Duckie's Baseball Art

Fanfest 2010, Astros vs Blue Jays

2010-04-03T16:41:00.001-05:00

Here there blog of mine! It's been a while hasn't it? I need to consider what to do in the off season.

Anyways, I got up early this morning to hit up the ballpark for Fanfest 2010. Now since I wasn't going for Bagwell's autograph, I didn't get up nearly as early as last year and I wasn't stranded at the park all morning through afternoon. My brother was kind enough to drive me back and forth for everything.
So who did I get?

Shelton signing my sketchbook. Honestly I don't know this kid at all but the lady in line ahead of me said he had a good spring so maybe he'll be a decent addition to the team.
"Anywhere?" "Yea, anywhere." It's not like there was anything he could obstruct.

Manzella signing the cover as well. Now him I do know from various spring training games and a couple of games in the majors last year. I always want to call him Mozerella.

Humberto Quintero who I'm actually rather fond of. He always seems happy and the poor guy gets beat up a lot but that's sort of what he gets for being a catcher. He's short and stocky and I dunno... adorable. <3
So here he's signing a little sketch I had of him. I felt bad I hadn't taken the time to dig through my backlogs of sketches in my folder here at home to find a better one of him. Oh well. I've got his autograph elsewhere too.

Now here's where we had fun. FINALLY I get Berkman to sign the BLT+P poster that's two years old now. I told him...
"Sign by yourself please." "By me? Okay." And then I, the usher, AND Quintero stare at him as he signs over Tejada (after I had even pointed to him when I set it down). And I'm like "Um, that's Tejada!" "That's Tejada?!" "Yea, you're on top." And Quintero laughs at him, "You just automatically assume she put you on the bottom of the stack?" Poor Berk seemed embarrassed and he stared at it a moment as if trying to decide if he should resign it or put an arrow or something. Oh well. It's signed either way and I got a funny story out of it to boot. <3

Astros vs Blue Jays - 04/03/10
On this page: Bourn, Pence, Quintero, Norris
The game itself was awful. But I did get some sketching in during it.

Monday is opening day so let's hope they do better. See you guys there and welcome home boys!

Best Birthday Ever

2009-09-05T22:39:00.005-05:00

That's right guys! Today marks my 24th birthday and boy what a birthday it was! Not only did I have awesome cupcakes and a deliciously big lunch, but I also got a GREAT game!

Astros vs Phillies - 09/05/09
On this page: Berkman, Bourn, Pence, and Valverde
I don't think I've ever actually drawn Valverde before! I especially wanted to get a bit of his ritualistic pitching style. Does he have OCD or is that just a pitcher thing? lol
And it's true. Brad Lidge is our favorite "Close-er" ever. Mom and I shall never complain about how close the Astros relief like to make the games ever again.

Meanwhile, the greatest gift I could ever get (and had been waiting for since Spring Training!)...

And all it took was a poster telling him it was my birthday and all I wanted was a photo with him (and for the Astros to win of course!)
It could stand to be a clearer photo but who's going to complain when they finally get what they want?!

Thanks to all the fans who saw my poster and wished me a happy birthday and to the guys working at the creamery near Hunter's Lodge for being friendly and a blast! Not to mention flattering (sort of?) by thinking I was 17 lol

And to help celebrate, here's a shot after the winning RBIs by Kaz...

FYI; I can't turn my hat into a rally-cap. All the pins on it make it impossible. Doh!

Next game should be the last home game of the season though I wouldn't mind going to Sept 12's and getting the Valverde bobblehead. But I doubt I'll be able to make it.

More Than Half-Way Through

2009-08-29T01:23:00.003-05:00

Oh wow it's been a while hasn't it? I did the first two months worth of weekday games thanks to fan appreciation coupons from the end of last season. But for whatever reason I didn't draw during those games.

However when we finally got to go back in July I got some sketches in!

Washington Nationals @ Houston Astros - 07/10/09
On this page: Junction Jack, Roy Oswalt, and center field
This was a game we went to in desperation. It'd been over a month since we'd last gone to a game (May 21 I think?) so my mom and I were having withdrawals.

Florida Marlins @ Houston Astros - 08/18/09
On this page: Bud Norris, Berkman, Gervacio
This was mom's birthday game. Do you know how rarely they play a game at home on her birthday? Or mine for that matter?! So we knew since the end of last season that we were going to this game.
I got a lot of great little sketches out of this game. I also have a lot of new players that I haven't drawn before... Norris, Coste, Gervacio...

