SNAP INTO THIS ILLUSTRATION, OOH YEAH!
There are some people in this world that just scream “draw me.” And then there’s Macho Man Randy Savage—who leapsoff the turnbuckle and demands it.
I recently had the absolute pleasure of illustrating the Madness himself in a commissioned piece, and you better believe I went all in. I chose his early pink-and-yellow gear (because peak ‘80s wrestling should look like a highlighter exploded), and I captured him mid-flight, elbow cocked, coming right for ya. If you ever had the joy of watching Macho Man sail through the air with all the grace of a sequined missile, then you know exactly why I had to draw him this way.
A Little Madness Goes a Long Way
Randy Savage wasn’t just a wrestler. He was a force of nature. The voice? Gravelly perfection. The promos? Unhinged genius. The in-ring ability? Unreal. He could go from top-rope acrobat to technical wizard in the blink of an eye, making every match feel like the main event.
But here’s a fact that might surprise you—before he was snapping into Slim Jims, Savage was swinging for the fences. Yep, Macho Man played professional baseball! Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals right out of high school, he spent a few years in the minors as a catcher. When an injury took him out of the game, he did what any reasonable person would do—reinvented himself as one of the most electrifying wrestlers of all time.
A Flying Tribute
This illustration is my love letter to one of wrestling’s greatest performers—a guy who made everything larger than life, from his wardrobe to his elbow drop to the way he said, “DIG IT!” And if you have a favorite athlete, musician, or pop culture legend you’d love to see immortalized in art, you know where to find me.
OHHH YEAH!
George Newman, Director of Channel U-62
The painting sold on opening night of the show and as a ridiculously fun and mind-blowingly cool bonus, Al retweeted the painting as well as reposting the picture on his own Instagram! I had to take a moment to breathe...
So here is George Newman, Director of Channel U-62:
A little update
In the meantime, I will try to update some more work here!
I was asked to speak at my old school, Calvary Chapel Bible College, by a good friend and former student. He wanted me to share about life, faith and Art and how those things mingle in the post-social media mayhem-ish world we live in. He teaches an Apologetics class at the school so the students were sharp. Probably much sharper than myself. Nonetheless, it was a really encouraging night and I think it was really fruitful.
In the weeks prior to speaking I was feeling pretty unsure of myself in respect to sharing. The old, "Oh, what do you have to share anyway?" monster kept popping up. It got me thinking some deep thoughts. Now cue Jack Handey.
Anyway, I was thinking a lot about how my struggle to walk in a way that's in line with my faith in Christ and according to God's word is 1. super irritating (I know what I believe but so often fail to live it out) and then 2. most certainly an opportunity for God to show His goodness.
So, although pretty frustrating, the struggle becomes one of the most potent bases for artwork. My sketchbook becomes a place where I can work out questions I'm having or play with ideas I find in scripture. Sometimes, these become finished drawings or paintings, sometimes they just stay rough pencils.
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| From James 1:5-8 |