On Wednesday, October 12, 2011, the Arena Football League held it’s first ever, Arena Football University at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The league invited Kevin-John to show his sports art and detail how it can help put fans in arenas as well as becoming a valued collectable unlike any other property available.

David Sliepka, Merchandise Manager for Beckett Media, talks about Beckett Media’s relationship with Celebrity Sports Artist Kevin-John at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago, August 2011. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:

BECKETT MEDIA TESTIMONY from Kevin-John on Vimeo.

Brian Gray, Owner of Leaf Trading Cards, announces the newest Leaf product at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago, August 2011. Leaf Trading Cards will be releasing an entire line of Celebrity Sports Artist Kevin-John original sketch cards as a Kevin-John brand. WATCH THE ANNOUNCEMENT HERE :

LEAF TRADING CARDS ANNOUNCES KJ PRODUCT from Kevin-John on Vimeo.

Worldwide trading card authority, Beckett Media, once again chooses Celebrity Sports Artist Kevin-John to commemorate another sports milestone. Moments after New York Yankee, Derek Jeter, connected with a pitch and nailed his record 3,000th hit on July 9, 2011, Kevin-John also put his talents to work. The artist, by commission, created two original sketch cards featuring Jeter and his grand slam. Kevin-John actually illustrated directly on the 2inch x 3 inch cards; each piece is a one of one and will not be reproduced. The cards will be won by the high bidder on Beckett Auctions.

These cards are the 4th and 5th in an ongoing series commissioned exclusively by Beckett Media where the artist will capture great moments in sports as they occur. Beckett Media comments “Kevin-John is a professional sports artist who has been highly recognized for his celebrity work for a number of years. We are proud to be working with him.”

Historic trading card company, Leaf Trading Cards, has once again commissioned Celebrity Sports Artist Kevin-John to create 685 original “sketch cards” for their 2011 Pop Century Series. The celebrity driven card series is Kevin-John’s sophomore gig with Leaf as he produced 150 cards in 2010 for the premier of the highly sought after collection. Each card is a hand drawn, original work of art and will be premium inserts in the new card sets.

April 15, 2011 – Cleveland, Ohio – Cleveland Browns Cornerback, Joe Haden, celebrated his birthday weekend by hosting VIP Parties and Charity Events and along the way he thrilled his fans and friends by adding a little something different to the mix.
Joe called on Celebrity Sports Artist Kevin-John to paint a full action portrait of one of his favorite NFL plays during the VIP Party and Celebrity Bowling Event.
The exclusive party was held at Cleveland hot-spot, The BarleyHouse. Low lighting and thumping dance music added to the flavor of the evening as hundreds packed the club including other NFL and NBA stars T.J Ward, Josh Cribbs, Major Wright, Troy Smith and JJ Hickson. Kevin-John painted away as the party-goers looked on.
The following day, Joe and his friends participated in a Celeb Bowling Charity Event and KJ was there to put the finishing touches on the portrait. Joe autographed the art and commented “It’s amazing! My shoes look like my shoes; I think he made me look a little bit stronger than I am. It’s so good.” Joe pointed out that his favorite part of the artwork was the dirt and blood details on the uniforms, a quality that has become KJ’s signature.
The art will be auctioned off to benefit Joe’s Foundation at an event in the future.

The latest team to join the ranks of the Arena Football League, the Pittsburgh Power, will kick off their inaugural season on Friday, March 11, 2011 and their fans will be treated to a special gift that night.
The Power, owned by former Steeler and Hall of Fame player Lynn Swann, commissioned Celebrity Sports Artist Kevin-John to produce a commemorative lithograph for this event.
The art features KJ’s original portrait of the team owner in front of the new Consol Energy Center, where the AFL games will be played. The first 10,000 fans through the doors on opening night will receive the commemorative lithograph courtesy of Trib Total Media. Kevin-John comments, “I love the Arena Football product, it is such a fan friendly sport, the teams really know how to give the fans a great show. I feel very fortunate that on May 11th the show will start with my artwork.” the artist adds, “I have long wanted to create a portrait of Lynn Swann, growing up in the 1970’s, I recall very vivid images of him making acrobatic and graceful catches with the Steelers. He is just one of those rare athletes that come around once in a lifetime.”
Go to www.pittsburghpowerfootball.com for more information.

On Saturday, September 4, 2010 Celebrity Sports Artist Kevin-John will be the guest of the Major League Baseball Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park as he creates a commissioned color sketch of Pirate Neil Walker LIVE on the sideline as the game action takes place. Go to Kevin-John.com to see pics and video of this event, or contact KJ’s Marketing Team to host the artist at your special event.

**HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT** National Sports and Celebrity Card company RAZOR Collectibles contracts Celebrity Sports Artist Kevin-John to illustrate a special series of “sketch card” inserts for their new Pop Century Card line. This series will premiere at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Indianapolis, August 4-8, 2010.
KJ comments; “This really takes my work in an entirely new direction. It allows the average collector to obtain some of my original artwork that is usually reserved for the celebs and athletes themselves. I am so very excited to work with Razor on this project; they are a top flight company making great moves in the industry. I cannot wait to hear the response from the collectors when the begin opening packs of cards and find these awesome sketch cards inside. It’s gonna be a bonanza!”
More details on this project will be forthcoming at www.kevin-john.com