"Motown Mow-Down" / 18" x 24" / Watercolors

This is a painting of Detroit Tigers pitcher, Justin Verlander.  Justin has stepped into the rotation, and established himself as one of the premier starters in the American League, and all of baseball.  He's currently a favorite for AL Rookie of the Year, and definitely going to get heavy consideration for AL Cy Young.

As you can see, I've added some initial shading to both arms and his face, as well as some initial background coloring as well.  I've also added some early detail to the baseball, adding the stitching, etc.  There are a few areas on both arms, where I still need to go back and add the "highlights" and final shadows, but is nearly  complete for both those areas.

Here, finally, are the latest updates.  I've mainly been working on the background -- as there are a lot of elements and details contained in the background.  I've also started to add some detail and color to his glove, as well as some additional shading and color to his arms, face, and jersey.  Still a long way to go...but hopefully it will continue to progress well.

At left, you'll see a full-size look at the current progress -- mostly background details.  If you click on the photo and see specks -- it's not actually on the painting...the camera was having some technical issues.  At right, you'll see a closer version.  I've added some additional color and shading to Justin's jersey, prior to adding some of the final "darks" to the shadows.  Should make the highlights really stand out once I finish that part.

These 2 pictures are the latest updates.  I've added most of the final detail and shading to his glove, but may add some small touches later on.  I've also added more of the background -- although it's hard to tell, because there is so much detail to add to it, from one area to another.  I've also added some more color and shading to his jersey and right pant-leg.  I'm hoping to get some more time in the next few days to keep working on it.

At this point, you can probably see I've added more shading to Justin's uniform, as well as added some bold highlights, to help really establish the shadows in the painting.  I'm definitely happy with how things are looking right now, and hopefully I'll be able to add more background details soon, as well as add the final shading, coloring, and detail to the facial area of the painting.

The photos at left, are the latest photos of the painting -- that are, unfortunately, quality-wise, taken with my cellphone camera.  I've had some problems with my digital camera, and had to send it back to the company to have the CCD chip replaced.  So, I apologize for the low-quality photos of the painting.  As you can see in the photo on the right, the painting is nearing completion.  The few elements that remain are: lightening up a few facial areas, and finishing the final details in the left side of the background.  Hopefully I will have time to finish the painting soon. 

Congrats to Justin and the Tigers on a great '06 season!

Good Luck in the AL ROY and

Cy Young Voting!

Nothing is "set in stone", but you can expect that prints will likely be available in the coming months for this painting.  Stay tuned for more information!  And, thanks for checking out this painting!