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Sports guard Nation hobby is the people Wheely News and Interviews.
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It's yon number one soul. Sports Gardations hobby is the people.
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Sports Guardation.
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What is up? Everybody? Welcome to Episode three eighty eight.
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Man twelve away from the big four hundred. We'll have
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to figure out something to do for that. Uh and uh,
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you know, when I really think about how long we've
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been doing this almost eight years now, and all the
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people we've had on, and you know, I think, you know,
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it's not just me. I know I'm the host, but
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it's the guest. It's you out there more importantly, right
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that listen to the show, so that me and the
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guests are not talking just to ourselves. Although we'd have fun,
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it's more fun knowing you're out there listening. So sincere
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heartfelt thanks for me. We also have some great sponsors
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that make this show possible, in no particular order, Iron
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Sports Cards, Sports Collectors, Digest, Tavey, Hotline, Upper Deck.
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I want to thank all of them.
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We are back with Part two today with artists. Acclaimed
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artist James Friorantino great sports artist, but he can paint
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anything as as great artists always can and not always can.
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But he can, and but more known for his sports work,
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if you will, and super nice guy from the Tri
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State area, New Jersey to be exact. And so today
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is the conclusion of our great conversation from last week.
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So without further ado, let's get the show started. You
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know you you mentioned like there's some accomplished, an acclaimed
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artists along with yourself, especially in the in the sports
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niche Is it more of a fraternity or can it
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get competitive too? Does everyone mostly get along or is
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there some instances where maybe that's not always the case.
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I think it's like anything in life, right, it's I mean,
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it's it's competitive. I mean, I don't I've mentored artists
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for the last twenty five years literally, and guys have
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been calling me for years, contacting me, and I am
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as good as I can be to everybody with advice
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and help, still doing it today. It is competitive, But
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I don't understand why an artists wouldn't be very supported
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of another artist because it benefits everybody. The more everyone
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does well, the better it.
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Is for every artist.
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But you know, it's life, and there are people out
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there who you know, act a certain way, and you know, again,
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I stay in my own lane to do what I
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what I do, And I've always had respect for a
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lot of guys, and I'm excited by some talented artists today.
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Like I mentioned, I've been lucky to even collaborate with
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some of them, you know, personally at events at shows,
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and so for me, it's always an honor to be
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friends with guys that who are talented and speaking with
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them and talking about artwork.
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And their process.
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And and again I I will tell people, you know,
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there are a tremendous amount of talented artists out there,
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not just in sports obviously in everything. Uh, you have
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to be very you know, I'm trying to think of
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the word like I hostile. Still today, I work hard,
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I'm going after things. I'm I'm marketing stuff, I'm thinking
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of stuff. I raise a lot of money for. It
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is the grind, even as well known as I am,
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and so there's a lot that goes into it. And
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so it's a business in the end, even though I
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do a lot, you know, for the love of it.
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So that's, you know, one of the main things I
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always tell people.
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But again, I think it's wonderful that you're seeing a
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lot of tremendous artists getting into this. I think a
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lot of those guys have seen me over the years,
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and hopefully I've influenced them to be excited about, you know,
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being able to do something like this. It's certainly more
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competitive now than it was when I first started, but anyway,
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it's it's it is fun to say.
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Like you mentioned, you've worked for some incredible athletes, Ted Williams,
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you mentioned Cal Ripken, others.
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Why do you ford I even believe I.
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Could be wrong, but is you know, talk about are
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can they be you know, you have to get into specifics,
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but can some of the athletes maybe be temperamental or
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hey is it done? Or you know what I mean,
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they sort of maybe rush the process or they don't
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realize the time and you know, or most of them
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pretty you know, personable where that's that's.
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Really not And it just varies by who it might be.
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Yeah, I mean it varies. I mean, it's not like
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every day and being commissioned by the players. A lot
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of it comes through other things. But I mean, overall,
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my experience for this many years has.
