Today professional sports are a significant part of our culture Rather than painting men as idols, or going to the other extreme of infantilizing or bashing them, I mean to portray male athletes not only as possessors of skill but as possessors of unique personalities vulnerable to all of life's demands. I want the viewer to experience the similarities between men and women. In sports and in life human beings hope for success, sometimes gain it, fail, pick themselves up, try again to be among the best and often strive to be part of a team. Painting "Blitzed" oil on board (private collection Boston) inspired by conversation with Patriots wide receiver Randy Vataha (1970;s) about opposing teammates concern for each other. #Football #TomBrady #NewEnglandPatriots #Superbowl #Sports #Life #Men #RandyVataha

Rodney King press conference 1992 #MartinLutherKing #Relationships #oilpainting #fineart #Women #AfricanAmericanWomen

PLACE IS A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION WITH A MISSION. Minnesota, California, England. PLACE = PROJECTS LINKING ART, COMMUNITY & ENVIRONMENT. What a welcome endorsement from them!

#art #fineart #oilpainting

"Do not finish your work too much. An impression is not sufficiently durable for it first freshness to survive a belated search for infinite detail: in this way you let the lava grow cool and turn boiling blood into a stone. Though it may (look like) a ruby, fling it far from you" Gauguin 1870's Tahiti. (self portrait below 1898) #arttechnique #PaulGauguin

Hall of Fame Pitcher Pedro J. Martinez "Susan’s painting holds a secret, one that by now I don’t think will surprise anyone who has read this deeply into the book.Before Susan gave the mound its final layer of deep dioxide purple paint, she painted a cluster of bougainvillea flowers, known as trinitaria in the Dominican Republic, on the ground. Each bougainvillea has a small white flower in the center, and it is surrounded by paper thin petals, which Susan painted orange, magenta, and purple, with sap green for the leaves.Nobody ever associated me with flowers while I was standing on a baseball mound with a ball in my hands. Staring down the batter with the cold eyes of an assassin and the unseen heart of a lion, I was ready to wreak the baseball equivalent of murder against the batter.The softer side of me stayed hidden, like Susan’s flowers.Behind every big-league pitcher stands the real person, each with his own story to tell of resilience and an offering of hope. Mine is the story of a young boy and then a man who overcame his demons, fought his battles, overcame the doubters, and ignored the taunts and jeers of the fans who acted as if they knew the man in front of them, the man who lived, loved, cried, and laughed his way from the humblest beginning to this blessed present. From the mango tree to the top of the world. A ball in my hand, flowers at my feet. " #PedroJMartinez #DominicanRepublicBaseball #CooperstownHallofFame #BostonRedSox #oilpainting #susanmillerhavens

"Young Man From Charlestown Portrait of Carlton Fisk" Permanent Collection NAMOS #CarltonFisk #Baseballcatcher

Carlton Fisk, Hall of Fame Catcher, in front of His Portrait " Ode to Manet" #BostonRedSox #CarltonFisk #Baseballcatcher #baseball

​​​ #art #fineart #painting #womensbestfriends #dogs #relationships

​ We Are Not Privy