Ted Watts
PAINTING THE SKY WITH STARS
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Ted Watts Sports Art Gallery - Shop for Ted Watts original art (paintings & drawings); fine art reproductions; vintage posters; postcards and collectibles in Oswego, Kansas.
Ted Watts Heisman Trophy Winners Art Exhibit -- Oswego, Kansas -- South Bend, Indiana -- Dallas, Texas.
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Welcome to the Sports Art World of Ted Watts!
Portrait of an Artist By Bryce O'Shea
Spirit is the one ingredient that all truly outstanding athletes and coaches share. Yes, some have possessed athletic abilities or organizational genius above and beyond their peers, but it is an intense and indescribable spirit that carries an elite few from each generation to greatness. Spirit is the stuff of legends.
The ability to accurately capture the spirit of individuals is as unique a talent as that possessed by the subjects themselves. For over 35 years, renowned sports artist Ted Watts of Oswego, Kansas has painted many of the world's most inspirational and heroic sports legends--creating graphic images that vividly portray their on-field glory while seizing the personal emotion and individual spirit that defines their legend.
Painstakingly researched and developed through countless "rough" sketches, color studies and eventually, vibrant acrylic-mixed media paintings on illustrator--s board, Ted Watts-- portrayal of the legends of sports serve as a tribute to the spirit of competition within us all and serve as remarkable pieces of art for display and admiration.
The majority of Ted Watts' art is sports oriented. He calls himself a sports artist. An athlete as a youth that happened to be able to draw and paint, too -- he doesn't mind being identified in such a precise manner.
However--in over thirty-five years as a professional artist--his archives also contain a broad range of other subjects that surprise most of those familiar with Watts' creations.
The full body of his works includes entertainment, educational, political, business, military and religious personalities; and subject matter ranging from western theme art and architectural rendering to include commercial product illustration, cartoons and logos.
Subject matter means little to the personable southeast Kansan.
Watts' forte is portraiture and the human figure. They are the heart, soul and center of all of his most noteworthy works. His works convey the emotion of the human spirit.
Perhaps, that is why he is best known for his dynamic sports portraits and action paintings. Those simple art works are a graphic tribute to a full-range of human emotion and experiences. Watts shows effort and result, triumph and tragedy with both victory and defeat as a motif for the quest in all of our lives . . . the will to survive, achieve and excel.
Realism and minute detail are the features of his style. You do not have to ask for the meaning of his art.
Each of his graphics tells a story--but--not the entire story.
While Ted Watts' drawings and paintings may appear to be photo-realism -- they really are not. He allows brush strokes and pencil lines to show in all of his work ... allowing the viewer to become involved with both the subject matter and the artistic interpretation.
Watts' formal training included an apprenticeship in the studio of Charles Banks Wilson, an Oklahoma muralist, lithographer and fine arts painter. He received a bachelor of fine arts degree from Pittsburg (KS) State University in 1966.
Both experiences led Watts to an appreciation of traditional representational art techniques and practices. His standard use of classical drawing and painting techniques, patterned after Renaissance artists and sculptors, dominates the graphic signature style that he developed.
He still employs The Old Masters technique of preparing a "duochromatic under painting" to structure all of his color display paintings.
All Ted Watts ever really needs to begin new artwork is his benefactor's intentions and good reference materials and photographs plus technical specifications. Then his creative process begins.
Sports artist Ted Watts of Oswego, Kansas is shown in his studio with a display showing miniature versions of a series of Heisman Trophy winner paintings that are on display at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, IN. In thirty-five years, Watts has completed over 6,000 pieces of finished art--over 5,000 with a sports theme.
Ted Watts Art Studio . . .Where Every Day Is Game Day
Ted Watts is considered by many to be America's premier sports artist today. A quick tour through this website will show you why!
Now you can introduce yourself to the artist who has produced over 6,000 pieces of finished art for sports clients nationwide in a professional career that started in 1972 with Ted Watts' Bio.
Feel free to take a leisurely tour of many of Watts' best works by viewing any of several galleries listed on the left menu. For a larger view of most paintings - merely click on the visual "thumbnail" icon of your choice.
For the "story within the story", browse links within the gallery for specific details and other sports or art-related information. At Media Coverage you can even read online stories of past and current Watts Art Studio projects and reprinted articles of vintage news stories about the artist. Press Releases are updated periodically to announce newsworthy upcoming projects and events.
Triple Self Portrait
© 1996 (After Norman Rockwell's February 13, 1960 Saturday Evening Post Cover)
Ted
When you finish your tour, be sure to tell your friends about us - and come back again - any time, at your convenience.
Thank you for visiting!
Last Updated August 2010 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~