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Been extremely positive.
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Again, I'm meeting players in a different way versus like
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the regular public, and I've done a lot of good
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for a lot of players again, for them and their
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charities and things like that. But now I think overall,
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it's been an incredible experience. I look back, obviously and
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feel really blessed that I was around guys like you mentioned,
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like Ted Williams and Mantle, and I mean, it's been
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a lot of amazing athletes in all different sports. And
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so that's where, you know, it's really unique where there's
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a lot of artists who come into the field now
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who are just starting and you know, where like I
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have a lot of things I've done, which also ties
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myself into the history of what those players.
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Have done for them. But being around those.
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Legendary guys like Mays and Aaron and Ted Williams and
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Damago and man All and I was a kid becoming
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friendly with Whitey and Yogi and you know, Musual. I mean,
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just that to me will always be the greatest thing.
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I'll always have that I've got amazing stories with those players,
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you know, talking to him about baseball, you know, obviously
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being a kid playing at that time.
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I mean, it's just that's the amazing part I think
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for me.
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Yeah, incredible, like to you know, just to rub elbows
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with that kind of of you know, athletic talent and
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Hall of famers obviously in their in their own right.
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Have you ever you know, I always say have you ever?
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Because of these experiences that are unique. Uh, you know,
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other people may meet them, but like you said, not
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in the same vein as you you have. Have you
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ever thought about writing a book about you know, your
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you're sort of you know, your your career as an
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arts even as a young adult. Uh, and then you know,
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interweaving some of these stories with these incredible players.
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Yeah, I think. Well.
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I came out with a baseball book about a year
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a little over a year ago now, which was just
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on baseball, beautiful coffee table book with a lot of
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my baseball art only, and it has a lot of
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stories in that. And I did the baseball one because
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it was the easiest and that I've done the most
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and I had the most stories from it. So I'm
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super excited about that and people can still still get
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that book. But a book on my whole life would
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be unique, because even for me today, I can't believe
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some of the stuff I've done and experience, you know, again,
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outside of sports, whether it's being around Congressman John Lewis
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to the President, Gorbatschew, the Desmond to to two guys
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like Ali and boz Aldrin and and all these big
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athletes in different situations and meeting them and painting them
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and actors and it's been really amazing and and and
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even just again like I mentioned before, doing this for
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a living and helping people, and just all the organizations
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and my experience even in nature.
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And wild life and people like that. So it has
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been exciting.
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Maybe maybe one day when I'm older, it'll be something
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that people want to read from, you know how I
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was able to sort of do everything. But now I
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got the Baseball book out, which is kind of cool,
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and you know, I'm excited about that.
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Well you listen, I'll you know you said mention your
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son's a pretty you know, talented writer. Maybe he could
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be the writer and you could just tell him to
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fill in the details and and he could author the book, uh,
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you know, together with dad.
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There so something that some good.
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Point something that you so you mentioned, you know, working
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for tops in upper deck and and you know again
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even that it's just tremendous to get to do that
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as a kid that collected cards and.
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Someone that still does.
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How much were they did they give you a lot
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of leeway, like poetic license to like, hey, this is
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what we need, but you you do?
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Or were they Were they more hands on than maybe,
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you know, you would have preferred. How was that?
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Yeah, it was a little bit of both. I think
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the ninety nine Tops cards, I was in college. I
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was a junior in college, I believe sophomore junior. I
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worked on them with Bill Purdham, who was a talented,
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amazing artist, and I did ten out of the twenty
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cards of that ninety nine Tops Gallery Heritage Insert set.
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Obviously, the coolest thing was that they were.
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Modeled after the fifty three cards, so they were current
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players in the fifty three setting.
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I mean, I still love like the Griffy and the
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Gwyn and the Jeter.
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They I did a Hank Aaron, which was the only
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older player in that set.
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But that was an amazing set to do.
