Ken Griffey Jr. : Signing at White Sox Stadium

Ken Griffey Jr. is easily one of the greatest baseball players of all time. His swing was as smooth as glass and sweet enough to make your teeth hurt just watching it. Not only was he a monster at the plate, but balls rarely touched the ground near him. He’s been the AL MVP, a 13X All-Star, 10X Gold Glove winner, 7X Silver Slugger, and a member of the MLB All-Century Team. Everything he did looked effortless. Plus, he had swag and charisma to spare. To me, there was no one like him…the image of him in the backward hat, the lips tucked in while hitting and running is burned in my memory. So, when it came time to paint him, that’s exactly the image I used., blown up to 72”x 55”. This is an older piece of mine, done in oil, a lot darker and abstract that some of my other portraits. But it is one of my favorite pieces I have ever created.

I got to meet him in Chicago before a game against the White Sox. My sister Katie was a great help in setting up the meeting; it can be so much legwork to just get in contact with the right person. But at the end of the day, we got there, under the bleachers at the old White Sox stadium. Ken Griffey Jr. was soft-spoken and humble and just great to be around. He took the time to take pictures with me and my sister, even right before his game. He put a great autograph on this one; a dream for a baseball memorabilia collector.