Also, before the Nationals game in July, I was bustin' my buns to get a poster done only to have it finished in time for the Marlins game instead. Oh well.

Jeff Keppinger really impressed me at the beginning of the season. He really helped out the team a lot in several games. He's not much of a starter though and has only been pinch hitting every so often so it's sort of rough having a poster for him. Especially with how infrequently I've been to games this year.
The banner behind him and the text should be a very light gold but it never scans all that well. Especially when I have to scan posters in pieces since they're so big and then piece them back together on the computer.

Next game will be September 5 for my birthday! All I'm asking for there is a photo with Hunter Pence (and maybe Jeff's autograph on the poster). So wish me luck and at the very least I hope we have a good game.

Opening Day 2009, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Dodgers oh my!

2009-04-23T15:14:00.007-05:00

Hey guys! Opening Day!

I've been busy so I've got a few games worth of updates to share with you guys!

Chicago Cubs @ Houston Astros - Opening Day 2009 04/06/09
On this page: Matsui
Poor mom was in Hawaii of all places so she trusted my brother, my buddy Nyssa, and me to have a good time at Opening Day for her. It was my first one actually as I'd been in school for the previous four at least. Sadly it wasn't a great game but we still had a blast anyways because that's the way we do it at Minute Maid!

Chicago Cubs @ Houston Astros - 04/07/09
On this page: Wandy, Matsui, the conductor
This game marked the start of two months straight of weekday home games! We managed to scoop up a bunch of certificates left behind at the last game last season so we have tickets to all but one game that they were valid for! Go us!

Here's a shot of me and Nyssa down by the fence before the game!

She had so much fun and was so impressed with the stadium and fans! And she caught on to how the game works so quickly! The Phillies are her closest team and she's already contemplating going out to one of their games when the 'Stros come into town! How's that for a conversion?!

Cincinnati Reds @ Houston Astros - 04/20/09
On this page: Matsui
I was focusing on keeping my score card this night. It's tough to follow the game and draw the sketches at the same time. But I decided to study Kaz some. I have my reasons.

Los Angeles Dodgers @ Houston Astros - 04/22/09
On this page: Matsui, Keppinger
I always forget to draw them stretching! Granted I'm usually down at the fence when they're stretching and it's not an atmosphere that's conducive to drawing. But this time I was up in the stands with mom and took a few moments to get some in. I was happy to see Kepp back too! He's been impressing me so far and I hope he keeps it up.

I've got a couple of posters in the works so hopefully I'll have some work to show for those. More presently I've got a game tonight! So I'll see you guys there and lets hope that we can sweep the Dodgers! Woo!

Until then, I'll leave you with a shot of downtown that Nyssa took.

Fan Fest 2009

2009-04-04T17:52:00.005-05:00

You guys may have noticed that I'm quite the Hunter Pence fangirl. But what might be more subtle is my one true love... Jeff Bagwell. He's been my favorite since childhood and while as I don't have the crush on him that I do Pence, I was ecstatic to find out that he would be present at the Fan Fest 2009 and worked out a way to be there myself at 4 am to be in line for wrist bands and vouchers.

My wrist band of glory!

My friend Nyssa was visiting from New Jersey and we and some of the other line goers were taking photos for each other. Normally I have my socks up and my Hunter Pence shirt on but this was a special day to wear my Bagwell jersey!

This is my rubber duck I was intending to have autographed.

I loved my voucher!

Super Bagwell!

Nyssa loves Bagwell too!

I'm not sure what he was listening too.

Later we went inside to wander around and we found Darin Erstad and Hunter Pence's autograph session. Darin was thirsty. Apparently signing autographs is tiring work.

The guy in line behind me was kind enough to snap photos for me since they wouldn't let me bring Nyssa in without a voucher for her. Here I've given Bagwell the art I've done of Biggio and asked if he'd be kind enough to give it to him for me since I couldn't go to his autograph session this morning. He was nice and said sure :3 <3

And here he's got my duck in his lap trying to figure out how he's going to sign it. I think he was a little more confused than Pence and I almost suggested he sign the side of the duck the way Pence did his but instead I explained that the duck had been waiting 6 years to get his autograph lol

The now autographed duck found himself up the sleeve of the Bagwell statue.

