(Writer's Note: This is a look back at the creation of this piece and what it became. Due to the personal backstory some names will not be given due to keeping this professional. Edited on 7/29/'24)
“If you can’t draw hands… you’re basically f**ked!”
That was the first thing said from a professor back in art school on the first day of taking his class. He didn’t even say his name, which I still remember, but that opening line is something I’ll never forget. Looking back at the creation of the piece, ‘Patient. Persistent. Proficient.’ reminded me of an experience that not many would understand unless you attended art school, or some sort of artistic environment.
The exact line from my professor had the words “hands AND feet”. In a traditional collegiate environment reading and writing were your requirements and doings. In art school, it was drawing as if your life depended on it. If you weren’t drawing still life objects, you were drawing anatomy and hands and feet were considered the hardest things to do. And depending on your art professor, some would let you have it if you weren’t able of pull it off.
That happened to me in one class, but I was drawing feet instead of hands. Regardless, I remember being yelled at, in front of the entire class, trying to keep my cool, while concentrating on my work. That was 1999.
Back in 2014, I visited a retail-partner of mine and a store associate was stringing an old STX SAM head and took a picture of him stringing it. While I was admiring the traditional stringing, I noticed the hands and decided that, that would be a new piece. This time instead of the old school, STX SAM a traditional, wooden, hand-carved stick was going to be illustrated.
The end result was well sought after with customers and also became custom event apparel. While the message of the drawing was to show the importance of stringing a stick, because I believe stringing a stick is the best thing you can do for your lacrosse game while sitting on your butt, the personal focus, really – or stress – was yet, again, drawing the hands.
A decade later since creating it, I still look at this, like all the images, as something personal.
To all my customers and clients that have purchased and worked with me - validating it - I can't thank you enough.
To all my art school professors who stressed this art - or requirement - I hope that I have succeeded.
All images ©The Art of Lax™ - Vincent Ricasio
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