Stephen Capogna

Baseball in Motion, Original Painting

2020

Artist Comments
A baseball spins through the air, streaked with reflections from the blue sky above. High, slow moving clouds give the ball outsize scale and speed. Part of a series of photorealist paintings focusing on closeups of baseballs and other sports equipment. Stephen photographed the reference image for this painting using slow motion video on a smart phone and painted the work entirely with airbrush.

About the Artist
In a striking example of hyperrealism, Stephen Capogna’s body of work manages to capture the essence of macro photography in highly detailed acrylic paintings. Stephen’s inspiration initially came from golf courses near his home. The work focuses on the minute details of sporting goods, from the lightly scratched dimples on a golf ball to the individual fibers on a tennis ball. He works exclusively from his own photographs using an innovative airbrushing technique. Stephen utilizes a large spray gun at the beginning of a painting for color application in large areas. He then wields a small airbrush for the finer details, using templates hand-cut from mylar to create edges and shapes. “One of the biggest defining moments for me was incorporating the airbrush into my process of painting,” Stephen says. “Because I am limited somewhat with studio time, the airbrush allowed me to move much quicker.

Words that describe this painting: hyperrealist, baseball, sports, photorealism, realism, Chuck Close, fly, flight, sports, realism, representational, acrylic painting, white, blue

Baseball in Motion
Stephen Capogna
Acrylic painting on stretched canvas
Finished edges
Varnished and Ready to hang
One-of-a-kind
Signed on front
2020
30 in. h x 30 in. w x 1.5 in. d
5 lbs. 0 oz.