Last month I reached out to a friend of mine, Monty, whom I met through work to commission a piece of custom Scott Rolen artwork. Monty runs and operates Andersons Graphix Kingdom. Working with Monty on this piece couldn't have been any easier. He provided progress pictures along the way which I thought was a nice touch. With every update Monty sent me I grew more and more excited to see the final piece.
After discussing what I would like with Monty, he quickly got to work. I told him that I would like a piece that was big enough to include a portrait of Scott Rolen represented on each team he played for during his time in Major League Baseball; Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, and the Cincinnati Reds. Beyond that, all of the artistic licensing was in Monty's hands to come up with something that presented well. And he did not disappoint.
Soon after our consultation, Monty sent this sketch to me. I was already thoroughly impressed and this was just the initial sketch! As you can see, Scott is represented here with each team he played for during his career. It wasn't long and Monty was sending me another update.
Some outlining and shading added, the piece was coming along quite nicely. Monty even added "Rolen" to the piece using the font I used here on The Rolen Collection which I thought was a great touch! Once again, I didn't have to wait long for another update from Monty.
More shading and outlining completed and I was pumped! A couple friends of mine had mentioned that the St. Louis Cardinals wasn't quite jumping out of this piece like the other teams, but I knew Monty was going to be adding color to it soon, so I wasn't worried at all. I had faith in Monty and his abilities to bring to life what I had envisioned for this one. Again, Monty quickly provided me with another sneak peek and the color was being added!
With the skin tones added you can see this piece coming to life. I didn't have to wait long for the next update when we get to start seeing team colors being added.
Along with more color being added, you can see the additional details in the bats as well as the team logos added below Scott's last name.
With the background blacked out the portraits really pop here! You can also see more details added to the uniforms. When Monty sent this update to me, he told me that he was going to be adding another color to the piece. Something to make it really jump out and put an exclamation mark on the entire thing.
BAM! There you have it. Rolen in gold! A very nice touch for a player who won the Rawlings Gold Glove award eight times!
I can't wait until the finished piece arrives. I plan on having it matted and framed. Once that happens I'll add an updated picture of the completed piece. This thing is going to look amazing with the rest of my Scott Rolen collection. Perhaps I'll be lucky enough to get the chance to have Scott sign this for me at some point in the future.
If you enjoy this piece as much as I do and you'd like your own custom piece done, get in touch with Monty. A great guy who is incredibly talented and easy to work with. He's super easy to find. You can check out his work on his website or his Facebook page. He also has a referral program, so be sure to tell him that John Shue sent you!