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Denny’s artwork and painting of former Pittsburgh Steeler, Andy Russell’s new book makes the latest issue of the Steeler Digest. In the article, Andy discusses his newest book titled “Beyond The Goalpost,” a tribute to his history-making relationship with the Steelers and their fans throughout his career. What an honor to share his legacy through his art!
Visit the Steeler Digest website. |
Posts Tagged ‘Steelers’
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
Monday, June 14th, 2010
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L.C. Greenwood was part of the four Super Bowl teams from the 1970’s. He was also one of the original Steel Curtain members. L. C. was a 10th-round draft choice out of Arkansas AM&N in 1969 and became a starter in 1971 when he led the team in QB sacks with 8-1/2, the first of four times he accomplished this feat. He was second on the Steelers career sack list with 73-1/2. He was exceptionally quick and at 6′ 6-1/2″ was very difficult to block and with DT Joe Greene and LB Jam Ham formed an impregnable left side of the Steel Curtain. L. C. was a great big game player in Supper Bowl IX against Minnesota where he knocked down three of Fran Tarkenton’s passes. In Super Bowl X, he sacked Roger Staubach three times. Greenwood was named to the 1970’s NFL Team of Decade and was voted to more all NFL teams in the 1970’s than any other DE. L. C. was named to the Pro Bowl 6 times, a member of the 75th Silver Anniversary Super Bow Team, spent 13 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers and was nominated to the Pro Football Hall of Fame 16 times.
L.C. was often seen sitting along the Steeler bench with the infamous towel over his head. But the thing that really made L.C. as a stand out other than his shear tenacity on the field was his Steeler gold shoes! You could pick him out anywhere on the playing field. By the NFL rules, a player cannot wear anything other than the team issued shoes. L.C. told me, back in the day, Nike paid the fines so he could wear those famous shoes. This is a commission piece that I did for Art Rooney, Jr., owner of the Steelers. Here is a photograph at the luncheon that Mr. Rooney had for L.C. and I. It was at the famous Piccolina’s Italian Restaurant in Pittsburgh. Mr. Rooney unveiled my new portraits of L.C. and Donnie Shell.
The painting was made into a collector card which is a limited edition of 1000.
The painting is traditional oils on Museum-grade Ampersand, Gessobord Masonite. The overall size is 16″ x 20″. This piece is SOLD. |
Monday, June 14th, 2010
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Donnie Shell was part of the four Super Bowl teams from the 1970’s. He was also one of the original Steel Curtain members. Shell was one of the greatest undrafted free agents in NFL history. He came to the Steelers in 1974 after a stellar career at South Carolina State as a linebacker and safety. In his first three seasons, he was one of the best special teams players in the NFL. In 1977, he became a full-time starter and led the team in interceptions four times. Donnie was the first strong safety in NFL history to intercept 50 passes and still holds the NFL record for career interceptions with 51. During his 14 seasons, he made the Pro Bowl five consecutive times and was a standout on four Super Bowl winning teams. As a team captain, he was a great leader with his hard-hitting physical style of play. Donnie was nominated to the Pro Football Hall of Fame nine times.
This is a commission piece that I did for Art Rooney, Jr., owner of the Steelers. The painting was made into a collector card, which is a limited edition of 1000. The painting is traditional oils on Museum-grade Masonite. The overall size is 16″ x 20″. This piece is SOLD.
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Saturday, May 8th, 2010
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This is Hall of Famer, Ernie Stauter. He played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1950 to 1963. After retiring as a player, Stautner joined the Dallas Cowboys as an Assistant Coach. He helped coach the team to two Super Bowl titles in 1971 and 1977. Stautner is credited with developing some of the greatest defensive lineman in Cowboy’s history, including Randy White and Ed “Too Tall” Jones. Stautner also served as an Assistant with the Steelers, Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos.
This is a photograph of Ernie and Pittsburgh Steeler Owner, Dan Rooney the day his #70 jersey was retired. He is the only Steeler to have that honor.