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And now would they You know, they give you images
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to work from, so you're basically working from whatever they
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tell you, and then you work on some of the
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old fifty three backgrounds. I think that was probably one
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of the most exciting things in my life. To like
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open up cards for the first time and pulling my
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artwork out of a pack, you know, going back to
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again being a collector, there was nothing.
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I mean, I was obsessed as a kid with baseball cards.
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I mean that's all I got for holidays and birthdays
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and was every single card and putting together and going through.
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That's how we knew every player and remembered everyone. So
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to obviously have those cards at that time was amazing.
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And then Upper Deck again now being twenty five years
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that was also tremendous because the first I mean I
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had done baseball, football, basketball, and hockey and golf, and
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the golf cards were Tiger Wood's rookie year, so I
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painted Tiger Woods rookie the baseball cards when they first
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came out, which all those other than the golf ones,
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they were all done in black and white, but they
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had my name on them.
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So I could not believe Upper Deck.
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Did that, which was awesome, like for them to say,
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we were just talking about how big artists feel. Upper
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Deck was ahead of their time in the sense of
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putting my name, the Fiorentino colle Action on those first
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baseball cards. So they were like saying, hey, you know,
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we believe in this artist. This artist is a big deal.
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Mix the cards better and the basketball ones now are
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just tremendous because you know, like the Jordan card I did,
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and there were game used versions of the cards with
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my artwork on them, which I think people are all starting
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to figure that out now. It's like there's Jordan game
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used cards, there's the my Jordan autograph version went for
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over fifty thousand in Heritage a few months ago. The
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Tiger Woods cards that are signed go for ten twenty grand,
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I think, so that was really exciting. That was seventy
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something paintings and I was still living at home with
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my parents, so I remember painting them all in the basement,
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you know, I think, go two thousand and one.
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So two thousand and three I did more for Upper Deck.
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My cards were on the on the boxes, on the packs,
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also very exciting, and that was a first. Did some
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cards for Kellogg's products, which were fun. The latest cards
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I had done was Tops Transcendent, and that was the
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first time I ever painted directly on the cards. So
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the previous paintings were all like eleven by fourteens and
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they would shrink them down. But this was the first
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time I was paying directly on a card surface. That
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was an amazing set. There was only fifty of my cards,
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all Baseball Hall of Famers that were found in those
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transcended the fifty Transcendent sets. Some of those would surface
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on eBay from time to time. I got a few back,
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which was cool. So again that was also exciting. So
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a lot of different like versions and ways that I've
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painted cards over the years.
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Certainly would love to do it again if it was
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like the right project.
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And again for me, it's like it's hard to go
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back backwards because being young, I was doing an amazing cards.
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So you know, for me it would be like, you know,
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I'd have to have like my own set or my
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name on the cards, or you know, something really unique
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and special and hope that you know, one of the
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card companies would be excited to work with me on
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something like that. I've been lucky enough to have a
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lot of people collect my artwork, and I feel like
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people will go really crazy for those cards of mine,
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and hopefully that'll be a future project to look for.
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Yeah, and I remember the Upper Dak and I remember
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the top two. But like you said, uh, you know,
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kudos to them for for even putting your name out
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of the right, recognizing the talent, uh specifically and and sort
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of giving a credit where credit was due and uh
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uh those was obviously like you mentioned, standard test at time.
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It's time for a quick break, thoughts will be right back.
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Hobby Hotline is the Hobby's only live, interactive call in show.
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Join some of your favorite Hobby personalities every Saturday eleven
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Hobby Hotline.
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Thanks for sticking with us, let's return to the show.
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Does it surprise you just in general, not just even
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art cards, but some of what these cards are going
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for in auction, like to you know, we're I'm probably
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a little bit older than you, but we're in the
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same sort of Eraror if you would have told the
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younger versions of ourselves what some of these cards would be,
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you know, millions, and like you said, even the signed
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art cards that are are five or six figures, Like
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you know, it's it's just crazy where the hobby has went,
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does it surprise.
