Newsletter #12
New year new me?
Sure sure I’m way in breach of the New Years statute of limitations, but this is my first newsletter in 2025 because I’ve been pretty heads down making content across all our favorite social platforms - it’s the best (and busiest) time of year! So, happy belated 2025.
For a reminder, here’s how 2024 wrapped:
While this year promises to be more of the same content-wise as 2024 (definitely not in any other way but we’ll talk about that another time), I am going to focus on doing some additional things that are hopefully exciting for folks:
More Collabs with Artists
I love art, I love sports, and I especially love artists who love sports. I’m excited to kick off the new year with two collaborations:
The Currency Project
My friends at the Currency Project are geniuses, whose basis for exploring the relationship between currency and art centers around painting on traditional sports cards, essentially building layers of value on top and letting the viewer decide worth (each card starts at $1 on Ebay).
I spent a chunk of time brainstorming with them on what a card co-designed by me might look like, and landed on this LeBron homage to Kobe with a call back to John Singleton Copley’s Ascension at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The dunk is religious, and LeBron’s body position mirrors Jesus in a way that can’t be ignored. TCP did a beautiful job executing the vision and now it’s up to you, the viewer, to decide what it’s worth!
Billy Kheel
Take two on this one, as we tried a few months ago to auction off this piece but ran into some technical difficulties. Billy is an incredible artist and it was so much fun to collab with him on this take on Giordano’s Fall of the Rebel Angels // Josh Allen Leaping
The piece is comprised of layers of felt, expertly stitched together to create an artwork that is 4D and feels like it’s in active motion.
Bid on it - adding a Kheel to my collection was one of my most exciting moments, as his piece of Larry Johnson’s 4-point play hangs proudly in my apartment and is always a centerpiece of conversation.
Live Content Creation
National Championship Game
Going to try this for the first time with Monday’s National Championship game, but I’ll be firing up a chat for paid subscribers to include images they want done in real-time, while the game is happening, and I’ll go through a try to match as many as possible into art.
No promises on how successful it will be, but seems like a fun opportunity for me to show I’m not AI while also giving paid subscribers a true benefit for their patronage. So, subscribe now to be a part! (I think I’ll either be able to start a subscriber specific chat on Substack or will send a link via email on Monday night to just subscribers - we’re learning on the fly!)
Additional Commissions
Sent out a bat signal during the holidays for personal commissions and ended up doing over 250 - had a blast, and it was great to engage with the community. I’m going to post reminders, but I’m open to doing commissions year round now. So, hit me up - it’s pay whatever you think is fair after seeing what I send back, as I want to make it accessible to everyone. That being said, if it starts to become overwhelming, I may just limit it to paid subscribers, so I recommend signing up proactively .
More
What else do you want to see from me? My inbox is always open, lj@artbutmakeitsports.com. Looking forward to experiencing everything 2025 has to offer with you all onboard!
Art/Sports I’m Into
NY4LA
My friend Marcello at the NYC gallery my.pet.ram is part of a group organizing a fundraiser for the LA fires, featuring pieces from 60 artists, all under $1k. Info above, and I’ll share more on socials when details drop, but seems like a fun event for a great cause.
Artist of the Week
Raymond Jonson
This beautiful portal from the The University of New Mexico Art Museum does Raymond Jonson far more justice than anything I could write up, so do yourself a favor and hit the link.
I first came upon his work at the Blanton Museum in Texas (where the piece above is from), and I’ve been a major fan of his ever since. Find a relaxing night, maybe indulge in your drug of choice, and then dive into Jonson’s catalog - you won’t regret it.
Sports Photographer You Need to Follow
Kevin Sabitus
There isn’t a photographer out there putting out bangers on a more consistent basis than Kevin Sabitus. I don’t believe there’s a sports photography Hall of Fame, but when they make one, Kevin is first-ballot, unanimous. He recently took gold in the American Football category for the third year in a row at the World Sports Photography Awards with this amazing shot:
So honored to win gold in the American Football category at the @worldsportsphotographyawards for the third year in a row—this is crazy
Huge thank you to all my best pals at @nflfocus and my friends/family/mentors for always supporting me. It’s really cool to be recognized for my work.
On to 2025 🤘🏼 Go Irish ☘️
At some point I’ll do an ArtButMakeItKevinSabitus, but for now, enjoy this shot of his from earlier this season:
Creatives Job Board
New section: I want to highlight folks I know in the Creatives space who are currently open to opportunities. Asher Greene just finished up his internship with the New York Giants and crushed it, while Matt Fedder spent the past few years with UNC and is looking to do some freelance work while he plots his next move.
I’ll blow out this section in coming newsletters (give feedback on what you want to see here), but for now if you know of opportunities, hit up Asher & Matt!
Paid Subscribers
I have a bunch of drafts this week (10!) that didn’t quite make the cut, but are definitely worth subscribing for and seeing…