We had a lovely time attending a wedding of a good friend last October down at the Outer Banks. It was a beautiful late afternoon outdoor affair on the grounds of the Whalehead Club with a peaceful view of the water and boathouse and a majestic Corolla Lighthouse peering over the treeline. I painted this for a wedding present.
I remember Bob Gibson as being the most dominate pitcher I had ever watched. He threw so hard, he had the most amazingly violent follow-through that had his arms and legs flying off the side of the mound. If you made him angry, he'd brush you back or hit you with his fastball. A great athlete, former Harlem Globetrotter, a great hitter for a pitcher. He pitched and beat my Red Sox easily three of the games he pitched in the 1967 World Series. The opening game of the 1968 World Series pitted him (the NL strikeout and ERA leader) against 31 game winner Denny McLain and I remember getting out of school and sprinting home to watch the epic pitching match-up. By the time I got home, McLain was already out of the game! Of course, Gibson goes on to set the WS strikeout record striking out the 17th Tiger dramatically in the top of the ninth inning. My best friend, John Gerald and I would practice our best Gibson wind-ups and pitches, never quite with the same accuracy (or speed).
Another family portrait commission in time for the holidays! I even squeezed the family dog in there too!
Yet another Snack Time painting commission! This time munching on NYC.
Ah! Another interesting painting commission. This one is for someone who's giving it as a wedding present to a couple who collects photo booth photostrips and has a past with bed bugs or insect infestation or both, I think. Anyway, better days ahead and best wishes!
Here's a spot illustration of mine that always makes me smile and thought I'd share.
The Cartoons & Cocktails benefit auction is this Thursday, October 22nd at the National Press Club.
The Georgetown University Library redesigned their website and decided it also needed a fresh new logo to go with the fresh look.
A variant of the earlier Snack Time painting that was in Artomatic.
Here's a rather extended family illustration I drew recently for a client's children's book proposal. Email me if you'd like a copy of the illustration.
Commissioned painting from Artomatic! Making it's way to NYC right now.
Well, the Mustangs lost in the first round of the playoffs and the season is over for us. I did well batting lead-off or second in the lineup and batted .500 for the season. Wait till next year!
Here's a man with "No Eye Deer." ...Get it?
A commissioned piece from Artomatic patron. Apparently had issues with bed bugs and this painting will be a lasting memory long after the itching stops. 
Harmon Killebrew was a feared power hitter with the nicknames "Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon." Despite his "Killer" nickname and his powerful stocky build, Killebrew was in fact a quiet, kind man who didn't really join in with his partying teammates. Asked by reporters what he liked to do for fun, Killebrew replied, "Well, I like to wash dishes, I guess." I like Harmon. 
Yes, I will admit that I have tried to moon-walk.
Here's a painting commission from Artomatic!
Here's my wall on the 8th floor at ARTOMATIC 2009! Come see it live! Lots of art!WHEN: May 29 to July 5. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 12 noon – 1 a.m.; Sundays, 12 noon – 10 p.m.; closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
WHERE: 55 M St, SE (at Half Street) in D.C.’s Capitol Riverfront neighborhood. Right above the Navy Yard Metro ballpark exit (green line), a block from Nationals Stadium.
Here's the view from my art space on the 8th floor! Centerfield seats!
http://artomatic.org
Don't forget to sign the guest book so I know you were there!
Defense and durability is what most Cubs fans will remember about Don Kessinger. He came from the era of shortstops who played great defense but provided little offense. I remember countless times he would range far to his right and in one fluid motion, snare the ground ball and leap and throw from deep in the hole to first base. It was like ballet.
I'm finishing up illustrations for a children's book, Where is Scotty's Basketball?
I vividly remember Roberto Clemente throwing out an Oriole runner at third base from his position in rightfield in a 1971 World Series game. One of the most amazing throws I had ever seen. No hop, right on the line, laser beam. Broadcaster Vin Scully colorfully claimed, "Clemente could field the ball in New York and throw out a guy in Pennsylvania." The Pirates won the seven-game Series mainly because of MVP Clemente's hitting, fielding and throwing.
