Welcome back and a pleasant good day to all.
Thank you again for joining us and we hope you are having a beautiful day where ever you may be.
In this episode of "Let's Meet the Artist", we welcome 2020 stand out artist Kevin Gust. The year 2020 will have a large variety of historical topics, but when we look back, we are going to see the start of an Artistic Revolution in Baseball.
When Topps rolled out "Project 2020" it illuminated a familiar joy in all of us. Whether you appreciated the multitude of ways artists depicted the same baseball card image, or it inspired you to create your own image, the movement started a tidal wave of eye candy for baseball fans of all ages.
The spark set off an inferno of beautiful colors and magnifying an underlying industry full of hidden talent. The Baseball Art Revolution has also allowed inspired artists to share new designs with an audience eager to see it.
Without further adieu, lets get to know one of those inspired artists who is now inspiring others, welcome Mr. Kevin Gust.
Kevin grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia about a 25 minute drive from Veterans stadium, where his childhood idol Michael Jack Schmidt called home.
Like many of us, baseball was shaping our lives before we really could even understand it, but the action and the colors had our young eyes caught in a tractor beam that would never let go.
My first question is always, how did baseball enter your life?
Kevin replied, "I was only 3 years old when the Phillies won the World Series in 1980, and I was 6 when the 'Wheeze Kids' lost to the Orioles lead by a Rookie named Cal in 1983."
Playoff baseball captivates a city with energy and excitement that fills the soul. A fan for decades or a young child taking in a new experience, playoff baseball transpires a momentary feeling into a lifetime of satisfaction... It also cements a foundation for a passion.
We see baseball and we want to be part of it.... in any way we can.
Kevin started swinging for the fences in little league at age six. Kevin said, "My Dad was my coach the first year, it was the only year he was able to do that due to his work schedule so it was very memorable for me."
As Baseball was slowly starting to shape Kevin's outside world, his parents laid the most important foundation of all, which truly exemplifies Kevin, which is his love for his family.
Personally, I have had the wonderful experience of getting to know Kevin over the last few months. Our paths crossed due to our shared passion for baseball cards and art, but I appreciate the growing friendship because of the kindness and his appreciation of family values.
Kevin looks back on his early baseball days with a memory in time that changed all direction.
"While I don't remember following baseball closely until about 86-87, my attention was grabbed when Schmidt was chasing home run number 500, it was all anyone was talking about."
Baseball was vividly clear after that for Kevin, "I remember watching the Mets win the World Series in 1986 with my parents that year."
"My Parents got me a Phillies Sunday Game Ticket Plan for Christmas that December. We had seats on the first base line at Veterans Stadium, it was the first section back, from the section that went right to the field."
Kevin had a ticket to Heaven every Sunday.
The Phillies' passion would soon be tested as his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio in '88. The move forced them to give up their Phillies tickets, but his loyalty never waivered.
The Gust's had left Philly town, but Kevin was taking them with him wherever he went. Kevin played baseball until High School mostly as a catcher and transitioned to 2B as he got older.
In High School Kevin relocated to NJ and was reunited with Veterans Stadium one last time before they tore it down. "I saw the second to last game they played there."
When I asked Kevin if he had a favorite game he attended, he remembered going with his Uncle and his Dad where Gary Redus hit a HR next to them and it landed them on TV, "I thought that was really cool."
Kevin always had his hand in baseball, and clearly the Good Lord wanted Baseball Art in Kevin's hands.
"My Dad collected cards for me in the late '70s and '80s and my Mom would always be buying us packs along the way, and they would always find time to take me to card shows." So, Kevin always had a baseball card in his hand.
I asked Kevin when he started dabbling in art?
"Over the last ten years I have been pretty artsy, it started with making matching family shirts for trips to Disney World, yes... we did the matching thing."
Life rewards us all in so many ways, and though Kevin is all about his baseball art, it all derives from the creativity and love he draws from his family.
"First it was just wearing Phillies shirts, or Flyers Shirts. Then one year my wife and I were talking and wanted to do Backyardigans Shirts. One of my twin daughters is autistic and loves that show. We thought she’d really like a custom shirt. I designed a themed shirt for each of us centered around a favorite episode. We got a lot of compliments, so the next year I made Autism themed Phillies shirts."
What effect did Topps Project 2020 have on you?
"I've really gotten inspired this year by Project 2020. Most notably Keith Shore, It's really ironic because I've bought 180 plus of the cards so far and one card was never delivered. Card 88."
"I hand sketched a Luis Robert in the style of Shore, then created a digital version using common shapes. I was pretty pleased. Then, I realized I could do a little better than my first few attempts, and my style continued to evolve and improve."
Kevin is an Engineer by degree and started applying his trade to his God given gift and his art started to unfold. It did not take long before the baseball card industry started to notice.
California Super Guitarist and HUGE Twitter Baseball Card Influencer, Ron Bartleet (@ngreenroom) was the first to start the Twitter Hashtag "#GriffeyShoreNoMore", in respect to the Shore tribute Kevin was unfolding.
Kevin spoke of how it started and how much he appreciated the environment he was finding himself in.
"The first card I sold was Dr. Fauci on eBay. It was a pretty cool feeling to see something I made sell like that."
(LATER TO BECOME PART OF KEVIN GUST's FIRST SET)
Kevin was quickly finding his path.
"I started following other artists and one day Gypsy Oak bid on my Dustin May on eBay. I started talking to him about art, cards and process. I was a huge fan of his and he has really been another inspiration for me. He treats me like a colleague and is honest with me when he doesn't like what he sees. He is a mentor of mine. His art has many different looks. He's done so much that people who are just getting into card art really need to see. He's brilliant."
"I'd like to add additionally, non-art inspirations are there as well. People like John Blunt have really shown faith in me." John a retired NJ Police Officer has been a huge supporter and Kevin's number one fan. (Outside his Wife and Daughters of course.)
In their conversations, Kevin learned that John's favorite player was Stan Musial. John has met Stan at a tryout with the Cardinals as a teen and Stan laid a deep impression on John's life. Kevin had taken on many commission jobs and this time wanted to make his friend John a Stan Musial as a gift.
Kevin is also the artist behind what some have called the card of the year. No artist this year has captured the crash of the Topps Project 2020 like Kevin did.
The must invest product bubble burst, that was felt by a 35,000 baseball card collectors.
As Ivan (@WatchTheBreaks) The King of all Baseball Card Influencers referred to it as, "Stonks", in reference to the crash.
"I was thinking what I could do with all these Griffey Shores and the idea popped into my head. A two card set, like 'before and after' capturing the moments before and after card 88 was released. Ivan agreed to have his likeness and tweet on the card which allows a connection of the twitter community to Project 2020."
I asked Kevin what the most rewarding part of this has been and he immediately mentioned the relationships he has made with customers, fans and other artists as being the most rewarding. But when pressed on his most rewarding piece this far there was no doubt his first commission.
Kevin has 4 daughters and he hopes to one day share collecting with them. When a Twitter follower reached out and asked if Kevin could make his soccer playing daughter a character on Griffey Shore, he couldn't pass it up. "He told me how they were collecting together and how much he thought she'd love it."
Once Kevin had shipped it, he anxiously awaited news of her reaction. "The dad shared a few photos and a video of her reaction when she opened the card and that was amazing!"
Additionally a few weeks later he saw a post of her collection display on Twitter and saw the card had a very special place. "I was very honored to see that card on the top shelf center showing how special the card was to her."
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