1982 Milwaukee Brewers Infield on Fantasy Camp Fundraiser Art
'82 Brew Crew Baseball Glove Artwork a Hit
A baseball glove painting commemorating the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers starting infield was part of the fun and fundraising at the Brewers Fantasy Camp recently held in Phoenix.
The intricate painting features Hall of Famers Paul Molitor and Robin Yount, Jim Gantner and Cecil Cooper.
The glove used is a 1980's Rawlings Pro Model. Upon seeing the glove, Yount said, "That's my gamer." It wasn't actually one of his game-used gloves, but it confirmed that the glove was definitely the right one for this painting.
The deep pocket of the glove and wrap around design of the artwork required cutting my paint brush handles in half (link opens new window) in order to fit my hand in the glove while painting.
The design process involved selecting photo reference of the infielders from 1982, arranging them with an eye on where seams and fingers break up the surface, and sizing them to fit.
I definitely wanted to include the iconic Brewers logo, placed on the "infield diamond" of the glove, along with other logo types the team used on jerseys from the Championship season.
Photo: Rick Ramirez
It was a thrill to be present for Fantasy Camp Q&A Night with participants from the '82 AL Championship team.
And it was a treat showing the artwork to 3 of the 4 guys portrayed on the glove: Gantner, Yount and Cooper.
Also answering questions that night from the 1982 team were Don Money, Mike Caldwell and Brewers/baseball legend, Bob Uecker, who I got to sit with in the front row.
Former Brewer and Fantasy Camp coach, Don Money, is shown here with the winner of the glove artwork, camper Paul C., whose name he drew in the raffle.
Best of all, the '82 Brew Crew Painted Glove was part of an exciting and generous camp fundraising effort (including Kangaroo Court fines, jersey auction and matching grants) that raised $7500 for Stars and Stripes Honor Flight.
The donation from Brewers Fantasy Camp will send many WWII and Korean War veterans to Washington, DC to visit their memorials. Fantastic!
A big thanks to Brewers' broadcaster and captain of the camp, Bill Schroeder (above, talking to Brewers' Doug Melvin), along with pal Rick Ramirez and the rest of the Brewers staff and Fantasy Camp family that welcomed me back to their awesome event to be a part of the fun.
1982 Brewers Infielders featured on Painted Glove art by Sean Kane.
Sean Kane's baseball glove art has been featured on NBC Sports.com, ESPN.com, MLB Network Radio, and is in the collection of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, private and corporate collections across the country. Sean has been recognized by the National Art Museum of Sport for his baseball art.
Inquires about paintings and commissioning glove artworks are welcome. Please contact sean@seankane.com or telephone 519-836-5647.