider range of work.

On a personal note, I played in my first squash tournament this weekend.  I took up the sport about 1 1/2 years ago and absolutely love it.  If you dont know much about squash, it is an internationally played racquet sport, not unlike racquetball.  Ive found that its a great workout and I play as much as I can.  The two biggest hurdles I’ve come across is 1.  I’m apparently incredibly out of shape, and 2. I’m generally not a very good squash player.  I probably drink beer and eat fried food too much as well – which I’m sure doesnt help.  Anyway, I actually won my first round match but quickly got ejected from the tournament in the second round.  It was alot of fun though and I’m looking forward to playing more and probably not improving at all.

I finally watched the film Moneyball last night and it was incredible.  I had read the book when it was released about 7 or 8 years ago and it really opened my eyes to the statistical revolution that baseball was about to undertake.  Its interesting to look back on the book in retrospect to see which minor league players ended up having success.  I know off the top of my head that Kevin Youkilis and Nick Swisher have had very good careers so far.  I know we are in the heart of Super Bowl season, but watching Moneyball got me all geared up for the baseball season to begin.

Ok I’ll admit, I’m clearly not the best with keeping my blog current.  I have good intentions, but one of the pitfalls of being a one man operation is that time is often at a premium and my blog does not always make the cut.   However, I am going to make an honest attempt in 2012 to keep you abreast of ongoings in the Sports Propaganda studio.

The last few months have brought a World Series winner, a trip to Las Vegas, the holidays and most recently a new year.  The Cardinals took the 2011 crown and kept me busy designing and creating World Series prints which sold very well through the holidays.  Below are a sampling of the prints along with the World Champions print – I think they make a good set.

Have you ever noticed that apparel companies always have a championship hat and T-shirt for sale the minute that the game is  concluded?  In order to accomplish this manufacturers need to create 2 versions – one portraying each team as the winner with the plan to release the winning design at the appropriate time.  Have you ever wondered what happens to the gear for the losing team?  Since its virtually unsellable, most of it gets donated to charity to be distributed in foreign countries.  Meaning the only people willing to wear it on earth are folks who have no idea what the graphic on the front of their shirt means (and im sure dont care).   I have had some experience with this concept of “2 designs – 1 release” with my own work.  When the World Series comes around, I design one winning print for each team in the series.  The reason being is that MLB requires some lead time for product approvals and I want to make sure I have timed the release of the print to coincide with the ending of the series.  I thought I would share a couple of the unreleased designs from the last 2 years:

My apologies to Texas Rangers fans, but I thought it might be interesting to give you a peek behind the curtain.  Both concepts are complete, but the printing of the winners design is not done until the day after the series.  This way I dont spend alot of time making hand-made prints only to be thrown away.  Im pretty sure no charities want screen-prints of championships that never were anyway.

I went to Las Vegas in November for the 2011 Major League Baseball retail summit where I was able to showcase my work for many retailers and team stores.  More importantly I was able to network and make professional contacts with other licensees and manufacturers.  I’m hoping that 2012 will bring new partnerships to Sports Propaganda in which I can expand the exposure of my work.  Here I am in front of my booth at the MGM Grand:

On a personal level, I enjoy going to this show more and more each year.  Developing friendships with the other licensees can not only result in more business, but also a bit more fun while I’m out there.  A group of us found a few moments (amongst a very busy schedule) to visit the set of one of my favorite tv shows, the History channels “Pawn Stars”.

I will have some time tomorrow to wrap up my re-cap and let you know what is in store for the first few months of 2012.

I returned from my trip to the 2011 All-Star game late last week so I wanted to post a few words about my experience and some photos too.  Since I designed the official program cover, the publishing team for Major League Baseball thought it would be a good promotional item to fly me out to Phoenix and sign programs for customers as they made their purchase.  I was set-up at a booth in Fanfest, which is the week long interactive baseball theme park MLB puts on during the All-Star game every year.  There were booths to test your pitching arm against a radar gun, play broadcaster in front of a camera for a bit and tons and tons of food, players signing autographs and memorabilia (including a killer Hall of Fame exhibit).  Somewhere in the chaos I was sitting at a table signing programs:

Arizona is hot… DAMN hot.  Like 115 degrees hot.  Walking the 2 blocks from my hotel to the stadium was like being blasted with a automatic hand dryer the entire time.  Yes its a dry heat, but at 115 degrees  - its still uncomfortable.  Luckily the good folks of Arizona were kind enough to put a domed stadium in (retractable), so when tickets for the events fell in my hands (thanks mlb!), my seats were nice and cool.  I saw the futures game, the Home Run Derby and the All-Star game itself.  The stadium was a vast contrast to my hometown field of Fenway park.  As much as I love to celebrate the vintage Fenway and all its history… it was nice to see how the other side lives.  Restaurants and bars overlooking the field, seats that face home plate and large cheap beers being delivered to your seats should not be taken for granted!

