Turning my 1980's/early 90's commons into classics!

miwlvrn

@Stone193 said:
Very nice Tim - those are very rare and impossible in good condition.

Agreed. The set is very similar to the 1960 Wonder Bread Labels hockey set; those are very challenging to find raw that will grade as high as a 1 instead of Authentic, and there have never been any graded higher than a 1 yet.

timcarrollart

My most recent pieces:

Shohei Ohtani 2018 Bowman Chrome Superfractor (20" x 28")

1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky (24" x 33")

Draymond Green custom (28" x 22"

Stone193

Those just keep getting better and better Tim.

What did you use as the background to the Ohtani sig e.g.?

timcarrollart

@Stone193 said:
Those just keep getting better and better Tim.

What did you use as the background to the Ohtani sig e.g.?

Thanks! The background of the signature is A&G from 2012 and 2013, and the sig itself was Topps Lineage.

Loyalty32

Man... I remember when you were just some guy on The Bench...

Absolutely amazing as always old friend! I've enjoyed following your work all these years!

Thanks
Craig

timcarrollart

@Loyalty32 said:
Man... I remember when you were just some guy on The Bench...

Absolutely amazing as always old friend! I've enjoyed following your work all these years!

Thanks
Craig

Hey Craig! I'm still that same old guy I was on the Bench....I just make it around to several other message boards these days. Good to hear form you! -Tim

Huskies11

This is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. To not only think of the idea but to execute it so perfectly is really extraordinary. Great job.

timcarrollart

@Huskies11 said:
This is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. To not only think of the idea but to execute it so perfectly is really extraordinary. Great job.

Thank you so much.

Finally knocked out this Christy Mathewson T206 Portrait. 16" x 29"; Available.

timcarrollart

It was a pleasure meeting so many of you at the National. I had to bolt early Sunday (long drive), so if you didn't get the see the Thome I finished at the I-X, here is the completed work:

ahopkins

That's incredible.

Bearkat21

This is one of my favorite threads ever. Maybe one day I'll be able to get me a Kaline or Chipper

timcarrollart

@Bearkat21 said:
This is one of my favorite threads ever. Maybe one day I'll be able to get me a Kaline or Chipper

Thanks! Let me know whenever you are ready! -Tim

Stone193

Was a pleasure to meet Tim.

I introduced him to one of my collecting buddies - Graig Kreindler - our other artist - who many know from here.

Tim is not only a darn good person to talk with but has a way better than average grasp of baseball history!

If memory serves, it takes Tim 80+ hours to complete a piece and likes Donruss due to a thinner stock to handle and cut.

Tim - not sure I remember - did you do the Thome totally as the show?

Look forward to seeing you at the next national buddy.

timcarrollart

It was a pleasure meeting you, Mike! Thanks for stopping by and bring Graig over. Look forward to seeing you again next time!

Edit: Just noticed the Thome question. Only the face and the area behind his head was made at the show - I wanted to ensure I had enough time to walk the floor a bit so I completed most of the piece before I got there.

ahopkins

@timcarrollart said:

1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky (24" x 33")

I love that you put the OPC print dot on Gretzky's shoulder. Attention to detail is remarkable.

timcarrollart

@1970s said:
Great, great stuff. Really nice. Now here's a question from someone who knows nothing about creative art, architecture, or anything else that has to do with creating a piece like this. Well, here goes. Let's take the Gretzky for example (beautiful piece by the way). How do you get the card as well centered as you did ? Do you make original markings to keep the centering perfect as you work your way up and down the card ? Or, let's take the Edmonton Oilers on the card. If you start at the E for Edmonton and end at the S on Oilers, I notice that the O and R on Oilers raise up a little higher then all the other letters, which leads me to think that you may just do all this stuff freehand. Which by the way, would be totally amazing to think that you could be that accurate doing that. So my question is, do you start with an initial tracing of the card you want and work from there, or do you do it all freehand ? I'm guessing you work with a tracing of the image, but I know how talented some artists are. Heck, I can't even figure out how musicians can play an instrument and sing without even looking at the notes on the instrument while they play. Totally amazing stuff to someone with no musical or artistic talent like me.

Good question. It's a little of both. I start figuring out mathematically what the scale is I plan to work with. Most modern cards I decide to work at 8X the original size (a 2.5" x 3.5" card blows up to a 20" x 28" piece of art). I then grid off the large paper and an 8 x 10 photo of the card, keeping the blocks relative to each other. Using that grid approach, I sketch the card onto the larger paper. Whatever is in square 1 of the 8 x 10 goes into square 1 on the board. Once that first sketch is done, I use tracing paper over the sketch and define the lines that will make the art. I also create a general roadmap of blocks for specific shades/tones. Finally, I use the tracing paper over graphite paper to put the image on the board. As far as the lettering goes, I try to keep it lined up the best I can, but it is the single biggest area I have difficulty with, lol! I always have my ruler handy to keep things straight, but sometimes it goes slightly uphill/downhill, and sometimes the letters are slightly different sizes than they should be. I call it "imperfectly perfect." For what it's worth, I go back and see some of the pieces I've finished, and can see so many things I'd rework if I had it back in my hands....anything from lettering to one arm being slightly too large, etc. I'm definitely a work in progress.

timcarrollart

@ahopkins said:

@timcarrollart said:

1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky (24" x 33")

I love that you put the OPC print dot on Gretzky's shoulder. Attention to detail is remarkable.

Thank you!!

timcarrollart

After a couple of hockey commissions - back to the baseball!

krisd3279

I just found this thread and these are amazing! I may need to commission a 84D Mattingly at some point!

