Pele - Acrylic Painting

I just remodeled my Pele painting which I initially made around 2012 when I first started painting professionally. The paint is a little thick in some area so there are some spots that have smooth hills so to speak. From my experience in my early days as a weekend street artist in New York City I found many of the South Americans tourists had a love him or hate him emotional attachment towards Pele. Apparently he did something to anger quite a few soccer fans. I always knew him as the guy who played for the New York Cosmos when I started following sports as a young boy in 1976. Art photo prints start at $9 here.

NEW Curt Cignetti, Indiana Hoosiers Original Pencil Drawing

I just whipped up an 11x14 original drawing of Curt Cignetti of the National Football Champions, Indiana Hoosiers. It’s available as a print in sizes 4x6 up to 13x19. I changed the contrast in Photoshop as I can’t quite come close to the absolute black with a pencil.

Curt Cignetti, Indiana Hoosier Painting - Draft

I’m currently working on two new Indiana Hoosiers football paintings: a custom portrait of quarterback and Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza, and a piece of Coach Curt Cignetti (pictured below). Most of my paintings begin as ugly ducklings, and these are no exception. Some artists progress inch‑by‑inch, completing one small area before moving on; I’ve always preferred to advance every part of the canvas together. That approach often looks messier in the middle stages, but I trust the process and the vision of the finished work. To the casual observer it may seem like a disaster that will never resolve, yet it invariably finds its way—just as Coach Cignetti might suggest: Google me.

Painting Mariano Rivera

Someday I’ll finish the details on my Mariano Rivera Yankees painting. I rushed his portrait for his Hall of Fame election, since buyers buy on emotion. I had time for Mariano, but the Yankee Stadium background would’ve taken days. Those days turned into years because of custom orders and other popular players. One day Mariano will get his turn on the easel again.

New Year. New Me.

We all want a reset button. We want to start over again and recreate ourselves and this time will do it right. We can’t change the past but we can find that when we change the external it has an effective and positive change in our internal. Some people buy a new wardrobe, car, furniture and decorating. I can’t recall many things that have had had as much of a positive impact on me as looking at the surroundings of my interior wall. As a little kid I had posters of Star Wars and sports stars. The excitement and adventures of Star WRs took me to another place. The baseball stars made me feel like I was part of the team and inspired me to be a professional athlete some day. It was fun to dream and aspire to greatness and that inspiration only cost less a few bucks. Even today I surround myself with photos or paintings of people that I aspire to be like and it encourages me. Some images are abstract images and the colors remind me of my childhood or places I’ve been or hope to someday visit. These external objects have a large affect on my internal mood and positive moods bring positive results. Maybe this is why I am drawn to paint people and not landscapes or buildings. People and their words inspire me to be better.

Tom Brady - Before and After

Here’s a before-and-after of the Tom Brady original acrylic painting, inspired by the Patriots’ legendary comeback against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI (2017). The work captures the drama of a game that saw New England overcome a 28–3 deficit late in the third quarter to score 25 unanswered points, force the first Super Bowl overtime, and seal a 34–28 victory when James White plunged in the winning touchdown. Key moments — Julian Edelman’s improbable catch, Dont’a Hightower’s strip-sack, and Brady’s relentless leadership — are echoed in the composition and brushwork, transforming photographic intensity into layered texture and color that celebrate the sport’s most historic comeback.

Tom Brady, New England Patriots original acrylic painting from start to finish.

New Painting - Ceedee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys

I just finished a new 8x10 acrylic painting of the All Pro Wide Receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, CeeDee Lamb. I started working on this painting around Thanksgiving of 2024 and put it to the side for about a year. I probably put it down as there were other unfinished paintings that were closer to being finished that I wanted to have ready for Christmas season.

Most Viewed Art for 2025*

Here are the most viewed paintings and art prints over the past 365 days. Technically it’s not from January 1st until now, but it serves the same person - what’s popular at my art store.

Coming in at number one is a piece that’s in the top 3 every year, Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman, Rumble in The Jungle. This was a custom painting that a son gave to his father several years ago. Prints

Coming in at number two are the New York Mets announcers, Ron Darling, Gary Cohen, and Keith Hernandez. This was a custom painting a wife gave to her husband and she even had all three of them sign it. Every once in awhile they’ll show he painting on the replay screen at Citifield in Flushing. This print is very popular and always ranks in the top 3 most viewed every year. Shop for prints.

Coming in at number three is Paige Bueckers of UCONN. Being from Connecticut myself I probably have more Connecticut visitors to my store than most artists. After they won the Final Four this year I repainted her jersey with her Final Four UCONN uniform. I’ll be listing the prints in the store shortly. The original is currently for sale and measures 11x14.

A new addition and painting in 2025 is Treveyon Henderson of the NCAA Football National Champions, Ohio State Buckeyes. One can imagine that there would be more views for a national champion during the current year and that seems to be the case here. I may paint over him in a New England Patriots uniform if he has an outstanding season and takes them to the Super Bowl. Which reminds me, I just made my first painting of an autographed football helmet of another New England Patriots, Ty Law. I just have to add a logo to it and it’ll be available for sale. Both the print and original painting are available for sale at my store.

Arriving at number five is another new painting I created this year, Cooper Flagg of the Duke Blue Devils. The print and the original painting are available. The painting measures 11x14.