Homer Simpson once said, “Rock stars … is there anything they don't know?” Anyone who has heard Bill Walton call an NBA game may wonder the same thing about the former All-Star center. He's always just so damn sure about his opinions, even after they are proven wrong. It's the second best thing about the big lug–behind his having been one of the most formidable white guys in the paint (so long as his feet were holding up).
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This week, Newport Beach-based Hobrecht Sports Art announced Walton has joined the company as a managing partner.
Besides the NBA Hall of Famer, artist Dave Hobrecht has received approvals and
endorsements from living legends such as Hank Aaron, Willie
Mays, Cal Ripken and Stan Musial to immortalize them in charcoal/pastel
paintings.
“I was so impressed with Dave Hobrecht's talent and unique approach
to his craft. I'm proud, privileged, honored and humbled to be a part
of this amazing team,” Walton says in a statement from Hobrecht Sports Art, whose paintings have been commissioned and purchased by
collectors, galleries and sports fans across the country.
The company collaborates with universities, professional franchises and sports organizations
to commission paintings and limited-edition works of sports legends,
current stars, historic moments and venues. But, unlike many other artists, Hobrecht also works with athletes or surviving families to include everyone in the commissioning process.
Each year the artist creates 36 new original paintings and limited edition prints for his collection.
“I'm blessed to have the opportunity to utilize my love of art and
sports to collaborate with so many amazing athletes,” Hobrecht says in the same statement. “Each painting has a
special meaning to me knowing that I can highlight memorable moments of
our favorite sports heroes.”
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.