Since I’ve been home I was able to print my Nolan Ryan design I’ve been waiting to unveil.  Its the first time I’ve used the Baseball Hall of Fame logo.  Ryan who is one of my favorite all time players, basically defined the term “power pitcher” . His career statistics are staggering, having pitched 7 No-hitters (the next best is 4) while regularly eclipsing 100mph on the gun.  As a kid, I remember saving the newspaper clipping for no-hitter number 7 which he pitched at age 44… yes age 44.  On top of 300+ wins, the man racked up 5714 strikeouts which is almost 1000 more than the next guy on the all-time list.  I’m not sure those numbers will ever be topped.  This design was easy to complete, Ryans accomplishments just made it simple:

Up next is a design featuring Adrian Gonzalez, which is designed but being approved by MLB.  After that – more old school World Series prints before the playoffs start.  I’m open to suggestions for any current players, so feel free to email me.

I’m having a Fathers day sale on all unframed screen-prints from now until June 19th – use code 3121 to obtain 20% off.  Do your pops a favor and skip the tie this year in favor of a print for his office or den

I’ve added 2 more designs to the list of World Series prints I have – 1976 & 1985.  Both feature Hall of Famers in Johnny Bench and George Brett.  Here they are, each is a limited edition of 200 and are available at www.sportspropaganda.com:

Up next is a celebration of one of the most historic World Series in history… the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers victory over the New York Yankees.  The Dodgers had lost all 7 of the World Series that they had played in until that point and the last five had come at the hand s of the Bronx Bombers.  In fact – this was the third time in four years the Dodgers and Yankees squared off for the World Series crown so the rivalry was at an all-time high.  This time was different though and Dodgers finally came out on top and the win has been celebrated by Dodgers fans and baseball fans in general for the last 50+ years.  The Dodgers were moved to Los Angeles in 1958 and went on to win another 5 titles, but I think the first in 1955 is still the most special.  This print features Hall of Famer Duke Snider as well as the 1955 Dodgers World Series emblem (the hat and baseball) –  I should have it available shortly.

When I design a print for a World Series of the past, I have to consider a number of things.  The first is do I have a player that I legally have the rights to portray?  My licensing agreement with the Hall of Fame includes many players, but a majority of the biggest names unfortunately are not included (Mays, Mantle, Williams, DiMaggio, Ruth, Gehrig ect).  Second, did the player actually perform well in that series?  It wouldnt make sense to slap a player on to a WS print just because he is in the hall… if Snider hit .150 in the ’55 series, I dont think I would have put him in the center of the print.  Third, are the logos and other visuals interesting enough for graphic use?  The old World Series logos are really cool for the most part, but there are a few that look so odd that I dont know if I could use them effectively.  Lastly, I have to actually feel like there is a demand for the design… fans are fickle and some markets sell better than others.

Until next time…

Its always exciting to gain any level of notoriety for your art, wether it be a mention in a blog, a newspaper article or being commissioned to create custom prints.  Being that I have very little advertising budget, it is frankly essential to getting the word out on my work.  A couple of weeks ago I had finalized a deal with Major League Baseball that should bring a fair amount of attention to Sports Propaganda and I’m pretty excited about it.  I’ll be designing the program cover for the 2011 All-Star game to take place in Arizona this July.  I’ll also be heading out there to attend the game and do a signing of the program during Fan-fest.  I am going to be spending alot of time in the next couple of weeks sketching and designing something appropriate for the event and I’m also hoping to have a screen-print available for the game as well.  I remember studying the designs of old All-star and World Series programs as a kid, so this is a particularly exciting project for me to be a part of.

In other exciting news, I finalized the licensing contract with the National Baseball Hall of Fame, giving me access to many of the games greatest players images.  I plan on combining some of these players with some of the great World Series of the past (and the corresponding classic logo) that they may have participated in.  I now have the first design available – the 1953 World Series Champions New York Yankees featuring Hall of Famer Yogi Berra.  This particular win was the still record 5th straight series win for the Yankees.  Amazing.  You’ll notice the “official” logo is included… interestingly Ive noticed that up until the 60′s the only logo was just the artwork on the press pin.  Still really interesting and “old timey” looking.

Hand made in a limited edition of 200 – this print is the first that I used both metallic Gold and metallic Silver.
I have two other designs completed and with MLB for approval – a print for the 1976 World Series Champions  Reds featuring Johnny Bench and my first Royals screen-print celebrating the 1985 win featuring George Brett.  I’ll put up a preview as soon as i get approval.

I came across this print on www.expressobeans.com the other day and thought I would share it with you.  It has to be one of my favorite screen-prints of all time.  A 9 color print on 23×35 cream paper  featuring Musician Bob Dylan – artist Chuck Sperry really went all out with this design.  Pay close attention to the detail in the pattern work – really amazing and inspiring.  Frankly I’m not sure I could have printed this by hand, and I’m sure Check used a machine, but thats not to take away from it at all.  Very nice illustrative work.

