“Touchdown Tim Brown” 2009
Acrylic on Board 36” x 48'
It is this craftsmanship that Csorba captures the elusive mystery of Tim’s being — the spirit of being that animates the reality of his entire career into one work of art.
Tim Brown played college football for Notre Dame, where he won the Heisman Trophy, and in the National Football League (NFL). He spent sixteen years with the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, during which he established himself as one of the NFL's most prolific wide receivers. His fame and success with the Raiders organization earned him the title Mr. Raider. Csorba’s painting “Touchdown Tim Brown” celebrates the duality of success he had both as a collage and professional player.
Tim Brown earned a reputation as the most dangerous player in college football. He maintained this standard throughout his pro career, earning nine pro bowl appearances. “Touchdown Tim Brown” is a unique study in the way in which the presence of Brown’s persona and football excellence is felt through Csorba’s handling of both painting technique and composition.
The composition has two definitive sections. On the left Tim is wearing a Raider uniform set against a background of silver paint and on the right the traditional blue of Notre Dame is set against a field of gold leaf patina. The artist used this unique approach to recognize the duality of his playing career, but more importantly as a singular symbolic gesture. By combining uniforms, the painting celebrates the way in which Brown carried the tradition of playing both collage and pro football with the true grit, passion and sincere determination that is sometimes lost in the professional game.
Throughout his professional career Tim Brown never got in the way of the game, which is what led him to become a fan favorite in the Oakland area and much admired by many current and former Raiders and NFL players and staff. The same can be said about his Notre Dame Alumni following.
Painting Technique: Description.
The sense of realism and presence of Tim Brown is uncanny. It’s like Tim is in the room with you.
The painting ground or foundation is made up of raised acrylic plaster and molding paste. This technique is used to give the surface a heighten realism, texture and presence. Indeed Tim’s entire body is raised ¼ inch off the surface in some areas. This allows him to be portrayed as an accessible icon, mirroring his fan favorite personality.
Acrylic Under Painting
The acrylic under painting is established using a wet into wet techniques to establish basic color tones, shadows, highlight and detail. Once this was complete the painting was battered, beaten-up and dragged on concrete as a symbolic gesture of the ruggedness and “tough skin” that is fitting for a sport where as a wide receiver, Brown took his hits - but demonstrated a durability that lead him to nine pro bowl appearances. He really had no standout season – they all were great.
Acrylic Dry-brush
The acrylic dry-brush on top consists of thousands of tiny brush strokes, essentially “weaving layers of dry-brush over and within the broad washes of the under-painting”, giving the work an astonishing work of craftsmanship, which when viewed reveals the context of the subjects striking impact that he had on the game, his fans and the viewer of the actual painting. It is this craftsmanship that Csorba captures the elusive mystery of Tim’s being — the spirit of being that animates the reality of his entire career into one work of art. It is this ability that Csorba also breaks new ground in the world of sports art – were he was able to coax the extraordinary out of the ordinary paints and material.
Three-dimensional Objects
The use of three-dimensional objects as symbolic references also serves to heighten the reality of Browns legacy and to honor the teams he played for. A coat of arms shield of a “fighting warrior bird” is carved into his right bicep. A real sword is set in dramatic depth against the adoring and animated fans. These serve both to honor his excellence to take flight on the field and to elevate his game, as well as a tribute to the fans of the Black Hole, who adorn costumes at each game as a gesture of battle. The interlocking ND is sculpted out in embossed and dramatic relief and there is even a hidden “Irish Cross” buried in the depth of the plaster foundation – its location cannot be seen visually, but the fact that it is there, celebrates of the mystique of the Fighting Irish.
A new standard in sports art is accomplished through Csorba’s high realism and symbolic imagery, which make this painting stand apart in the world of iconic imagery and a tribute to one of the games greatest players.
For inquiries about this original and to commission Steven to paint other U.S. Sporting Heroes, please contact Dan Cashmere at (503) 747-6157 or e-mail.
Dan Cashmer President
BusStop Publishing and Sports, Inc.
