Aug 28, 2012

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    • General Editor
    • Joined ESPN in 2011
    • Arizona native, LA resident, Northwestern graduate

Titled "Showered in Blackness and Gold"

When Baron Batch got to Pittsburgh in late February, he found an abundance of two things.

1: Free time, considering he was one of the few Steelers in boondocks, a second-twelvemonth running dorsum rehabbing his knee after tearing his ACL the previous preseason.

Two: Bare space on his flat's walls.

His answer?

"Well," Batch remembers saying to himself, "I'll outset painting. Create my own art."

So he did. Despite being out of the art game since his much younger years, Batch began filling that empty time and space with vibrant, almost impressionistic paintings -- each offering a singled-out style that is pretty much only his.

"Information technology started with one little painting," he said, "and now my apartment'south full. Information technology'southward packed."

Non that this should exist much of a surprise, if you know Batch. The old 7th-round pick is not a typical pro athlete; he's also an avid photographer, and while in college at Texas Tech, he offered his services as a invitee blogger/columnist to 2 local papers, chronicling his senior season and his push to make the pros (the papers still run his posts, and much of his art is inspired/tied to his writing).

We defenseless upwards with Batch by phone this weekend to talk art and other things that move him.

Inspired by the blog postal service "A Storm Is Coming," written later Batch's injury

How long have you been painting? Seems similar a while ...

"I haven't been doing information technology as long as you might think. When I was growing up, I was always kind of artistic. ... I would draw all the time. I was ever drawing on the dorsum of homework, on the dorsum of everything. I was but sketching stuff and drawing.

"[Merely I] just stopped doing it, kind of quit drawing as I got older, and picked it support recently. And I don't think information technology'll be something I'll terminate over again. I enjoy information technology at present."

Did you ever take any classes, though? Become any formal preparation?

"I never took any classes. I think that'due south kind of why my style might exist a petty bit unique. I was never taught in a particular fashion.

"The techniques that I use are merely the things that come straight out of my listen. I see what I imagine in my mind, and endeavor to create it best with what I know how to do. ... I experience like that's why you tin tell that it'southward completely mine."

Tell me well-nigh that mode -- like you said, information technology's pretty distinct.

"It's funny. I'thou not sure [where information technology came from]. I kind of just went at it. And I ever liked bold colors, and I've never been a big fan of super-clean art. [Mine is] kind of messy-looking, y'all know? At that place'southward a few I've washed that accept just been completely finger paintings.

"For me it'due south really a way of simply leaving football stuff completely somewhere else. So equally long as I tin can only crank up the music and simply go at it, I like doing that. And I call back that's why the way looks like it is. A lot of it's impromptu. I don't really plan out a lot of the stuff that I practice. It'due south kind of merely the way I'm feeling at the moment.

"Once I start a painting I effort to finish it at the aforementioned time I start. I don't recall I've ever spent more than a day on i piece."

Inspired by Batch'southward web log post, "The Now"

And so what do yous bask about information technology at present? Why did you become so into information technology so quickly?

"It's just nice to have something completely different [from football game]. When you're a professional athlete, it takes and then much energy focusing on your piece of work and what you do, and there's non many things that you can just step back and refocus everything onto another thing. And for me painting'southward similar that.

"As far as the [finished] art goes, I feel like it's merely creating information technology, and the process creating information technology ... than the bodily result, a lot of the time. ... I'chiliad not really where I'one thousand getting the satisfaction out of having it. It's making it."

[Writer's notation: Batch says he gives away the pieces that don't end upward on his wall, including to Pittsburgh'south Cancer Caring Centre, potentially to defensive line coach/art collector John Mitchell ("When he told me that, I was flattered," Batch said) and soon, perhaps Oct, at a one-man charity art bear witness at Pittsburgh's Cystic Fibrosis Center.]

Titled "Canon"

Tell me almost photography. You're pretty into that as well ...

"Even when I was a lilliputian child, I thought it would be crawly. I was always looking at pictures and looking at National Geographic magazines. And when I was in college, I finally saved upward and bought a camera and decided [I was] just going to actually start doing the things that I was passionate about doing. Instead of only saying, 'That would exist something that I'd similar to do,' [I would] just do information technology.

"[My photographic camera] was ane of the all-time purchases I've ever fabricated. I love it. ... I take it but about everywhere.

"I think it's so absurd to be able to tell a story through an image."

Photo from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh

Photo from Batch's recent trip to Haiti.

And the blog -- how did that start?

"When I was in college, I had a buddy, and he had a weblog, and to comment on his blog you had to have a weblog, and me, I was just wanting to be a wiggle and troll his stuff and leave him little comments. So I [did]. And eventually he was similar: 'Yous should quit trolling me all the time and actually postal service some stuff. … Maybe someone will like to read what y'all take to say.'

"Then I did it every now then, and then picked information technology upwardly and posted more and more than, then all of a sudden I had a little post-obit, which was kind of weird. I had a little post-obit of Texas Tech fans."

And and then doing it for the papers -- why did y'all pitch that?

"I idea it would be cool and really challenge me equally a author to exist able to do that each calendar week. And I thought it would be cool, just because I didn't know exactly what was going to happen [after school]. Everybody wants to play in the NFL later college, but I thought that would be a great doorway to kind of put myself out there and bear witness what I wanted to do [in writing]. Only have an actual resume of bodily work."

And it'due south still going.

"I idea later on the season was over that would stop and that would kind of die out, but information technology was such a hitting throughout the flavour ... they wanted me to keep doing it.

"It's pretty absurd to be able to practice that -- share what my journeying has been like. ... The coolest matter about it is to be able to get the feedback from people who are like: 'Human being, you have no idea what that web log post, that story did to help me.'

"It'south definitely a big part of me at present."

Inspired by the blog mail service "860 Miles to Forgiveness,"

written near the twenty-four hours Batch was drafted.

All images and more can be found on Baron Batch's website.

Bank check dorsum on Playbook soon for a study on another NFLer-slash-artist: The San Francisco 49ers' Vernon Davis.