Mahomes Portrait using traditional media

Patrick Mahomes, watercolor, colored pencil © Mark A. Montgomery

Kansas City Chiefs fans have a lot to be thankful for this year. This season has been about the most fun to watch since I can remember. Even the couple of heartbreak games (Patriots and Rams) were so intense they left me shaking. We can always count on players like Hill and Kelce to keep the game moving, but the story of the year has been 23 year-old QB Patrick Mahomes. He is on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated "Future of Football" issue. Of course, getting on the cover of SI at this point in the season has sometimes proved a bad omen for teams gunning for the Super Bowl, and the Chiefs have fallen apart under this pressure in the past. Not that it will happen this year, but my sports superstition kicked in when they had their second loss of the season the day the cover appeared on newsstands. Just sayin'.

During the Monday Night Football Chiefs v. Rams game, I was sitting at the dining room table finishing up this painting of Mahomes. Using only traditional media, I kept in mind some techniques learned from C.F. Payne tutorials layering watercolor washes, wiping out the highlights and finishing it up with colored pencil. I could go back in with acrylics on top to really bring out some highlights, but it is what it is.

I hope all the attention on Mahomes and the Chiefs doesn't doom them to miss post season again this year, but regardless of the Super Bowl contenders, it has been an inspirational season. While the Royals rebuild, it is nice to have some home-team to brag about. For now, I am happily in the front seat of the bandwagon. Go Chiefs!

Montgomery Artwork featured in 200 Best Illustrators Worldwide Book

I am honored to announce my inclusion to the book, "200 Best Illustrators Worldwide 2018/19." This is my first time to make it into the "200 Best" list and features three portraits of musician Neil Young, Bernie Sanders and President Trump (in a special section). The books have been distributed to art directors in Europe and soon to the USA. They are also available for purchase at the "Archive" link below. It is such an honor to have my artwork in the same book as some of my illustration heroes. Inclusion is definitely inspiration to work harder.

Lürzer’s Archive advertising trade magazine puts out a call every two years to collect the best and brightest illustrators. From Archive: "The latest volume of the biennial series of 200 Best Illustrators 18/19 has turned out to be a beautiful survey comprising 296 pages of the best illustration around, featuring talent from a total of 34 countries.

The work featured in this new book was culled by an international jury of 10 from a total 4000+ submissions from 55 countries. None less than 34 countries are represented in the final selection, with USA leading with 45 artists, followed by Germany (32) and Brazil (27).