This was my first collaboration with Canada Soccer and my first ever soccer drawing. I was approached by a representative at an art show and asked if I would be interested in creating a couple pieces for some of their athletes who may be retiring in the coming year. I wasn't at liberty to know who, but I could guess.
Fast forward 6 months later and I was sitting with the "who's who" of the Canada Soccer media department. We had meetings discussing the important aspects of Atiba's career, but, more importantly, I got to learn more about who he was.
I came up with over 15 compositions and ideas, but ultimately settled on what would be my "historic moments in the jersey number" series. I would go on to use the same style for several projects in the near future. I had a lot of fun capturing the subtle details in the kit as well as the pores of Atiba's skin. I had quite a bit of difficulty capturing the detail in several of the smaller faces.
After it was presented to him, Atiba reached out to me directly on instagram to thank me. He remains one of a select few to take the time to directly reach out to me.
Time to Draw: 150 hours
Medium: Graphite pencil on paper
Size: 22x30"
