Background

I grew up in Charlotte in the 90's. Like a lot of kids I played sports, but I particularly loved basketball from early on. Back then, Michael Jordan was the idol of just about every kid who was into sports. He was just entering his prime and was dominating the NBA in an electric fashion. For the early part of that decade the Charlotte Hornets were also the talk of the city of Charlotte. It was an amazing time to be a fan of basketball, but particularly as a kid when everything seems to feel amplified.

I have a strong nostalgia for those days and you can probably see it in my work. Growing up in that decade will likely shape my interests and sensibilities for the rest of my life.

Process and Medium

These pieces were all done digitally, meaning I draw with a Wacom pen and tablet into Photoshop to create each piece. I find this process gives me more flexibility during the creation process and still allows me to achieve the look of a piece created with a range of traditional tools.

The final pieces are giclée fine art prints. They are printed with an Epson Stylus Pro 3880 which utilizes a total of 9 UltraChrome inks and prints up to 2880 dots per inch. I utilize two weights of paper for my work, a 60 lb. for larger posters and an 88 lb. Polar Matte for smaller prints. The paper has a beautiful, bright white matte surface free of reflections or glare. It's smooth to the touch and has a very nice weight to it. I inspect each print for quality and hand sign it. The limited edition runs are also hand numbered.

Framing



My personal preference for framing my work is the .75" natural maple frame with no mat. But you can't go wrong with any of Level's options. Each frame is assembled by hand in New York. The wood is FSC-certified, sustainably-harvested American lumber, available in a variety of custom finishes. All materials are sourced domestically and selected based on their quality and sustainability.