Art Proving Unexpected Outlet to Fill the Baseball Void

Traditionally Topps has released product on a scheduled basis throughout the calendar year. With the season itself being postponed, and production facilities being shuttered, the New York-based card company has had to get creative. Although this initiative was already underway prior to this global pandemic, Project 2020 has turned the noon hour into a mad dash on the internet for weeks.

In an effort to blend baseball cards with artistic liberties Topps reached out to 20 different artists in hopes of having them reimagine 20 iconic rookie cards. Each day two new offerings become available until the entirety of the 400-card set is unveiled. They can only be purchased on Topps.com and are available for just 48 hours. Whatever number is bought are the exact number that is printed. Mike Trout’s cards have paved the way thus far, but it is one artist that I specifically have latched onto.

Blake Jamieson, who himself resides in New York, did not debut until card number 18. His Nolan Ryan immediately set this thing on fire though. After only the initial Mike Trout and Ken Griffey Jr. cards topped the 2,000 print run plateau, Jamieson’s Ryan became the second-best selling card in the set. It was filled with color and was extremely appealing to the eye. From there his Don Mattingly and Jackie Robinson (appropriately dubbed card 42) have done awesome numbers as well.

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Instead of just observing from afar, I wanted to get to know Blake and find out a bit more regarding his connection to cards as well as baseball as a whole. He did an awesome interview with Beckett recently, and took the time to answer some questions for me here at Twins Daily.

Twins Daily: Start from the ground up. As an artist you obviously draw inspiration from a handful of different sources. What describes your style and what are you hoping to portray in your pieces?

Blake Jamieson: I am inspired by all different types of art (and things that are not art). But I think the biggest inspiration on my style is street art and graffiti. I find the magic in what other people might think are mistakes. In graffiti, we see that a lot because people are painting something in a hurry so to not be caught doing something illegal. I don't paint in the streets but try to take those same "imperfections" and apply them to my work on canvas. As for what I hope to portray, I guess I am trying to capture a moment and show a little more emotion or energy than you could get from a photograph. This is great for my work in sports portraits, where I am re-creating an iconic and important moment. Rather than an exact visual replication of that moment, from a certain perspective (photograph), I am trying to capture and show the energy from a ton of perspectives at one time.

TD: How did you get connected with Topps, and specifically regarding baseball what drew you to the Project 2020 endeavor.

BJ: About 6 months ago, I saw some work by an artist I really admire (Graig Kreindler) working with Topps. I thought that brand specifically (I grew up collecting Topps cards) could be a great partner to take my brand to the next level. Until then, I had done a ton of athlete portraits, but just 1/1 originals for the players themselves. I reached out to a few friends trying to find an introduction to someone at Topps. Those efforts came up completely dry. But later that week, Jeff Heckman (who is leading the Project 2020 efforts) sent me an email, asking if I'd like to chat about an upcoming project we could potentially work together on. That was Project 2020, and the rest is history now. Crazy how the universe works - with Topps reaching out to me the same week I became determined to work with them.

TD: What does your baseball background look like? Who is your team, and what have been some of your best experiences with the sport?

BJ: I grew up just north of San Francisco, in Marin County. My dad had season tickets to the Oakland A's, and I grew up idolizing Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. I could identify players and teams by sight well before I could read. So my dad would take me into card shops when I was SUPER young (2-3 years old) and I was pointing at all the players listing their names, or the teams, and people thought I was some kind of prodigy. Rather, I just grew up with my dad showing me the ropes. We built a solid collection, which includes about 70K cards (every card between 1985-95). Then I kind of fell out of the hobby for a long time. But now with Project 2020, I am back in the game and it feels like I never left! Fortunately, my mom didn't throw away any of our collection, and it's super fun to dig through those old boxes now. It's a trip down memory lane, for sure!