Wrigley Ivy image is now on the Zazzle t-shirt site for those that requested it. Click monster on the right to get to site. Coffee mug for Father's Day, Karen? "Cubs win! Cubs win!"
Due to popular demand. Several attractive designs available. Get your official Hagen Illustration T-shirts!!
Ernie Banks was another one of my favorite players. How can you not like a guy who is known for his catch phrase, "It's a beautiful day for a ballgame, let's play two!" I don't think I've ever seen a photo of him where he's not smiling.
I was amazed last summer when I took my daughter to Camden Yards to watch the Orioles play the Red Sox. She wanted to wear her Red Sox gear and I talked her out of it, simply saying it's not cool to wear "visiting" team stuff to a home stadium. I saw a grandmother pelted with garbage in Yankee Stadium for wearing a Cubs hat (not even in the same league)! Anyway as we approached the stadium, we noticed all the vendors selling Red Sox stuff and everyone milling around had Red Sox shirts! Inside Camden Yards there were 30,000 Red Sox fans and about 5000 Oriole fans. I'd never seen anything like it for an "away" game. A guy standing next to me in the hot dog line in a "Camden Yards/Fenway South" shirt told me that all the games at Fenway Park were sold out and it was cheaper to take the train down to Baltimore and stay the weekend and buy plentiful Oriole tickets to watch their beloved Saux. I ended up buying Paige a Red Sox shirt to put on so she wouldn't be left out! These three cards here were commissioned by Ben Henry. I think I must have met Petrocelli once because I have his signature on an old ball. I think I pestered him while watching batting practice in Fenway Park on a summer vacation trip in the early Seventies. Thanks Ben! I hope you like.
Two Red Sox greats who had careers cut short by injuries, Tony Conigliaro and Jim Lonborg, are this week's submissions. Popular Tony C was beaned in the head with a fastball and was understandably never quite the same. I believe the ear flap on the batting helmet began to appear after his frightening accident. I shook hands with him when he was trying to make a comeback with the Angels in 1971 and he signed a ball I had brought to the Senators' game with me. Jim Lonborg had an amazing pitching season in 1967 and a great World Series and then broke his leg in a skiing accident that winter and was never quite the same. He went on to have a career in dentistry. Thanks to Ben Henry for the request!
Last two weekends to see my exhibit of paintings before it goes down on the 27th!
I think I drew this when I was around 11 years old. An early graphic novel indeed! I think I must have drawn hundreds of pages of this nine inning All-Star game. The thing that I find hilarious reading it now is that everyone either hits a home run or strikes out. My favorite players hit three or four home runs in the game and the others have three or four strikeouts. I think I finally finished this masterpiece when I lost my green crayon or just got tired of drawing grass. click image to see larger
Sandy Koufax retired with an excruciatingly painful pitching arm by the time I became aware of baseball so I never got to see him pitch live. I've seen film and video of him and he looked downright over-powering. I also remember seeing postgame interviews with him with huge ice packs icing down his inflamed elbow and shoulder.
Thirty-five years ago, yesterday, Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's home run record. I read an incredible story about the death threats he received as he approached the record and how Atlanta reporters had obituaries prepared for him as the 1974 season opened. Hank did it without steroids and had the quickest wrists in baseball. Great nicknames, "Hammerin' Hank, Oh Henry."
I loved to watch Jim Palmer pitch with his long stretch of a delivery. I believe this 1966 edition was his rookie card. My fondest memory of Jim Palmer doesn't come from the field (or his underwear ad). It was after he retired and he was doing Oriole television commentary. After a late game in Memorial Stadium, I had waited about half an hour for the crowd to clear before heading home and I was walking down the long concrete ramps from the upper deck to the parking lot and looked to my right and there was Jim Palmer! The two of us slowly walked down the ramps in the hot summer night and he looked happy, carefree and at peace and so cool in his jacket and tie despite the humidity. I didn't bother him or speak to him. He had finished his work and was heading home like everyone else that night.
