WVU Exhibit on Negro Leagues Baseball and Latin Culture Opens

The 'Negro Leagues Beisbol Exhibit' arrived at West Virginia University and I had the great honor of having my Minnie Minoso baseball glove artwork included and being there for the Opening Day festivities.

The exhibit depicts the lives of athletes of color during racial segregation in the United States, focusing on African American Baseball and Hispanic Culture 1860-1960. It began a two month-long stay at the WVU Erickson Alumni Center on Sunday, Sept. 18.

The Opening Day event was highlighted by the keynote presentation from Pedro Sierra, a former pitcher in the Negro Baseball Leagues and friend of his fellow Cuban countryman, Minnie Minoso.

Pedro Sierra took a few minutes to tell me stories about his coach with the Washington Senators, Ted Williams.

Minnie Minoso is the featured player in the exhibit, which highlights Spanish-speaking players in the Negro Leagues.

Glove art near exhibit entrance

Minnie Minoso corner

With Dr. Robert Waterson, Director of WVU CDCE

Dr. Robert A. Waterson, Director of the West Virginia University Center for Democracy and Citizenship Education within the College of Education and Human Services, brought the exhibit to Morgantown.

A mission of the exhibit is to make available to teachers and their students across West Virginia teaching materials, videos and visits to the exhibit with an aim to keep alive these aspects of history that are challenging and not always convenient to discuss, but necessary for growth and improvement as a society.

Awarding art prize to WV 6th Grader.

As part of the educational component of the exhibition, a state-wide art and essay contest was held for elementary school students to express their thoughts about baseball and civil rights.

I was asked to take part in awarding the winners, including this talented 6th grader, who created a wonderful drawing of Jackie Robinson. I only wish I had a photo of it.

With John Wakelin, friend and contributor to the exhibition

Along with my Minnie Minoso baseball glove art, the exhibit includes important artifacts from my friend and Negro Leagues collector, John Wakelin.

These items include players’ personal letters and photos, memorabilia from Latin American teams, rare cards and game programs which add an important human touch to the exhibit.

Note my friend John's shirt, complete with Negro Leagues team logos!

Players from WVU's Mountaineers baseball team joined in the festivities and were great fun to talk with and were curious about the artifacts.

And a baseball art road trip wouldn't be complete without seeing some baseball, here provided by the Mountaineers at their scenic stadium. The ballpark is also home to the West Virginia Black Bears, in the Pirates' minor league system.

The weekend was full of opportunities to meet friendly WVU students, staff and administrators and fellow baseball fans.

Big thanks to WVU's CDCE and Dr. Waterson for hosting my visit.

A Career Captured on a Mitt: A Gift for Coop

Glove Art Commissioned as a Surprise Present for Cecil Cooper

Last year a Painted Glove featuring Cecil Cooper was created for the Milwaukee Brewers Fantasy Camp as a fundraising item, which turned out to be a hit.

That baseball glove art prompted camp friends and former Brewers teammates of Coop's to commission a new painting celebrating his impressive baseball career -- this time as a surprise gift for him.

This gift was given to Cecil Cooper at Milwaukee Brewers Fantasy Camp earlier this month (Feb. 2016) in Arizona.

The glove features depictions of Coop's time on two American League Championship Teams: playing first base with the Boston Red Sox (1971-1976) and up to bat the Brewers (1977-1987).

Centered on the large mitt is the main portrait of him as a Brewer.

Since Coop is a lefty, I chose an appropriate 80's era Rawlings first base mitt, just like the one he told me he used during his career.

All the big stats and honors from Cecil Cooper's career are noted, including his Gold Gloves, All-Star games, Silver Sluggers and RBI Leader years.

Also, researching his 2192 career hits, I found that Coop ranked 112th on the All-Time Hits list at the time of his retirement.

Cecil expressed excitement about the gift from his friends and says it will be displayed proudly at home between his Gold Glove Award and Roberto Clemente Award.

As the artist, it doesn't get much better than knowing that a creation is meaningful to the recipient.

Rob Deer and Camper looking on with Coop.

What a thrill to be a part of this gift and to have the opportunity to celebrate Coop's career as a player. Big thanks to David, Bill and Jerry for entrusting me with this commission for their friend.

Sean Kane's baseball glove art is in the collection of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum along with private and corporate collections across the country.  

Inquires about paintings and commissioning glove artworks are welcome. Please contact sean@seankane.com or telephone 519-836-5647.

