First Inning Artworks

Baseball produces a series of set plays that make it exciting for the fan. The slide by a runner trying to beat a throw to a base is just one of those plays, and it always draws the attention of the crowd. The slide was developed early in the history of baseball as a way of avoiding the tag and the out. As this painting depicts it, the slide was just as exciting during an old time baseball game as it is today.

11 x 14, Watercolor and pen and ink on Bristol board

Price: $75

About the painting

This piece is the fourth of a series of four rendered with pen and ink and watercolor. (See below.) They all examine baseball players as they looked more than 100 years ago. They can be purchased individually or as a set (with a generous discount).

(This is an original piece, not a print.)

Everybody knows that pitching, ultimately, beats hitting in baseball. It was that way last night when the Cardinals pitchers beat the Mets hitters to win the National League pennant. It was true a hundred years ago when this big, burley hurler delivered a high hard one to his batting opponent. Think about a ball from this guy coming at you at 90 miles per hour. No wonder Ted Williams said hitting a baseball was the hardest thing to do in any sport.

11 x 14, Watercolor and pen and ink on Bristol board

Price: $75

About the painting

This piece is the third of a series of four rendered with pen and ink and watercolor. (See below.) They all examine baseball players as they looked more than 100 years ago. The last one will appear in the next few days. They can be purchased individually or as a set (with a generous discount).

(This is an original piece, not a print.)

With fielding percentages and Golden Glove awards — as well as ESPN highlights — the ability to catch the ball seems like it is finally getting its due after decades of neglect. But good fielding has always been valued by players and fans alike. Players such as Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb established themselves in their fielding positions as well as at the plate. That’s what this painting honors.

11 x 14, Watercolor and pen and ink on Bristol board

Price: $75

About the painting

This piece is the second of a series of four rendered with pen and ink and watercolor. (See below.) They all examine baseball players as they looked more than 100 years ago. The others will appear in the next few days. They can be purchased individually or as a set (with a generous discount).

(This is an original piece, not a print.)

Pitching is the most important part of baseball, but there is nothing that personifies the game more than the hitter. The hitter is the nexus of almost all the action of the game, and he is endlessly fascinating to this artist. Here we have a turn-of-the-century (last century) slugger laying the wood on the ball. The hitter sports a thick gray uniform but no batting helmet, no batting gloves, no shinguards. Just hitter, bat and ball.

11 x 14, Watercolor and pen and ink on Bristol board

Price: $75

About the painting

This piece is the first of a series of four rendered with pen and ink and watercolor. They all examine baseball players as they looked more than 100 years ago. The others will appear in the next few days. They can be purchased individually or as a set (with a generous discount).

(This is an original piece, not a print.)

Oakland has made it through to the second round, and the Cards and Mets will try to make it there tomorrow. So here’s another baseball offering. And speaking of the Cards, does the big guy remind you of anyone?

11 x 14, Watercolor on Bristol board

Price: $75

About the painting

This and other other paintings posted earlier (here, here, and here), are part of a number where I have tried to minimize the detail and emphasize the light and shadow. This has been fun for me, and I hope they are fun for the viewer to look at.

And look for more like this one soon.

(This is an original piece, not a print.)

We’re into the baseball postseason — the most exciting time of the year for the baseball fan. Still, we need to glance at football at least for a moment. Some big contests are on tap over the next couple of weeks. Attention should be paid.

11 x 14, Watercolor on Bristol board

Price: $75

About the painting

Like other paintings posted earlier (here, here, and here), this is a watercolor rendered in a loose, suggestive style. A lot here is left to the viewer’s imagination. The big question is: Who wins this contest — the guy in red or the guys in orange. The orange boys seem to have the upper hand, but we are looking at the middle of the play. We can only imagine (as we should) what happens next.

(This is an original piece, not a print.)

Saturday in September means football, but it’s getting late in the month, and baseball is resurging. Look for more baseball sets soon.

11 x 14, Watercolor on Bristol board

Price: $75

(This is an original piece, not a print.)

11 x 14, Watercolor on Bristol board

Price starting at: $75

(This is an original piece, not a print.)

11 x 14, Pen and ink on Bristol board

11 x 14, Pen and ink on Bristol board

Price: $125

(This is an original piece, not a print.)

Toumey Hall was constructed in 1888 and is currently the home of the Blount Undergraduate Initiative at the University of Alabama. For more than 70 years, from 1926 to 1999, it was the home of the University’s Army ROTC unit.