I had a blast but didn't do any art while I was there. However I did come across Isaac "Ike" Rodriguez in the home run alley working on some wonderful acrylic portraits of the players including one of Carlos Lee that I was really fond of. Check him out at Ike's Art Studio

See you guys for opening day! :D

Spring Training Extravaganza!

2009-03-15T13:08:00.004-05:00

Wow what a blast! My mother, aunt, and I attended 8 games over the course of the week and I've got a lot to show for it!

Before we left, I drew up Oswalt to celebrate Pitchers & Catchers day...

I have to make a point to print this one out in case I happen across Roy O during the regular season.

The first Friday of Spring Training we went to Fort Lauderdale Stadium to see the Washington Nationals play the Baltimore Orioles.

Washington Nationals @ Baltimore Orioles - Spring Training 03/06/09
On this page: Scott, Pauley
It'd been so long since I'd been able to sketch like this and it was fun. I'm particularly fond of Casto's sketch. I need to be challenging myself with more of the action shots as you can only draw batting stances so many times before getting too comfortable with it.

I took note that Ty was now with the Orioles...

And got a great shot of Luke up close!

Saturday we went to see the Orioles yet again, this time at the Roger Dean stadium against the Florida Marlins.

Baltimore Orioles @ Florida Marlins - Spring Training 3/07/09
On this page: All Marlins
I'm not entirely sure why I didn't draw a whole lot at this game. Possibly because I'd just drawn the Orioles the day before, so all I did was a few Marlins.

Hey look! It's a school of fish! lol

We didn't take in another game until Monday when we went to Tradition Field to see the New York Mets host... uh... the Baltimore Orioles. If you didn't know better you'd have thought we were following the O's around but it just turned out they were playing at the first three games we decided to go see.

Baltimore Orioles @ New York Mets - Spring Training 03/09/09
On this page: Freel
I took in some stretching sketches which were fun. Again, I'm somewhat trying to draw stuff I haven't drawn so much. A lot more goes on than batting. However it was particularly hot and sunny that day so I spent a good deal of time hiding in the shade without my sketchbook in hand.

That night we went out to the Space Coast Stadium to see the Washington Nationals host none other than the good guys, the Houston Astros! :D

Houston Astros @ Washington Nationals - Spring Training 03/09/09
On this page: Blum, Quintero
Paulino's pitching was awful this day. I hope that he can warm up and do better during regular season. However Quintero and Pence seemed to make up for it with some runs and awesome hits. This was also my last set of sketching for the week. I puttered out quickly and ended up spending the rest of the games just watching and/or getting all manners of autographs.

Tuesday we drove out to Kissimmee to see the 'Stros host the Atlanta Braves. I managed to get many many many autographs on my blank sheet I had started towards the end of last season.
This was it at the end of the '08 season...

And this is it after only two games at the Osceola County stadium...

Brocail was particularly friendly and chatty. He talked to us about the heat and about his arm and eventually after he changed he came back out and chatted with fans some more. In fact, I rather miss him now.
Blum was also very sweet and knelt down to get on the same level as a very little girl next to me while signing her autograph book.
At one point Tuesday, Matsui came out and signed for fans including a pair of Japanese girls, one of which was celebrating her birthday. He told her happy birthday and shortly afterwards he handed over one of his batting gloves to her!

Pence stayed in for the whole game however so I had to wait until the very end to get his autograph yet again. You can never have too many right?

I've had a pair of Astros rubber ducks for about 5 or 6 years now. Originally I had intended to have one signed by Bagwell and the other signed by pretty much anyone. Well since then I've become fond enough of Pence to decide that he was the one who deserved my second duck (the first one is still unsigned but is still held specifically for Bagwell should I ever find him somewhere). Pence gave me a bit of an odd look when I handed the duck over and I suppose I should've explained that my nickname is Duckie so these rubber ducks are perfect for me. But he simply obliged and signed it as you can see.

At the same time, I had a couple of prints of the "sock fiasco" comics I drew last season:
http://astros-artfielder.blogspot.com/2008/08/theyre-like-racing-stripes.html
http://astros-artfielder.blogspot.com/2008/08/no-really-they-make-you-fast.html

I asked if he'd like to have them and sure enough he accepted them and stepped back to read them. I clarified that I drew them after he nearly ran over Mark and Brad at home plate in a couple of games last season and he laughed and thanked me for them. I was excited and shaking so I was too preoccupied to notice just how much he might've liked them as other fans told me that he seemed to really really enjoy them. And truly that's better than anything I could ever get from any player.

