"The Old Ballgame!" Going To Bat In My First Art Show

Posted by on Jan 7, 2012 in Blog, Career Highlights, News / Media | No Comments

Back in early September I was contacted out of the blue by The Carol Schwartz Gallery in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia. They informed me of a Baseball themed art exhibit they were going to be having throughout the month of October called “The Old Ballgame!” just in time for what we hoped would be another exciting Phillies “Red October” & run through the MLB playoffs. Unfortunately that did not happen as the Phils were ousted in the first round by the eventual World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals, but that is not the moral my story.

I was told while doing some research on different sports artists, they came upon my work and asked if I would be interested in including my baseball related pieces in the show. Considering the exhibit consisted of original work and prints from great artists such as the legendary Joseph Kernan, Charles Ellis, Arthur Sarnoff and more, I was absolutely honored to have my work and name displayed along side of theirs.Phillies' Chase Utley by David E. Wilkinson

What was even more exciting for me is although I have had my work displayed in many different charity events, fundraisers and the like over the past few years, this was to be my first official art show in an actual art gallery.

With a professional career spanning more than seventeen years now, one may say “gee, it’s about time.” But it was not until recently when I began foray into sports art that I got back to my roots as more of a fine artist.

Till this point in my career, I have focused almost exclusively on commercial art. Each job for a specific need or purpose for a specific client or employer for a specific rate or price. I did not spend a lot of time on creating art for myself simply for the joy of it as I once did. I was being paid to be creative and I was happy but in the end, unless you consider Toys R Us a “gallery”, I was not producing much that could be displayed or sold in one.

The show ran the entire month of October and although the Phillies season was not a success the show certainly was. Personally, I nearly sold out selling 16×20 copies of my “Phillies MVP Chase Utley” and “Phinally”as well as a 22×28 copy of my “Roy Halladay”.

ABC channel 6’s reporter, Karen Rodgers, did a fabulous story on the show which prominently included a couple of my pieces which can be seen below.

I am also happy to say that The Carol Schwartz Gallery will continue to carry my work and represent me into the future.

I want to thank both Carol and Elliot Schwartz for asking me to be a part of their show. I was happy to be a part of it and glad it was such a success.

If you are in the Philadelphia area, please do yourself a favor and take some time to stop by their gallery. They are located at 101 Bethlehem Pike, Chestnut Hill, PA 19118. They have been in business for more than 25 years now and have one of the largest collections of vintage posters in the country. For more information please visit their web site at: http://www.carolschwartzgallery.com/

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