Kris

P.S. Thanks for increasing the value of the 25k 80s junk wax I have sitting in my closet. Nobody burst my bubble and tell me they will never be worth anything!

timcarrollart

@krisd3279 said:
I just found this thread and these are amazing! I may need to commission a 84D Mattingly at some point!

Kris

P.S. Thanks for increasing the value of the 25k 80s junk wax I have sitting in my closet. Nobody burst my bubble and tell me they will never be worth anything!

Those 5K boxes of 80's junk are absolute gold to me!:) Glad you found this thread.....shoot me a DM whenever you are ready to jump in on the waitlist and secure that Mattingly.

timcarrollart

Another Mantle down!

timcarrollart

T206 Ty Cobb Bat Off Shoulder complete!

Stone193

Hiya Tim

Sweet artwork - as usual buddy!

timcarrollart

Thank you, Mike!

Frozencaribou

An unsolicited idea- It would be so cool if you incorporated the famous OPC rough cut into your pieces that featured OPC cards.

Really love your work. Brilliant, really.

Nathanael

@timcarrollart said:

1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky (24" x 33")

I love that you put the OPC print dot on Gretzky's shoulder. Attention to detail is remarkable.

timcarrollart

A couple of recent commissions complete:

lawyer05

@timcarrollart said:
Not a classic outside our household, but....recently finished the largest piece I've ever done - an approximately 3 ft x 3 ft piece of my 10-year old son. My wife really liked some of the 1888 Goodwin Champions backgrounds (especially the Anson).....she always said it had a "World's Fair-feel" to it. So I used that with my background decision. I think it works.

@timcarrollart said:
Not a classic outside our household, but....recently finished the largest piece I've ever done - an approximately 3 ft x 3 ft piece of my 10-year old son. My wife really liked some of the 1888 Goodwin Champions backgrounds (especially the Anson).....she always said it had a "World's Fair-feel" to it. So I used that with my background decision. I think it works.

@timcarrollart said:
T206 Ty Cobb Bat Off Shoulder complete!

do u color the baseball cards ? or use the natural color

softparade

Epic art .... amazing talent!

timcarrollart

@lawyer05 said:
do u color the baseball cards ? or use the natural color

100% cards. No markers, pens, ink, paint, etc. Finding the right cards is half the fun.

@softparade said:
Epic art .... amazing talent!

Thank you!

Stone193

I like your son artwork Tim.

As usual, your other stuff is incredible.

Good seeing you.

lawyer05

@timcarrollart said:

@lawyer05 said:
do u color the baseball cards ? or use the natural color

100% cards. No markers, pens, ink, paint, etc. Finding the right cards is half the fun.

@softparade said:
Epic art .... amazing talent!

Thank you!

thats crazy..amazing!!

sayheykid54

I sent you a message. Great work

timcarrollart

Finished this Sport Kings Jim Thorpe earlier this morning. Cut football cards:

timcarrollart

And another football piece down.....1958 Topps Jim Brown RC. Now I need to find a slabbed, low-grade, centered copy of the actual card for my collection:

wadevl

Extremely impressive

timcarrollart

Here's my latest cut hockey card artwork along with the subject depicted...Mr. Joe Watson:

mrpeanut39

I really like how you incorporated the names of some teammates and the Flyers logo in there. I can't tell, but are any of the faces similarly significant?

timcarrollart

@mrpeanut39 said:
I really like how you incorporated the names of some teammates and the Flyers logo in there. I can't tell, but are any of the faces similarly significant?

Thanks! They are. I used as many 1974-75 Topps cards as possible to bring in all of Watson's teammates/opponents. Not all of the faces are 74/75, but a lot of them are.

timcarrollart

Back to some baseball commissions.....

1991 Bowman Chipper Jones RC:

timcarrollart

Now the 1986 Topps Traded Bo Jackson is complete:

ahopkins

I really like the layering that the Chipper has. It's got texture. Very cool.

timcarrollart

Been working on this one off and on for several years.....finally knocked it out this morning. 1953 Topps Satchel Paige:

59Horsehide

Unbelievable art! Do you have any idea how very talented you are? Continued success with your work.

Jim

timcarrollart

@59Horsehide said:
Unbelievable art! Do you have any idea how very talented you are? Continued success with your work.

Jim

Really, really appreciate that, Jim. Thanks so much. -Tim

ahopkins

How much do you play with the tone of color with the faces that make up Paige's face? Do you swap out a lot or reposition a lot? Just curious about the process. Truly remarkable. I could stare at that for hours.

Andy

Stone193

Hiya Tim

Always superb buddy!

Come on - the Paige is just plain sensational - couldn't decide between that and the Jackson. Paige won out by a sliver of 92D.

timcarrollart

@ahopkins said:
How much do you play with the tone of color with the faces that make up Paige's face? Do you swap out a lot or reposition a lot? Just curious about the process. Truly remarkable. I could stare at that for hours.

Andy

Fantastic question. There is definitely play involved with moving around and making decisions within the face. Skin tones are so different, and when you're talking about a big face, one small piece that is out of place can cause enough distraction that it causes the eye to focus on that than the piece in its entirety. I appreciate the kind words!

@Stone193 said:
Hiya Tim

Always superb buddy!

Come on - the Paige is just plain sensational - couldn't decide between that and the Jackson. Paige won out by a sliver of 92D.

Hahaha, Mike! Good to hear from you again. Look forward to chatting with you again this summer. -Tim

baseballfan

wow, great piece

softparade

Where can we put orders in? lol

How many cards do you think you use on average per pc?