At Friday's game, my buddy Nick joined me and helped cheer me on in getting Carlos Lee to finally sign my BLT+P poster!

So here it is with Pence, Tejada, and Lee's autographs! I'm thinking I'll go ahead and retire it even without Berkman's autograph. He's proving difficult to get and all the rolling and unrolling I've done of the poster is taking a toll on it. Plus I'm ready to move on to a new poster for the new season. Perhaps a "Kaz-manian Devil" one as Nick suggested.

At one point Friday, Wandy Rodriguez was walking by. I waved and said "hi!" rather than trying to get him to sign anything since I'd gotten his autograph Tuesday. Surprisingly he tossed me a baseball! It's my first MLB ever! I never did see him come back by so that I could get him to sign it for me too but I did manage to walk up to Milo Hamilton's window after the game.

Here he is chatting on the phone while holding my ball as I wait patiently.

And here it is all signed up! I'm just as ecstatic to receive this autograph as I am to have received Lee's on the poster finally! My family and I are big fans of his and listen to him on the radio when we can't watch the game in person or on TV and mom even puts blue stars on good plays in her own score book. :)

Anyways, I know that was a lot but there you have it! Opening day is only 22 days away! I'll be seeing you there!

Happy Pitchers & Catchers Day!

2009-02-14T12:30:00.001-06:00

If I were from the North, I'd complain that these guys are lucky to get down to Florida or Arizona and out of the snow. But I'm not.

Spring Training '09 Countdown!

2009-02-12T02:42:00.005-06:00

Hey guys! It's getting to be that time again! I can smell baseball in the air!

With only two days until Pitchers & Catchers and the purchasing of both my tickets to Florida for Spring Training and Opening Day for the 'Stros I'm obviously very excited! So I whipped up a quick portrait of Hunter tonight and thought I'd share.

I'll be spending a whole week doing Spring Training this year and we'll be hitting up various teams, not just the 'Stros, so expect plenty of sketches and even some photos! I'll also be taking the BLT + P poster with me in hopes that I can get Berkman and Lee to top it off and put it into retirement. Wish me luck!

Post Ike but no Post Season

2008-09-28T20:00:00.004-05:00

This month was supposed to be a grand baseball month. Unfortunately I had tickets to the Sept 12th game which was cancelled because of hurricane Ike. And our poor boys took things rough for a while. I myself didn't get power back for two weeks but during that time I spent a weekend in Atlanta and got to take in a game of course! And what's the end of the season without the last game?

Atlanta Braves vs. New York Mets 09/19/08
On this page: Jones, Johnson, Kotchman
I was so torn in this game. The Mets are my team away from home but we really needed the Braves to win. And there was an ungodly number of pitching changes. The game dragged on forever. I don't think I've ever gotten back from a game past 11. Aside from "the chop", Braves fans didn't seem too enthusiastic. Then again the Mets were quite often kicking their butts.

Houston Astros vs. Atlanta Braves 09/28/08
On this page: Pence, Cruz, Pence, newbies, and more Pence
This game was the make-up for me since the 12th was cancelled. The 12th was going to be my birthday celebration game and being the fangirl that I am, I had suggested we sit in right field so I could cheer on Pence nearby. So I am unashamed to admit there is a lot of Pence art on this page. That's what he gets for being close up right?

At today's game I also managed to get some new autographs! #50, Arias, a new pitcher; #15, Cooper, the manager; and #25, Cruz himself! I didn't have sketches of any of them (one of the reasons why I sketched Cruz real fast today) but I did ask Coop if they needed some art in the dugout. He didn't respond but oh well.

I doubt I'll get much art done over the post season so I'll see you at spring training!

Astros Vs. D'Backs

2008-08-17T20:41:00.004-05:00

On this page: Tejada, Pence, Oswalt
What a day. <3 Biggio's ceremony was wonderful and his son brought me to tears with his wonderful words on his father. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to see Bagwell again and to watch the #7 be unveiled along side the other retired numbers. And to top it off we won the game!