Here is day one. This is an 11″ x 14″ portrait done in pencil. Here is the piece as it laid on my drawing desk. This shows my heavy-weight illustration board taped off. You can see the reference photo that I worked from along with my German Faber-Castell 4B, 6B and 8B drawing pencils, kneaded eraser and blending stick.
Here is a close-up of the first day’s work.
This is day two.
Day three.
Day four.
Day five. Here I am removing the drafting tape from the final. This gives the piece a very clean edge.
Here is the final. The dark background took hours of drawing to achieve. I used a soft stick of charcoal. I draw it in then rub the charcoal with a soft tissue. It takes several layers to get the area dark enough until I am satisfied with the results.
This is the Rooney Collector Card that I created from my original pencil drawing. All the card elements are created on my MAC computer using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. The cards are printed in California in a limited edition run of only 1000.
Thanks for looking! Stay tuned, there are many more of my works in progress to come. Denny |
Thursday, April 8th, 2010
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This is my latest painting. It is Pittsburgh Steeler, Donnie Shell. He was part of the four Super Bowl teams from the 1970’s. He was also one of the original Steel Curtain members. This is a commission piece that I am doing for Art Rooney, Jr., owner of the Steelers. The painting will be made into a collector card which will be a limited edition of 1000.
The painting is traditional oils on Museum-grade Masonite. The overall size is 16″ x 20″. This is day one of my work in progress.
Here is day two of my painting of Steeler, Donnie Shell. I finished detailing his face and started laying down the base coat for his jersey. The front of the jersey, #31 and arm stripes coming next.
Here is day three of my painting of Steeler, Donnie Shell. I reworked his face slightly and started to detail his jersey.
Getting close now. Still a lot of detailing on the arms and the pants.
Here is the fifth version. I spent several hours detailing his left arm and hand. I added more detail to his pants and jersey. One other thing that I did, which is hard to see here, I painted in all the stitches around the #31.
Here is the completed painting of Donnie Shell, background added and signed.
The whole purpose of me painting these players for Art Rooney, Jr., is to have the image placed into a limited edition collector card. The edition number is 1000. They are 4.5″ x 6.25″ in size printed on heavy stock. The back side will have a post card type mailer look, along with all of Shell’s stats. I also create all the card graphics using Photoshop. Here is the front of the Shell card.
Thanks for looking! Stay tuned, there are many more of my works in progress to come. Denny |
Friday, February 26th, 2010
Awhile back I have the extreme privilege of meeting a fellow artist, Charles Ott. He creates some of the tightest pen and inks I have ever seen. Charles is from Pittsburgh. His subjects are the famous structures and landscapes of the “Burgh.” Charles just approached me about featuring my artwork on his website “Steel City Artist Illustrations.” Please check it out and while your there, do yourself a favor and check his work. You won’t be sorry!
A “big thanks” Charles!
Denny
Monday, October 19th, 2009
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In October 2009, Denny had the privilege of creating all the cover graphics for former Pittsburgh Steeler, Andy Russell’s new book titled Beyond The Goalpost. Denny’s oil painting of Andy was featured along with a photograph of Three Rivers Stadium taken by photographer, David B. King from Washington D.C. The foreword was written by the famous Hall of Fame member, running back and former Pittsburgh Steeler, Franco Harris.
The back cover features this famous photograph of Former Steeler Linebackers, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert and Andy Russell. This photograph was taken to showcase what is still an NFL Record. These three linebackers went to 24 Pro Bowls!
