Sterling ups its game with sports-oriented featured artist

STERLING HEIGHTS — Art depicting some of Michigan’s top sports teams is touching down in Sterling Heights.

Jeff Joseph is Sterling Heights’ featured artist for June and July. Joseph’s work is currently on display on the Sterling Heights Community’s Center’s second floor, and some of the featured works include college sports stadiums, as well as the former Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

Jeanne Schabath-Lewis, from the Sterling Heights Arts Commission, said she was excited to show Joseph’s work, as it marks the ability to bring back the featured artist program, which was put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic. She described sports as a theme that unites people.

“It’s something that appeals to everybody, especially as Dodge Park has become an oasis of all the different sports in our community,” she said.

Joseph said he applied to the Sterling Heights Arts Commission last fall, but his showing was delayed due to the pandemic.

Joseph, 72, of Brighton, said he has been doing sports portraits since junior high or high school, featuring his athlete classmates. Today, he likes to capture “kind of relaxed moments of sports,” portraits of coaches and action scenes of a play on the field, as well as architectural landscape paintings of the professional and college sports stadiums.

“I show them in their huddle with the crowd in the background,” he said. “There’s a lot of different dimensions of doing sports art. … I try to be multidimensional and do a variety of sports images.”

Joseph said his favorite medium is oil painting.

“When it dries, you can rework it,” he said. “You can use a wash or a glaze. A lot of the old masters used to do that.”

Joseph said he often begins his projects by going on-site and taking lots of reference photos, especially when he is depicting a stadium. Other times, like in 1997 at the University of Michigan, he gets a field pass where he can photograph the players or others in action.

Joseph said he publishes prints based on his paintings on Etsy. He has been selling his art for over 30 years and used to be involved with many art shows throughout the state, but he paused doing that when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. He said that will soon change.

“Next year, I plan on doing the art show circuit throughout the state, and then I have a few art galleries (to display at),” he said.

Among recent projects, he said he has been working on portraits of U-M football coach Jim Harbaugh and the late boxer Joe Frazier.

“I’m doing more Detroit Tigers baseball paintings,” he added. “I have a good relationship with them.”

See more of Joseph’s art by visiting jeffjosephartprints.etsy.com.