Even more exciting, I got some autographs! I didn't actually expect anyone to come up to the fence because of the ceremony but I gave it a shot anyways.

Here Sampson autographed his sketch from the game against the Reds on 07/30/08. He seemed confused when I pointed to the (admittedly) small sketch and said "That's you!" but obliged me in signing it anyways. :)

Here's Sampson shortly after having signed.

Valverde was also nice enough to come by and I had him sign a blank page. I don't really have any sketches of him as he's a closer so I a) can't be sure he'll be in a game and b) don't get much time or many chances to draw him. He did play this game however I had decided not to sketch today's game over his autograph. I'm thinking his page will be saved for more autographs that have no sketches to accompany them. It'd be nice to have a collection of the team in addition to individual sketches where I can get them.

No Really, They Make You Fast!

2008-08-16T18:31:00.001-05:00

The other night, Pence nearly ran over Ausmus on their way to home plate. It was total deja vu though I think Pence was better able to keep from falling on top of Ausmus unlike his run-in with Loretta.

Inner Harbor Special: Orioles Vs. Rangers

2008-08-11T19:45:00.005-05:00

Baltimore Orioles vs Texas Rangers
On this page: Scott, Cabrera, Millar, Hamilton, Saltilamacchiaandeveryotherletterinthealphabetperhapseventwice

Mom and I took in an Orioles game while we were in Baltimore for the weekend and it was a blast. For once I actually completed a score card, the fans were enthusiastic, loyal, and knowledgeable, and best of all I was "reunited" with Luke Scott, a former Astro. It was wonderful to have another chance to draw him as well as cheer him on and tell him to use the force. Otherwise I'd have simply been politely applauding good plays and appropriately booing bad ones regardless of the team. Scott gave me something to cheer about. <3

Meanwhile, I picked up a magazine with an article on the Houston Astros and Houston Humane Society's adoptable pets calendar. Please support the HHS and homeless pets by purchasing a calendar! Check out http://houstonhumane.org for more info!

And lastly, it's 7 days until Biggio's jersey retirement ceremony! I'm excited!

They're Like Racing Stripes

2008-08-03T01:30:00.002-05:00

After the ridiculous run-in on Blum's two run single tonight, I just had to draw this.

Someone needs to remind Pence that, when counting, 8 comes before 9.

Astros Vs. the Reds

2008-07-30T23:53:00.002-05:00

Astros vs the Reds
On this page: Pence, Blum, Lee, pitchers
Been a while hasn't it? Finally got back to a game tonight and though the Reds gave us what for for winning the past two games, still got some good hits and nice sketches out of it. I even got all of the pitchers aside from Byrdak who got changed out faster than I could find a time to draw him. Oh well.

I've got some illustrations that are thumbnailed out but I haven't had a chance to work on them otherwise. And I'd like to make a poster especially for Biggio's number retirement ceremony so hopefully I'll have some other stuff up here in the near future.

Astros Vs. Red Sox

2008-06-27T23:53:00.006-05:00

Interleague continues with a game against the Astros and the Boston Red Sox.

This game got a special poster which, after a brief baseball history lesson, made me feel a bit... awkward. But I figure the whole "Black Socks" scandal is obsolete enough now that most Astros and Red Sox fans would understand that's not what my point was. I hope.

I unfortunately couldn't fit Valverde or Oswalt into the poster to complete the usual "sockers". Funny enough, I also based this off of a photo I took from the Brewers game of a few of the boys standing for the national anthem. What's funny about it is that Erstad and Pence in the poster would actually be Matsui and Tejada in the photo. Oh well.

And sketches from the game didn't get to start until the 4th or 5th inning as we were late arriving and I had a very tasty chili-dog before I got down to business.

Astros vs Red Sox
On this page: Erstad, Pence, Abercrombie, and quite a bit of Blum
Hernandez is our new pitcher and this was the first game I got to see Newhan in so they got big ol "n00b" labels. Welcome to the sketchbook boys!

Tonight they had Kazuo's Classroom where he taught us some Japanese!
"It's Outta Here!" "Suttanda Ni Haitta!"
At least, I believe that's how it was spelt.

Interleague Special: Yankees vs Padres and Mets vs Mariners

2008-06-24T17:58:00.006-05:00

I got to spend the better part of a week in the New York City area and of course with Yankees Stadium and Shea Stadium closing at the end of the season, I made sure to stop by both for a game.

