Sheila Wolk
Sheila Wolk is one of the nation's most accomplished sports artists. She has
turned the soft-edged medium of pastels into paintings of the hard action of
sports. Her art is created in a mystical realm where logic, dreams and art meet
and mix to create a dreamscape of enchanting beauty and fabled majesty. She
fuses traditional and non-conventional means to convey the visions, dreams and
realities of a world many wish they could see outside of her paintings. Wolk
combines her creative talent and imagination to accurately interpret and
artistically communicate elaborate notions in an easy-to-understand and
visually-appealing fashion. For her work in the sporting arena, the American
Sport Art Museum and Archives (ASAMA) awarded her with the 1987 Sport Artist of
the Year Award.
Wolk had an auspicious beginning as an art director for a pharmaceutical
advertising agency and medical illustrator, honing her skills in drawing the
human form. Her first pastel sports art was created during a boxing match in
1978 and has since grown to include almost every known sport there is.
In 1980, the artist created official Winter Olympic posters for the 1980 Lake
Placid hockey and speed skating events for ABC Sports. Wolk was also
commissioned by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and its Member Plans
to create a group of six paintings depicting athletes in action for the 1988
Winter and Summer Olympics.
In 1984, she became the first woman to be commissioned by Major League Baseball
to do the cover for the Official World Series Program. The national pastime's
historical impact on American culture is vividly portrayed by a panorama of
former U.S. presidents displaying their form at season openers and World Series
as they throw out the ceremonial "First Pitch."
Her other works include the official poster for the 1980 New York City Marathon
and a commemorative for the Women's Sports Foundation Hall of Fame's first six
inductees. Football fans in the state of Alabama will quickly recognize her
collage of legendary head coach "Bear" Bryant. Included in the corner of the
piece is one of Bryant's famous philosophies, "If anything goes bad, then I did
it. If anything goes semi-good, then we did it. If anything goes real good, then
you did it.
Sheila Wolk's art work for sale:"
