Things I made while offline: Fergie Jenkins

Because this blog will be dominated by football-related content for the next five months, your author has decided to make an effort to regularly post pictures his lovely and talented sister took of some of his artwork. These posts will include a brief thought or two about when the piece was made. 

This week: Charcoal pencil drawing of Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT: When I either heard on the radio or saw in the newspaper that Fergie Jenkins would be at our local Menard's to sign autographs this past April, the idea hit me to use the opportunity to make my old man something for his birthday or Father's Day (the two dates are a one-two punch every year—occasionally even falling on the same day). Since Dad was decidedly "Meh" about the first gift I gave him (this year, it was the birthday preceding Father's Day), I think this piece went over quite a bit better. I especially like where he chose to hang it too, in the room outside the main bathroom in our house, so I get to look at it quite often.
I should note that I did darken that area in the middle and touch the piece up in a few other spots before presenting it to Pops, and overall, I was pretty satisfied with how I laid things out. 


WHAT STILL KINDA BUGS ME ABOUT IT: The line extending to the left of the foul pole there was something I debated erasing or filling in more for the two months in between when I made this and when I gave it to Dad. Ultimately, I left it as is and think it was probably the right call not to try and fuck with it too much more. I also wish I had maybe put a little more detail in the Wrigley Field background to at least include the ivy-covered outfield wall.

Oh, and while one of the Menards employees standing behind Jenkins remarked how impressed he was with the piece was after I unrolled it to be signed, Fergie himself was seemingly blasé about the whole thing and simply signed it without saying a thing. Perhaps he'd seen similar projects made. Or maybe it would have had more "Wow" factor had it been in color. Or maybe he knew I was actually a Braves fan.