One of my favorite stories my dad likes to tell, is about how when I was young and we were at games, I learned very quickly that if I told a player he was my favorite player, he would usually give me a ball. Every time we came home from a regular game or spring training, we would have a whole bag of balls from everyone I talked to. I would also ask the players if they want MY autograph, after receiving theirs. They would always say yes, and I would write out BLAKE on a ball or something to give back to them. Man, if any of those players had a signed ball today still, that would be a trip! (and probably very valuable, haha)

TD: Having created a few cards thus far, what has been some of the most difficult challenges in re-imagining iconic cards? What piece(s) are you most proud of and why?

BJ: I think the Mariano Rivera card has been my biggest challenge (mentally) so far. Just because of the pose, I guess. I was having a difficult time visualizing what I am going to do with it. Mo was such an epic player, and there are so many great action shots that showcase that. But using the pic from the 1992 Topps card has caused me to think of other ways I can bring some energy to the card. I think I finally came up with a cool way to make that happen, but time will tell!

TD: Looking at the Project 2020 offerings as a whole, how do you feel about the set and what do you hope is established between the art community and those interested in the baseball card hobby?

BJ: I love everything about the project and the set. Mad respect for all the artists, and props to Topps for coming up with the concept. I think it will be the product of the year because it's bringing new life (and new attention) to a hobby that has not taken a ton of risks in recent history. It's so cool to hear people say things like "Blake, I love your art and have followed you for a long time. I haven't bought a baseball card in decades, but I just got yours... and now I am digging through old cards and taking a trip down memory lane!" And even for people who have never given up the hobby, I feel like as the set progresses, more and more of them are starting to get really excited. It was tough to visualize when only a few cards were out. But now that each artist has multiple releases, and you can start to see what an artist set of 20 could look like, it's gaining steam. I expect PRs to continue to climb, and these first 50 cards are going to be the SP an SSP of the entire set!

TD: Is there a particular card you have yet to put out that you're overly excited to work on or one specifically you have some great ideas in mind for?

BJ: Trout is going to be epic. I have a few Easter eggs I am working in, that I think fans (who notice) will really appreciate. Also, my Mark McGwire is going to be nuts. The "Easter egg" is far less subtle in that one, but I think card collectors are going to flip out when they see it.

TD: How has being quarantined throughout this process impacted your creative mindset? Have you found different outlets to draw inspiration from or is a sense of isolation generally how you work best?

BJ: Honestly, I love working in isolation. I do miss occasionally having other artists over to my studio to collaborate, but I have filled that void by joining the card community online. I do live-streams every night from my studio at 10:23pm on YouTube (YouTube.com/blakejamieson). It's been something like 9 days in a row now, and it's what I look forward to most every day. The community there gets to help me choose colors, gives feedback and input on creative decisions, and it's literally like a giant collaboration that turns into art. The people on that stream have impacted the actual cards that Topps ends up printing, and that is just insane to think about. And for that reason, I feel more creatively stimulated than I have in a long time.

TD: Finally, what is the greatest takeaway you want baseball fans to have in connecting with your art?

BJ: Man, that's the hardest question on the list - to narrow it down to just one thing. I guess the greatest takeaway I could leave anyone with (baseball fan, or otherwise), is that it's never too late to take control of your own life and do what you love. I was 30 years old when I decided to quit a very lucrative corporate job to pursue my passion for art. I never went to art school, and I have no formal training in art. I am 35 now, and I've "worked" longer hours in that time than I ever did before, but as cliché as it sounds, it never feels like work. And in a short five-year span, I've managed to now be working with a company like Topps that I grew up only dreaming about. That's not because I have some God-given talent for making art. It's because I found something I loved doing so much that I was willing to spend long days and late nights teaching myself how to do it better than I could yesterday. Rinse and repeat.

As of right now Topps has just surpassed the 50 card in the Project 2020 set. Two cards will continue to drop each day, Monday-Friday, until all 400 have been unveiled. There’s so many different way to collect or enjoy these offerings, and even just tuning in to look at the latest creations is a must.

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Blake is also giving away signed copies of his Jackie Robinson offerings on Twitter. Head here to enter.

You can check out more of his work on his website here.

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