Author: Michael T. Burkhart

 

 

Don’t call Chris Tucci an artist. 

 

The Barrington man is a hockey fan – make that a Philadelphia Flyers fan – who like to draw. 

 

“I’m a really a hard core hockey fan,” he said. “For me, it’s totally being a fan of the game.”

 

In a quiet office in his home, Tucci memorializes in black and white his favorite players and moments in the sport’s history

 

There’s Bobby Clarke jumping into the air after scoring against Boston in Game 2 of the 1974 Stanley Cup Final.  There’s Wayne Gretzky with the Edmonton Oilers. And now, he’s working on a sketch of Michal Handzus with his long hair flowing. 

 

“This makes me feel young again,” said Tucci, 38, who still plays in-line hockey but says his body tells him those days are numbered. 

 

Earlier this year, Tucci entered a contest by the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame, which was looking for a piece to commemorate its third class of inductees. He took first place out of twenty entries and will be honored along with the sports legends at a dinner tonight.

 

For his efforts, Tucci gets $1000, and his work will hang in a place of honor when the Hall of Fame finds a home. His prints also will be sold.

 

“The whole montage technique was quite cool and original,” said Pete Georgelos, the art contest coordinator for the Hall of Fame. “We particularly liked his action poses of the inductees.”

 

This was the first year of the contest, said Georgelos, who expects there to be another one next year.

 

“The Hall of Fame is the fans,” said Georgelos of Broomall, PA. “This was a good way to get some fan participation, and we loved the response.”

 

 

The 30 x 40 inch Hall of Fame piece took Tucci about 180 hours over three months and features the 15 individual inductees, as well as the Palestra at the University of Pennsylvania and the 1960 Eagles. It was Tucci’s first time drawing baseball, football, and basketball players. 

 

“I really just wanted to see what my skill level was,” said Tucci, who has had no art training since high school. His favorite part of the montage is the tribute to the 1960 Eagles, who won the NFL Championship that year. He featured players Chuck Bednarik and Norm Van Brocklin. 

 

Some of the inductees in this year’s class include Gene Hart, the voice of the Flyers from 1967 to 1995; Jack Ramsey, who coached the 76ers; and baseball legend Reggie Jackson. 

 

Tucci grew up in Blackwood and graduated from Paul VI in 1985, taking art classes along the way. He graduated from Rutgers-Camden in 1990 with an accounting degree and went to work in Philadelphia as an auditor. 

 

He went for about a decade without picking up a drawing pencil. He dabbled in photography, including doing newspaper freelance work. 

 

“I never felt I was that good of a photographer,” he said. “I always really struggled with it.”

 

In the late 1990’s, Tucci switched from accounting to computer support. Today, he works at the American Board of Surgery in Philadelphia. And one day, he picked up a pencil and the high school art training came flowing back.  

 

“I was sitting in the office one day, and I really wanted to draw a picture of Bernie Parent (one of the Flyers’ best known goalies),” said Tucci. “It really happened because of my interest in hockey.” 

 

 

Tucci’s technique is called stippling. He starts with a photograph that he likes, and maps out the dimensions of the subject’s body. He then makes a rough drawing in pencil on heavy art paper, then shades it with lots of dots using a supper fine pen. But the time consuming part is shading with thousands of little dots. 

 

“It’s all in the shading,” he said, adding that he hopes to start using colors. Tucci’s wife, Ellen, offers criticism as well as praise and encouragement, he said.

 

Sports art, like other forms, is subjective, said Bob Glick, who owns Legendary Sports Prints in Connecticut. It all comes down to personal taste. Many people also buy sports art because they like a particular artist, said Glick, noting that his company commissions works by Bill Purdom and Rick Brown.  

 

“If they know the artist, they’re looking for the name,” said Glick.

 

Demographics also play a role. 

 

As an example, an older audience might be drawn to a print of Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia because they have memories of watching baseball games there. A younger crowd could be drawn to Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies new home.

 

Each player has his own nuances, said Tucci. For example, Gretzky folds down the tongue of his skates and tucks in one side of his jersey. Handzus pulls his socks up over his pads. They are things the lay person might not pick up on. But the rabid hockey fan knows about player quirks. 

 

“These are the kind of things I get a kick out of picking up on,” he said.

 

“You have to pick up on the subtle details.”