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.

National Art Museum of Sport Artist of the Month

I'm honored to have been chosen as the January 2016 Artist of the Month by the National Art Museum of Sport (NAMOS).

NAMOS is "America's premiere museum of fine art depicting sport", founded in New York in 1959 and opened its first location in 1968 at Madison Square Garden.

The museum's mission is to share the best in fine art depicting sport and encourage the creation of fine art depicting sport.

My baseball glove artworks are being featured on the NAMOS web site during the month.

Now based in Indianapolis, the National Art Museum of Sport has one of the largest collections and exhibition schedules of fine art depicting sport. The museum has more than 1,000 pieces showcasing the heroes and heroines of basketball, boxing, baseball, golf and tennis-over 50 sports. In addition to its collections, the museum also features extensive archives and a library about sport art and its collection.

NAMOS currently hosts exhibitions featuring selections from their permanent collections in various locations, including pieces on display at NCAA headquarters, while in discussions for a new permanent home.

Thanks to The National Art Museum of Sport for recognizing my work to this point exploring the national pastime!

Welcome Sports Collectors Daily Readers

Thanks for coming over to see more of the baseball memories I'm creating on classic gloves.

Available gloves are in my Gallery Shop.

I create custom order Painted Gloves, too. Info here.

Gallery Shop and Custom Ordering prices typically range from $2000-$3500 for a Painted Glove depending upon a number of factors including design complexity, number of portraits and rarity of glove.

All prices include FREE shipping and NO sales tax for U.S. deliveries. Your Painted Glove will arrive in an archival museum gift box with display stand (or framed. See specific glove for details.)

For questions or inquires, please contact me.

I appreciate your interest and welcome your thoughts! Best,

Sean

P.S., the latest news from my studio can be found in my Fall "Dugout Dispatch" newsletter and the Spring 2015 edition.

Researching Gloves and More at the Baseball Hall of Fame

A photo recap of Beautiful Cooperstown and a few of the Game's Treasures

In Cooperstown for the first time, on a beautiful early-Fall weekend, I was able to get a firsthand look at gloves and mitts worn by many of the game's greats.

Satchell statue, Gehrig's glove, Ty Cobb's shoes, and looks like they've been painting baseball equipment since the 1850s!

Searching books and online just doesn't compare to seeing items in person, especially when I'm looking to accurately depict uniforms and shoes, etc.

Ruth's glove, McGraw's Giants uniform, Lakeside Cooperstown, Bob Gibson's glove (which, interestingly, is a Carl Yastrzemski model glove!).

Also, being able to know what glove a player used helps me to more accurately know which type I should look for when it comes time to portray that player on a glove.

Pirates '79 hat, Willie Mays' glove he made 'The Catch' with, Brooks Robinson glove, and a blast from my past -- pinwheel from old Comiskey Park scoreboard.

While at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, I also had the good fortune to also meet a group of new friends, Roberto Clemente enthusiasts from around the country gathering for an event featuring former Mets' pitcher and Rookie of the Year, Jon Matlack.

Shop selling gloves, Al Simmons' hat, Aparicio's '70 uniform, and the glove Yogi Berra used to catch Don Larsen's perfect game in the World Series, which looks like it had a few trips to the seamstress during the season.

Will look forward to future trips to Cooperstown and researching the game!

Glove Paintings in North Carolina Art Exhibition

"Baseball as Art" exhibit showcases five Baseball Glove Artworks.

The Cleveland County Arts Council in Shelby, NC celebrates baseball-inspired art in the annual "Baseball as Art" exhibition, opening August 6th.

My Ted Williams, Hank Greenberg, Minnie Minoso, Tom Seaver and Roberto Clemente baseball glove paintings are on display in this group show.

The exhibit runs through September 12th in the beautiful former post office space and includes a number of baseball-themed images by several artists.

The exhibit opens in conjunction with the American Legion Baseball World Series, which brings baseball fans and families from around the countey to the Shelby-area during the tournament.

A big THANKS to the Cleveland County Arts Council for the invitation to have a role in the show! Their enthusiasm for the arts and special programming is impressive and it's an honor to be associated with this special event.

Photos courtesy of Jason Dahlheimer and Cleveland County Arts Council.

Dugout Dispatch: Spring Studio Update

A recap of some of the fun stuff happening with baseball glove art can be viewed here (LINK opens in new window).

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