New York Yankees vs San Diego Padres 06/19/08
On this page: Mostly Yankees (the Padres blended in with the umpire at home plate)
We sat in the bleachers for this game and it was a very different experience from Minute Maid. The fans were highly enthusiastic and had several traditions that were unique. Some of them were a bit disruptive to me as an outsider but oh well. I got jeered at for my Hunter Pence t-shirt but hey, at least they know who he is.

New York Mets vs Seattle Mariners
On this page: Not much
Hernandez gave us the gem of hitting a grand slam on the first pitch of his first at bat despite being an AL pitcher. <3 It stunk for the Mets who I was honestly rooting for but oh well. I liked the atmosphere better at Shea and it and the fans felt more like Minute Maid but that could have been because I was in the infield seats and not the bleachers.

On the new stadiums: New Yankees Stadium is awesome for not getting a sponsor name and having some nice details but it seems too much like the original Yankees Stadium and aside from the addition of new luxury boxes, seems to be almost pointless. I didn't catch if they were extending the outfield at all. I didn't realize Yankees Stadium was so small... here I thought Minute Maid was tiny.
Citi Field looks like it is going to be gorgeous. The brickwork reminds me of Minute Maid but it still has a classic baseball stadium feel about it.
I find it humorous that both new stadiums are being built right next door to the older ones. It made me wonder if Astroworld had closed sooner, if we would've put Minute Maid across the freeway. However the Texans' stadium is next door to the Astrodome instead so perhaps not.

Astros Vs. Brewers

2008-06-12T20:40:00.005-05:00

The last game of the series was a weekday day game so it was unusual for me to go but it was better for mom as far as taking off work went. Unfortunately the boys lost but I still got some sketches done and got to take my poster down to the fence before the game.

Astros Vs. Brewers 06/12/08
On this page: Matsui, Lee, Wigginton, Geary

The BLT+P poster was well received! I had fans, security, and some of the trainers compliment me on it. One of the trainers asked if I was selling it and I politely claimed permanent ownership of the poster but that I would gladly do some work for him if he wanted in the future.

But possibly the biggest compliment came from none other than my favorite active player, Hunter Pence!

It was his opinion that himself and Lee were spot on but that I needed "...to work on Tejada". I tried to explain I hadn't gotten to see Tejada play much as this was only my second game to attend this season, but I was tongue tied and I'm not sure if I got the point across.

Later however, Tejada himself came by and signed the poster as well! I didn't get a shot of him doing such as it was unexpected but I did get a shot while he was signing another fan's ball right in front of me.

Maybe I can use it to reference future work.

Drawing Day 2008

2008-06-07T00:59:00.002-05:00

I just found this when I logged in to post my drawings from tonight's game.

It's called Drawing Day and you're encouraged to make at least one drawing on June 7, 2008, and share it with the world.

http://www.drawingday.org/blog.html

So I won't be able to get to tomorrow night's game and use that to contribute, but I should be able to get some sketches done. :)

Astros Vs. St Losers and BLT+P Poster

2008-06-07T00:41:00.004-05:00

Astros vs. Cardinals 06/06/08
On this page: Moehler, Berkman, Blum
What a great game to come home to! Beat the snot out of the Cardinals, made some awesome runs (even if a good deal of them were off Cardinals errors), Loretta was 4 for 4, and there were fireworks! To top things off, they had used Hunter Pence to promote the Guitar Hero contest before the fireworks. I was grinning ear to ear!

Here's the BLT+P Poster all colored as it debuted tonight!

I didn't get to the game early enough to hold it up down by the dugout to show it to any of the players and Tejada didn't play tonight but there's always next time.

Astros @ Pirates and BLT Poster

2008-06-05T02:48:00.004-05:00

Tonight I did some more sketches from TV while out at dinner. Sadly it was the last inning so I only got our 3 up and 3 down before we lost 2 - 3.

Astros @ Pirates 06/04/08
On this page: Villarreal, Erstad (happy birthday!), Pence, Wigginton
I never realized Wigginton held his bat so high above his head. I got to see replays of some of the plays earlier in the game and I was very impressed. I haven't seen Pence play like that in a long while! And Bourn is definitely keeping up his end. And Berkman is so wonderful when he's excited. <3

A fan coined the BLT theme for Berkman, Lee, and Tejada, and some of the announcers decided Pence was the pickle on the side. So I ran with that theme. I have other similar ideas for later.