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You or not not so much.
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Yeah, I think it surprised me a little. Not anymore.
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I think that people kind of figured it out and
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it caught up to like where it probably should be.
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Maybe it's a little high, but at the same time,
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it's like, you know, cards are like pieces of art,
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you know, especially the vintage cards and even some of
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the modern stuff, and you know the CEE these very
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rare cards signed by players.
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And it's just another alternative asset.
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That people want to collect, whether it's high end comics
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or coins or anything else.
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And it is exciting and it is some beautiful stuff.
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So and I think a lot of people who made
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a lot of money, been very successful put their money
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into it that's been able to allow this to happen.
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But sports are amazing and are wonderful and are memorable,
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and so now you're you're you're.
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Capturing that through cards, you're capturing that through art, and
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you're passing that on hopefully to your family and friends
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and people like that.
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So it is exciting to see that.
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And and like we were mentioned before, I love seeing
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the art side of it.
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Come through in that way. But yeah, it is amazing
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to see.
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The amount of wealth in all of this, and it's
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very cool to see my cards. I wish I had
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a bunch of the Jordan cards signed, I'd be very
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happy right now. But you know, it is even amazing
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for me to see, you know, one of those cards
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go for that much.
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You know, I'm sure you know that twenty twenty project,
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obviously in twenty twenty that they you know, like I said,
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art's always been a part of it, but that said again,
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sort of brought it to the forefront. People have been
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critical of it, some of the work in that people
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have claimed obviously the project itself did.
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Very very well.
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You know, what were your thoughts did you think that
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that health do you think that you know, was there
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good and bad with with something like that or is
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it like a double edged sword or is it all good?
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Yeah? Well, I think it's great.
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I mean again to me, I tell people, when you
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collect my arty, collected for it, for the passion of
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it and the love of it. Like I don't want
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people to necessarily invest in my art, even though my
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work has gone up over the years, and I feel
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like it continue and will continue and we never know
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what one of my paintings will sell down the road.
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Those cards came out the right time, right is after COVID.
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People are home, they're buying stuff, and it was fantastic
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to see all these different artists do this set.
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I know some of the artists that worked on those sets.
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I even collected some of them.
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And again, I think, if you're buying them because you
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generally appreciate them and view them and showcase them and
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have a passion for it, that's what you should be
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buying it for. Whether they made a hundred of them
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or one hundred thousand of them, it's all about what
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you're getting out of it. You know, it's a big
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difference if you're spending a tremendous amount of money for
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a card, But in that case, you know you're paying
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a decent amount, like a small amount that you can
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afford pick the things you like. And again, it's just
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fantastic that the artists had done well from that set,
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that people really enjoyed it.
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A lot of those artists were meeting people at shows.
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It just I mean to me, like for me, going
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to like the Philly Show or the National for example,
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and meeting fans and clients and new people to my work.
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That's what it's all about like you go to a
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show now and it's so interesting. It's not just cards,
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it's all different people there doing different things. And then
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when you can meet an artist who works on those sets,
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that's incredibly satisfying. There's a lot of younger kids, like
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we were talking about earlier, who are in sports, aren't
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into drawing, and and they get excited to meet me
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and other artists. So I think it's great. I love it.
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I I do like what what Tops has done with
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with art. Like anything else. Sometimes maybe things get to
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be a little too much, but but overall, I think
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it's wonderful that they're promoting it and and they've done
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a really good job with it.
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James, you mentioned sort of you know, want to get
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back on the horse and maybe work with a card
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manufacturer again, Uh, getting your work on some cards? What
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about and again I don't know, the le galleries. Maybe
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in the same way you would. We've seen like uh,
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Dick Perez, who I know we meant you mentioned earlier.
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He's done stuff like on his own, Uh, like producing
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some sets on his own. Has that something that maybe
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you would do or want to do, or has that
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you know?
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I don't want to.
