Freelance Illustrator Shane Stover

Shane Stover may not have a lot of free time on his hands, but it's a safe bet that you'll always know where to find him. Chances are Stover is in one of three locations: the classroom, the baseball field, or at home, perfecting his artistic talents. The SF State senior and baseball standout not only excels on the diamond, but also in the art room, making both the bat and the pencil an equally precise tool in his hands.
In this his final year of collegiate sports eligibility; Stover is on a course to graduate this spring with a degree in art with a focus on drawing and painting. "I chose SF State for both the baseball and the art," said Stover. "I liked the way the baseball team looked and there was a lot of stuff to do as far as the art goes."
Stover is a year-round baseball player, participating in summer leagues once the SF State season comes to a close. He dedicates anywhere from three to five hours a day on baseball and the training that goes along with the sport. Balancing a full load of units, including evening classes, with weight lifting, running, batting practice, and mandatory team meetings is a strenuous task in itself. Throw in the time put aside to work on his art, and you can see that the life of this student athlete is anything but glamorous.

Originally from San Luis Obispo, Stover is in his second year at SF State. He has also studied at Cal Poly and Alan Hancock Junior College, playing baseball for both schools. Combining his love for both baseball and art in a learning environment, Stover has set a path for himself which will allow for him to have multiple choices in career opportunities.
When speaking of other student athletes that he knows, Stover stressed that often times the talent and quality of these individuals is overlooked. "A lot of athletes work hard at their sport and care so much about their sport, but then they also have to go to school, and factor in all the other little things that everyone else has to do," said Stover. "It takes a ton of time and commitment, and besides sports they have other lives too," he said.

Stover has had a Web site up and running since he was in high school. Here, people can browse through a small assortment of his pieces and purchase signed prints of the artist's work. Athletes are some of Stover's favorite subject matter, with prints of Steve Young, Barry Bonds, and Michael Jordan for sale on his site. Other interesting prints are of Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator, Jim Carrey as The Mask, and a particular piece which Stover is proud of, a Robert Redford pencil drawing.

Color pencil and airbrush are the preferential mediums for Stover, yet he does not limit himself to just those two tools. He also dabbles in painting and recently has added clay sculpture to his repertoire. Stover is often commissioned to do everything from family portraits to murals, and gets anywhere from $35 for his prints to several hundred dollars for his finished originals. He has been featured in a few art shows in the San Luis Obispo area and has received scholarships and other accolades for his contributions. Periodicals such as the San Luis Obispo New Times and the Telegram Tribune have run featurettes on the artist/athlete.
Stover credits his father as a major influence in shaping his talents, both as an athlete and as an artist. "I was just like every other kid I guess," said Stover. "I would play catch with my dad all the time so it (baseball) grew into what I love to do." An avid baseball fan, Stover's father also was a photographer for the San Francisco Giants.

Devoting nearly an entire day to his passions, Stover admittedly does not go out very often. Instead he chooses to stay in and hone the skills that he hopes will one day carry him to even bigger and better things. "I go straight from class to practice and then straight home to work on my art," said Stover.

With influences ranging on the artistic side from Leonardo da Vinci to Norman Rockwell and on the athletic side from Michael Jordan to Barry Bonds, Stover realizes that you must study the best to be the best. "I'm not real into the artsy-fartsy abstract art," said Stover. "I'm a big people watcher, so I like portraits and people a lot."

If asked to choose between art and baseball, Stover reluctantly would choose baseball. Even though his art is just as important to him, realistically he sees that the financial payoff is far greater in the professional baseball world. "Right now I'm playing baseball, and if nothing happens then I'll be an artist and I'll find a way to make it work," said Stover.
"I've been drawing forever; since I was in elementary school," he said. "Even back then I knew that this is something that I want to do, and I want to make a living out of it."
Stover works equally hard at his two loves, art and baseball. The time and commitment he sets aside to pursue his goals are no doubt a testament to what this young man hopes will be an inevitable encounter with success. "I gotta take over left field for the Giants; I mean Barry Bonds is getting kind of old," said Stover.

"If I could I would love to get drafted and play professional baseball; all the while I could still do my art," said Stover. "I want to be successful with my art, I want to make money, and I don't want to be no starving artist. Success for me will also come from people liking my work," he said.
» E-mail Marc Aceves @ comaamerica666@aol.com

If You Draw It...Shane Stover's field of dreams involves both baseball and art. by Marc Aceves, sports editor November 17, 2003 01:56 PM