This is Andy’s third book. The inside front cover flap reads in his own words: Andy has always been attracted to athletic challenge, adventure and possibly even danger. In this book Andy tries to understand what it was that drove him as a young child, and to recall who were his mentors and especially ask himself why he was so driven to pursue what many would consider dangerous sporting activities – for example: professional football, mountain climbing, wilderness canoeing, cave exploring, and scuba diving. In some ways this book could be considered a biography as Andy tries to tell his children, grandchildren, dear friends and the Steelers Nation (fans/readers) how he thinks about life, how lucky he has been, and what a positive influence they have all been. If one can write his legacy this book would be his attempt to understand himself. Andy explains how football has been such a primary force in his life and he has included many stories about the Steelers amazing transformation from a consistent loser in the 60’s to the incredibly successful 70’s. Football also provided Andy with the opportunity to travel around the world five years in a row, giving football clinics, making motivational speeches and personal appearances. During those trips he and his partner Sam Zacharias pursued their investment business, finding investors on the other side of our planet. Andy describes how he feels forever blessed to have had such an opportunity, all brought about by his football experience.
Beyond The Goalpost is preceded by A Steeler Odyssey published in 1998 and followed by An Odd Steeler Journey three years later. |
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
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Before you scroll on down to see my Steeler pieces, I want to post this commission piece requested by Art Rooney, Jr, son of Art Rooney, Sr. This one is special, to say the least. This is Hall of Famer, Art Rooney, Sr., aka “The Chief.” Recently Art Rooney Jr. has written one fantastic book about the life and times of his father and the Rooney Family. It is titled “Ruanaidh.” The strange-looking title (pronounced Ru-ah-nee) is the Gaelic word for Rooney. This is a “ten-years in-the-making” masterpiece! Many of my Steeler portraits are printed though out this 483 page book. The inside cover art is graced by several fantastic portraits that have been done of “The Chief.” In the group, there are several portraits from my predecessor, the late, great Merv Corning, a fantastic local Pittsburgh artist, Dino Guarino, the famous sports artist LeRoy Neiman and lastly Art Rooney Jr’s cousin, Kathy Rooney, (http://www.krooney.net/) who is not only laid out the whole piece, but has her great portrait of “The Chief” included as well. What an honor to have been asked to have my work appear in such fine, fine company. I am truly humbled.
This is my pencil version of Art Rooney, Jr’s father, “The Chief.” – Denny
Here is the link to the Art Rooney, Jr. website: http://www.artrooneyjr.com/
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Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
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Dan Rooney has spent 50-plus seasons in various capacities with the family-owned Steelers. He was appointed team president in 1975. He has implemented a philosophy and management style that emphasizes open, practical and efficient management. Dan joins father Art Rooney, Sr. as the second father-son combination in the Hall of Fame. He was an integral part of one of the modern era’s most successful franchises, and has helped guide the Pittsburgh Steelers to six Super Bowls. As of 2009, Dan has taken the prestigious position as the Ambassador to Ireland. Dan’s son Art Rooney II has now taken over the reins of the Pittsburgh Steelers. |
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
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This is Troy Polamalu. To date, this is the highest profile commission that I have had to do. For some of you “Die-hard Steeler Fans,” you already know who Troy Polamalu is. For those of you who do not, Troy is one of the hardest working, most talented players to play the game of football. He just re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Troy was the 16th overall choice in the draft a few years ago. He received a five-year, $8.275 million contract. There is also a total of $3.2 million in performance incentives over the course of the contract that could push the potential value to $11.475 million! This makes him the highest paid strong safety in the entire league! In my opinion, no one deserves this more than this young man. Visually, there is no mistaking #43 on the field and no one covers a playing field like Troy, no one!
Leigh and I had the opportunity to interview Aaron Smith. He is a “gentleman’s gentleman.” We did an interview with him back in the first week of June when I was asked by the “Steeler Front Office” to draw and paint Troy’s portrait first to hang in the up-coming 75th Steeler Anniversary Show at the John Heinz History Museum. This is first of two sets of portraits that I am scheduled to do of Troy. This first piece is being drawn from one fantastic photograph that I bought from a national image source company. The photograph was taken last year at Denver’s Stadium. As I scanned through hundreds of photos of Troy, I knew the very second that I laid eyes on this shot, it was “THE” one! Those who have seen this so far say he has all the looks of a “Warrior.” I totally agree… he is the “Steel Warrior,” as Leigh calls him.
Oil Painting Measures: 18″ x 24″ Pencil Measures: 10″ x 16″ |