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I don't want to steal the secret sauce. But is
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that something like if if a card company doesn't come calling,
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per se, like you can still do like your original
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art work.
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I don't.
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Again, I don't know. Yeah, something we may see.
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Yeah, I mean I don't.
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I really now, I only paint originals, so I'm able
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to paint, you know, any kind of original or small
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painting that would be like a size, a card size
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or something like that. But no, I wouldn't like produce
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my own cards or anything. I really only work on
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originals for clients. But I've already been approached by card
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companies in the past. I think like it'll it'll come
383
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in the future as well. It's just a matter of
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kind of putting it all together.
385
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To make it work.
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But you know, even doing stuff with the Baseball Hall
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of Fame right now, there maybe even projects like that
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down the road to do. But yeah, I'm hoping to
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work with one of those card companies again and do
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some fun stuff. I always feel like what what's meant
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to be is meant to be, and luckily.
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I'm always busy with doing a lot of work.
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But yeah, I would I would only do like cards
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really honestly, if I was working directly with one of
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those companies like that. But for me, you know, it's
396
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more than just having my original art now in the packs,
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which i've all again done once. I would want my
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cards reproduced as like a specialty set or again my
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00:20:11.279 --> 00:20:12.440
own set if I was able.
400
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To work on a lot of them.
401
00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:17.519
I think it's awesome when art when collectors can get
402
00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:20.960
like box box topper paintings and things like that. I mean,
403
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that is just that is the coolest. I mean I
404
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would have went nuts for that stuff when I was younger.
405
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So again, it's another part of the hobby that people
406
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can appreciate and start collecting and understand and get into
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the different artists. So so yeah, I mean there's a
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lot of years of me working on this stuff that
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that hopefully something will come up really good. There's a
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lot of companies out there doing a lot of stuff
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now with artists, so hopefully that again will happen in
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the near future.
413
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Yeah, and I hope so too. I'd love to see that.
414
00:20:47.880 --> 00:20:52.480
And again, your work's incredible even aside from that, if
415
00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:55.640
like it, like you said, you're still you're still producing
416
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some incredible work and I know you poor your your
417
00:20:59.559 --> 00:21:02.559
heart and so whatever piece you're doing, whether it's an
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00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:06.119
athlete like you said, wildlife for still life or whatever
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the case may be, is there no is there an
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you know, with this being a sports is there an
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athlete that you sort of have a you know you
422
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you like painting more than maybe another you know, like
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like as fans, right, we all have our favorite baseball player,
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00:21:23.839 --> 00:21:26.440
and I know you're is there is there a player
425
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for you that you really maybe the juices get.
426
00:21:29.480 --> 00:21:31.759
A little more even flow when you get a little
427
00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:34.599
more amped up when it's when you're painting.
428
00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:38.839
That particularly great question I'll probably lead into a cool
429
00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:41.960
project where I think when I'm paying the vintage guys,
430
00:21:42.039 --> 00:21:44.880
I think when I'm painting cobs and mantles and wagoners
431
00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:46.880
and roots, those guys still today when I.
432
00:21:46.799 --> 00:21:49.599
Was a kid, I get really excited. I mean, there's
433
00:21:49.640 --> 00:21:51.559
nothing cooler than painting a Babe Ruth to me.
434
00:21:53.079 --> 00:21:55.279
And so now like I'm working on some originals with
435
00:21:55.319 --> 00:21:57.759
the National Baseball Hall of Fame to sell directly in
436
00:21:57.799 --> 00:22:01.640
their store, and it's sort of like a fundraiser. But
437
00:22:01.640 --> 00:22:03.240
the obviously the Hall of Fame makes some money, which
438
00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:04.759
is always exciting for me to be able to do
439
00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:08.160
that and be able to paint those vintage guys, to
440
00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:11.039
me is probably still the most exciting thing.
441
00:22:11.440 --> 00:22:12.720
Yeah, I love it.
