Brittney Griner is a record breaking WNBA player, an Olympic Gold Medalist, a queer trailblazer in professional sports. Currently she's being detained in Russia amid a geopolitical crisis.. "I guess I am a game changer" is a quote from an interview from 2013 ("My ink") beautifully summarizing who she is.
This portrait is an expression of gratitude for -- besides being an amazing Basketball player -- showing us how to be comfortable in one's skin, and what we can achieve if we are. It is also a prayer for strength, things to resolve and Brittney Griner returning to her family.
I painted the portrait digitally in Photoshop with pen & tablet. The background is a collage of different elements from the archives I montaged in Photoshop. It creates a mesh of pictures of the two cities she plays for - Phoenix & Ekaterinburg - picking up elements of her ink (plants, lion) and a blueprint of an basketball court to tie everything together.*
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