David O'Keefe: Ted Williams Tribute 12x22 Print

The Splendid Splinter - A Tribute to Ted Williams by David O'Keefe

12"x22" Giclee on Watercolor Paper signed and numbered

I did the pencil original of Ted Williams in Newport, Rhode Island, when we had our gallery up there close to Boston. He was the No. 1 request from people coming in that summer (2010). I was a Boston Red Sox fan as a kid and always admired him. He did it all and he had the most amazing swing. It is a plain black pencil on paper original. I placed him just on the baseball field, with his bat slung over his shoulder, ready to go. 1941 was the most significant year of his career so we have 1,941 in our limited edition. Among his other feats, that was the year he batted over .400 in a single season, he's the last player to do that. I call it "The Splendid Splinter,'' which was one of his many nicknames.

About David O'Keefe Master Sculptor and Passionate Painter

Raised on Hollywood, sports and rock and roll music, David O'Keefe has an acute awareness for the images and personalities that have colored the lives of his generation. He just sees things differently - more intensely, edgier, somewhat more perspicuous than the average spectator. The pop culture icons that we idolize, glamorize and glorify, O'Keefe visualizes for us in all their humanness as well as their stardom.

An editorial illustrator for over 25 years, O'Keefe began his art career at The Tampa Tribune as a promotion artist, dabbled in editorial cartooning under mentor, Wayne Stayskal, and spent several years as the Special Project's Illustrator for the newsroom. His sardonic caricatures and humorous illustrations have appeared on the covers of Sports Illustrated, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Mad Magazine, The Village Voice and within the pages of TIME. His advertising clients include Coca-Cola, WaffleHouse, Fuji and SunCom Communications.

In 2007, David left his day job to pursue his passion of painting and sculpting pop culture icons. O'Keefe's work is transformative, capturing not just the likeness of his subjects, but their personalities as well. He has recently released an epic depiction of the characters from The Godfather and of the entire I Love Lucy cast. His company, David O'Keefe Studios, distributes his work through galleries across the country and in Europe. David O'Keefe Studios also operates a solo gallery on St. Armand's Circle in Sarasota, Florida.

O'Keefe's work has won numerous awards from such organizations as The Society of Illustrators (NY and LA), American Illustration, Communication Arts, National Headliner Awards, Dimensional Illustrators, and the Society of News Design.

He considers himself blessed to pursue his dream and finds great joy in his work and in his family. O'Keefe currently resides in the Tampa Bay Area with his wife, Janice and their four children.