Jenkins: The living, historical illustrations of Tim Godden

From Wes Jenkins at The Hardball Times on June 11, 2019:

Tim Godden needed a model, but as a Red Sox fan, he refused to draw a Yankee. Instead, he settled for Mel Ott.

Godden liked the 1939 World’s Fair Patch, which was worn during the 1938 baseball season by all the New York teams. “That’s a really awesome patch,” he thought, the creative side of his brain kicking in. “But I can’t just draw the patch. That’s a bit silly.” And so Godden dove down the historical rabbit hole of the 1939 World’s Fair Patch and Mel Ott.

In the final illustration, Ott stands in profile with his bat over his shoulder having just finished his swing. He’s bounded by a thick stroke line, his complexity built by subtle changes in hue. On his left sleeve, front and center, is the patch — and then there’s the patch again, blown-up to the same size of the superimposed Ott. The illustration embodies both Godden’s style and his process.

Read the full article here: https://tht.fangraphs.com/the-living-historical-illustrations-of-tim-godden/



Originally published: June 11, 2019. Last Updated: June 11, 2019.