Minor League Special: Savannah Sand Gants vs. Augusta Green Jackets

2008-06-05T02:30:00.003-05:00

Usually when I go home for the summer from school, it's raining. But this year it didn't rain! And good thing it didn't as I graduated and I don't think I'd get much of a chance to go back to Savannah to see the Gnats in action.

Savannah Sand Gnats (NY Mets) vs. Augusta Green Jackets (SF Giants) 05/31/08
On this page: Savannah Sand Gnats
I forgot my sketchbook so I did sketches along the edges of my scorecard as my mother taught me how to fill it in. I realized many of the players are younger than myself. :|

Savannah Sand Gnats (NY Mets) vs. Augusta Green Jackets (SF Giants) 05/31/08
On this page: Augusta Green Jackets
Here's a challenge, eat ice cream, hum along to Jimmy Buffet, keep score, *and* sketch players all at once... bet you can't do it either can you?

Spring Training 2008

2008-06-05T02:21:00.003-05:00

2008 was my first year to attend an Astros spring training game! It was well worth it!

Spring Training or Bust poster
I used sketches from pages of the 2007 season to create this poster that went in the back of my friend's bus as she drove us to the game.

Earlier before the game had started, I managed to get Dave Barkowski's autograph on a blank page that I then used for the game's sketches.

Astros vs. Marlins - Spring Training 03/21/08
On this page: Barkowski
At first Oswalt was pitching so all I got of Barkowski was him sitting on the bench but eventually he was told to warm up. I was standing right by him the whole time so I got a lot of up close sketching in.

At one point, Michael Bourn came by and I got a high-five outta him!

Late in the game, Hunter Pence came out of the game and signed some autographs including one on my poster I had made for him in the 2007 season.

I used this sketch from a 2007 game to reference the poster.

And here's the poster itself, autographed and all! It now hangs up on my wall along with the ticket stub from the game and an article I found on Pence.

Mr 3060

2008-06-05T02:13:00.003-05:00

During the 2007 season, Craig Biggio surpassed 3000 career hits.

I did some sketching for an illustration to commemorate his achievement and came up with this.

I actually surprised myself with how much of Minute Maid's left field I knew off the top of my head.

The final result is this.

If you're curious, I decided that the opposing team was the LA Dodgers as they're my mother's favorite team.

Astros 2007 Season

2008-06-05T02:00:00.004-05:00

Astros vs. A's 06/12/07
On this page: Pence, Oswalt
This is where I started to fall in love with Pence as the "designated socker" for the team though Oswalt had his socks up as well.

Astros vs. Phillies 07/03/07
On this page: Berkman, Lamb
I loved drawing lambs with Lamb. A bit obvious but their cute curly q's were too funny next to his figure.

Astros vs. Padres 07/26/07
On this page: Berkman, Rodriguez
The guys sitting in the dugout never get enough attention when I draw. I think Pence was on the DL during this game which would be why I gave the dugout any thought at all. Anyways, I also thought that the Berkman sketches were very Berkman-like.

Astros @ Marlins 08/05/07
On this page: Scott
I don't draw away games so much because of the camera work on the TV, but Scott was up to bat and had this daydreaming look to him that I just had to draw.

Astros vs. Nationals 08/20/07
On this page: Jennings, Wigginton
I got to sit a lot closer for this game. This was also the game in which a man proposed to his girlfriend and she rejected him by dumping popcorn on his head and stomping up the stairs. Not sure what happened but I made note of it.

Astros vs. Nationals 08/21/07
On this page: Lamb, Scott
It was getting to the point where I could look at my sketches and know which was Lamb just by his stance alone.

Welcome

2008-06-05T01:51:00.004-05:00

Hey guys! This blog is going to play host to my various art projects revolving around the Houston Astros and baseball in general!

I began sketching players, fans, and staff while I was at Astros games in 2006 and ever since then it has become a great way for me to enjoy the game as well as gain practice in speed sketching from life. These sketches have led to posters and even ideas for other illustrations and various art pieces.

As a bonus, I hope to get as many of the sketches autographed by their respective "models" as possible. Two down, several more to go!

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy!

Astros vs. Diamond Backs 07/28/06
On this page: Backe, Wilson, and Scott