2010 Chuck Sperry
23×35″  Edition of 150.  Sold Out (of course!)

Here is chuck working in his studio.  To see more of his amazing Rock and Roll art – check out http://chucksperry.net

My friends and I had our annual season ticket draft yesterday which is always an exciting way to kick off any new baseball season. This is our 12th year with the two seats we have in section 37 behind center field. I’ve seen the scene at Fenway change quite a bit in those 12 years… at least from the perspective of the bleachers. As ticket prices have risen over the years around the park, I’ve noticed more families and older folks being driven out to the cheap seats (relative to the rest of the park). Its just too expensive to take a family of four to Fenway and expect to sit on the first or third base side anymore. This has resulted in a friendlier bleacher area with more security and less craziness. 12 Years ago I didnt mind a little rabell rousing, in fact I may have even participated…but now I’d prefer to not have a beer thrown at my head or my feet vomited on. Its even safe to go to a Yankee/Sox game now. My first game is April 16th – if you live in the Boston area, feel free to meet me at the Cask before the game!

For a while now I’ve wanted to switch my blog hosting from mlbblogs, to WordPress where I will have greater control, and hopefully greater optimization from search engines.  I spent the day yesterday building and converting all of my old posts to the new format.  Wordpress has what they call a “famous 5 minute install”… it took me about 6 hours, but thats probably more of a reflection on my lack of know-how as opposed to the ease of use.  Anyway, if you are one of the 3 readers of this blog, you may notice the difference.  My hopes are to blog a bit more often and provide you with a greater look as to the ongoings in my studio, my work and sports in general.

I have a few “irons in the fire” over here at Sports Propaganda.  Typically I dont like to reveal projects or commission work before they are a done deal, but in this case I figure this is worth mentioning.  First, I am very close to signing a licensing contract with the Baseball Hall of Fame.  This will give me the right to portray many of the great players in the games history.  Though the HOF does not handle licensing for all of their members, there is still an impressive lineup that should make for some really cool art.  Smaller markets such as Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Cincinnati and Kansas City will now have a print for them with players such as Stargell, Yount, Bench and Brett.  I’m even considering doing a “retro” World Series print for each – such as Brett and the ’85 champion Royals, or Stargell and the ’79 winning Pittsburgh team.  I have the rights to the old World Series logos so why not use them!

In other news, I’m hoping to finalize a deal with the Minnesota Twins about a commission work commemorating Jim Thome’s 600th HR.  I havent done something celebrating a milestone before, so I think it will be exciting to work on.  Hopefully Thome might even sign a couple of them.

The Haymakers for Hope charity event commission work is in the works as well – I’m hoping to print it this week.  I’ve heard Curt Schilling may even sign a few of them to support the cause.  Here is a shot of one of the stencils under the heat lamp – part of the process when making stencils with photo emulsion.

As far as new prints in the works… I finalized the new Carl Crawford print last week and it is with MLB for approval.  Hopefully it will be ready in the next couple of weeks.  I’ll send an email out when it is… its only the second Sox design I have done in the last 2 years.  This feels strange when I think about it – when i first started, all I did was Red Sox designs.  I remember when I did my first Yankee print I received an email from past customer telling me that she “did not approve”.  Made me laugh.  Sorry – I’m a Red Sox fan to my core – but I’m trying to make a living here.  Below is the forthcoming Crawford design:

I’m off to Mohegan Sun tonight to watch the MMA fights with a bunch of friends, wish me luck – I’m sure the siren song of the blackjack table will be seducing me later in the night.

Happy spring training everyone. As the mini glaciers of ice slowly recede from my narrow one way street, the baseball season is almost upon us. This has to be the most hopeful time of year for baseball fans – especially for those in regions where the winter has been as brutal as it has been here in the northeast. In less than a month, my Red Sox will be back at work in Fenway and I’ll be holding court in the bleachers as per the usual. How I long to squint at the scoreboard while I boast to those around me (mostly wearing pink Red Sox hats) about how long I’ve had season tickets as I sip my overpriced watered down beer. Good times.

Speaking of the Red Sox, they are one of a few teams to add some real superstar type talent to their roster so look for a Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzlalez print in the coming months.

In the last three weeks I have released two Phillies prints, celebrating their amazing pitching staff – and they have been about as well received as any designs (outside the World Series) as I could hope for. As of today, the “4 Star Generals” edition of 200 is about 3/4 sold out.
More recently I added a new Cliff Lee design to the lineup. Thank god he is signed in Philadelphia for a while – I’m tired of changing his uniform on these designs

Up next is a design I’ve been trying to get out since the World Series last year. Brian Wilson has been one of the most captivating personalities in the sport and I tried to capture that the best I could. I purposely kept this design fairly simple without alot of text – letting the feeling of the composition speak for itself. He is a gritty player and I think this print speaks to that. Its with MLB for approval right now so look for it in a couple of weeks.

In non-baseball news, I have a new commission work to start next week. This spring in Boston’s back bay there will be a charity boxing tournament called “Haymakers for Hope” kicking off its inaugural event. Haymakers is working in conjunction with the Jimmy Fund and Dana Farber to raise funds for cancer research. I’m excited to try my hand at a boxing design. I’m not sure, but I believe the print will be exclusively available on the event night. For more information, please visit them here: www.haymakersforhope.com

I wanted to thank everyone who has helped me spread the word about my work on Facebook and Twitter – its is amazing how social media can work for small business’s like mine. Every time you “re-tweet” or “like” one of my posts, I gain more followers and therefore expose more sports fans to my art. Thank you everyone for your invaluable help.