442
00:22:12.759 --> 00:22:17.000
And there was something that, you know, Baseball is obviously
443
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a great sport with a long history. It's it's the
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one sport I always tell people, right, we know like
445
00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:27.799
the numbers, we know the records, we know of all
446
00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:31.559
the sports. We know like fifty six game hitting streak
447
00:22:31.680 --> 00:22:36.039
in sixty one with with Maris and you know bay
448
00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:39.160
Ruth in seven hundred and fourteen and then Aaron at
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seven fifteen and then Bonds later on with an Astis
450
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if you will, breaking those records as well. But it's
451
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there's something pure about that. And I think even you know,
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I always say, whatever you like, right, you have to
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give credit to the past.
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That's how we got here.
455
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And again that vintage, those vintage ever players. You know,
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we've got great players today and Judge and Bobby Witt
457
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Junior and Paul Skiings and the list goes on and on,
458
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but they wouldn't be here and the sport wouldn't be
459
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here with all those guys that came before. So always
460
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appreciate when people sort of appreciate that, and so hearing
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00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:21.960
you you say that, I get it and it makes
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sense and to appreciate it.
463
00:23:24.759 --> 00:23:24.960
Well.
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Speaking of appreciation, I know you're a busy guy. Appreciate
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00:23:29.279 --> 00:23:32.559
you making some time for us here on the podcast
466
00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:35.720
and for those listening, I always give the guest kind
467
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of the final word. Anything you want to plug website,
468
00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:43.720
social media, where to go to see what you're doing,
469
00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:47.920
or even get a part of it, take your time
470
00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:50.319
and wherever you want to steer folks, go ahead and
471
00:23:50.799 --> 00:23:51.799
put that information.
472
00:23:52.119 --> 00:23:52.759
Yeah, thanks.
473
00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:56.000
I mean you can go to Jamesforantino dot com and
474
00:23:56.079 --> 00:23:58.480
just google my name and I'll pop up a million times.
475
00:23:58.839 --> 00:24:01.000
And then if you find me in all like the
476
00:24:01.119 --> 00:24:06.400
social media accounts Instagram and Facebook and you know, just
477
00:24:06.440 --> 00:24:10.359
look me up. I'm constantly posting new events, new projects,
478
00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:12.480
new things to come meet me at, see me at
479
00:24:14.039 --> 00:24:16.079
from New Jersey to all parts of the country depending
480
00:24:16.079 --> 00:24:19.519
on what I'm doing. I love meeting collectors, fans of
481
00:24:19.559 --> 00:24:23.880
my work, artists, everything, So you know, just contact me
482
00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:26.000
that way. I try to get back to everyone as well.
483
00:24:27.079 --> 00:24:29.400
That's always just wonderful for me to be able to
484
00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:31.920
do that. And yeah, I appreciate it and again, I
485
00:24:31.960 --> 00:24:34.440
love sharing my story and I love people hearing it
486
00:24:34.440 --> 00:24:36.240
for the first time. And the people have heard me,
487
00:24:36.559 --> 00:24:38.960
they're hearing stuff that you know, they've they've never heard
488
00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:41.960
before because there has been a lot that I've done
489
00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:44.359
over the years. So again I appreciate it and hopefully
490
00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:46.079
I'll be able to meet some people in the near future.
491
00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:47.319
Yeah, no doubt.
492
00:24:47.720 --> 00:24:52.440
Again, thanks James for sharing some of those incredible stories.
493
00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:53.039
Thank you.
494
00:24:54.400 --> 00:24:58.240
Time for an all the week.
495
00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:04.279
This is Andy Friedman. Remember the hobby is the people.
496
00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:06.920
If you'd like to be the hobby is the people
497
00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:09.799
announcer of the week, do a one F or MP
498
00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:14.359
three file and send it to Sportscardination PC at gmail
499
00:25:14.519 --> 00:25:16.400
dot com.
500
00:25:16.440 --> 00:25:18.119
Hey Ja, you want to have a catch
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