Life as a Sports Painter:
Sports Artists Journey – Speed Bumps
by AO – August 2026
AO’s Pre-Note: AO writes his articles with the hope that it will be useful to artists, any artist: painting, graphics, web, comics, ceramics, singing, sculpture, acting, writing, etc. – and especially those entering the field of freelance for the second or the twenty-second time. AO just wants to give his small audience a peek at what he has learned, a few thoughts and a few tips and trick. And just maybe, he’ll inspire just one artist – because for many artist and designers – inspiration helps can be just what we need. With that, AO is not a trained writerSo the content below may not be for you and your high journalistic standards, but his intent is help. So please take note,So, like his studio, please excuse the mess. Thanks and enjoy.
“Must be great doing something you love.” “You must love pursuing your passion.” “It must so much fun painting those great athletes.” These are a few quotes I have heard during my adventures as a freelance / live-painting sports artist here in Kansas City.
I read a bit ago by one of my favorite artists, the great Eddie Vedder, and he said, “Whatever your walk of life is, I think you have to be real about it. And with that, I have to say that with all those quotes previously mentioned, they are about 90% correct – And I know even with my limited time and talent, I still love designing, creating and painting great athletes and other cool stuff (like movie characters, comic book characters, animation characters, musicians, cars, portraits, etc.) and I am very, very fortunate that I have clients that love the work, but the sketching of ideas and the sitting in front of an easel and painting is only part of this job – the most fun part, actually. For me, there are also the non-art parts of the journey that need to be dealt with, those are the speed bumps that can delay, derail or even destroy you and your journey’s path in the process.
For me, the goal was and is to figure out how to handle those speed bumps because they will come again and sometimes often in bunched down your path – there is no doubt. Some speed bumps you can see coming, some you can’t – some are small and some are not – nevertheless, they are part of the journey.
Life is hectic enough, most of us have obligations – a 9-5, maybe a part time job, school, a family, a marriage, boyfriend or girlfriend, aging parents, house issues, car issues, health issues, sick kids, sick parents or loved ones, family drama, work drama, school drama, I think you get my drift – and then you add taking on the journey of being a freelance artist, it undoubtedly adds a few other things to the list. I am not even going to bring up the lack of sleep aspect that you undoubtedly will have to face. But is it worth it? To me – you darn right.
I believe our art work is worth it – speed bumps and all. Each and everyone of us artist’s art is worth it for many different reasons. It is what keeps up up late, it keeps is sketching and it keeps us dreaming.
With that said, I can honestly say that since I jumped into the world of a freelance sports art, the work, the art, and the business stuff has made life both better and harder. But if you love the art of it all and the work it requires, which I do (I love the art much much more than the business work side), you have no choice but to take the good and the bad and make it work. And for me, the good part of what I do out weighs the bad part 10 to 1.
If you have heard anything about my story, you know I almost took the path of a part-time barista at Starbucks instead of betting on myself to get myself out from under a pile of debt that I currently had and that I saw coming down the road. With a gut feeling, I decided to roll the dice as a freelance sports artist. I gave myself 1 year. After that I was going to quit the sports painting dream forever.
So, the late hours, coffee, loud music , sports radio, audio books and long nights in the basement studio eventually paid off. My work as a sports artist has proven to be 10 times more time consuming (probably because of my lack of talent and art training) than my work would have been working at Starbucks. Do not get me wrong, I believe I would have made the best lattes in Kansas City, but the flip side of that is that by being able to create my work, being fortunate to sell my work, being able to create custom art for others, and having a small impact on the KC community with my fundraising / live paintings, all of that by far has 10 times more rewarding then anything I could have dreamed of 15 years ago.
Another cool thing about this journey is that I am still learning and trying to figure a ton of stuff out and I have have met a ton of really good people along the way who have given me great opportunities, ideas and advise. I still have more sports art I want to create. I have more I want to give back. I have more ideas and projects I want to try on this journey – and learning from my mistakes and getting over the speed bumps has helped me get this far along. Now with a little more luck, we will see how much farther I can get.
Artist, especially the new ones to the game – you probably already know this, life is going to throw you hardship and speed bumps – some you can handle alone some you will need help. One, never forget those you help you get through the tough times. Two, never forget those who believed in your work when you did not. Third, like life, the art work will get tough – hang in there. Fourth, keep creating, no matter what it is – design is in everything. Fifth, give back when you can – in any way you can (but do your best not to give away original artwork). And lastly, do your best to not quit – especially if you see potential or progress. Not saying to never quit – just do your best to find that wave, hang in there, and ride it as long as you can.
Your art journey will have its own unique path. Work your butt off, enjoy the process and the journey. Appreciate the opportunities to help others and the opportunities in meeting good people along the way.
And then in 10 years, sit in your studio and take a slow 360 in your chair and ask yourself as you look at all the paintings on your walls, “was it worth it?”, and 9 times out of ten, the answer will be “yes” speed bumps and all.
Thanks for reading. Don’t quit. Keep creating.
ao