I’m a lifelong Chiefs fan. When I decided to create this painting in 2016, I set out to select ten players that I thought represented the greatest Chiefs of all time. Some were obvious: D.T., Lenny the Cool, Bell, Lanier, Buchanan, and Tony Gonzalez. Then there were others to consider: Will Shields, Emmitt Thomas, Curley Culp, Johnny Robinson, Jan Stenerud—all in the Chiefs Hall of Fame. Some greats I didn’t consider include Joe Montana, Marcus Allen, Warren Moon, and Mike Webster, because the greatest parts of their careers are associated with other teams. So, I chose the twelve players pictured because, well, it’s my painting!

“A Tradition in Red” is different from most of my sports composites as I used palette knives and heavy paint in the final application. The result is that the piece has less precision but more texture than normal. I chose the Kansas City skyline for the background and added the goalpost because I wanted to have Tony G. “slam-dunking” a touchdown pass through it.

Pictured, from left to right: Emmitt Thomas (18), Willie Lanier (63), Johnny Robinson (42), Buck Buchanan (86), Bobby Bell (78), Len Dawson (16), Derrick Thomas (58), Tony Gonzalez (88), Jamaal Charles (25), Will Shields (68), Otis Taylor (89), Tamba Hali (91).

It’s been a lot of fun to get reactions from Chiefs fans to this piece, and I love getting photos of them with their limited-edition prints. Last I counted, the prints of this piece are in more than ten states and two countries outside the U.S.

This piece involved countless hours of researching players and representative photos, sketching potential poses, and composing the piece before the painting process even began.

The original painting is 24” tall by 48” wide on a cradled birch panel with a 2.5” deep natural maple floating custom-built frame. Free shipping in the U.S.

Limited-edition prints are also available.

“A Tradition in Red” prints