NBA baller Amar’e Stoudemire took his talents to Cali this week. I’m talking about those requiring a brush stroke and not a basketball.
The Miami Heat player partnered up with artist RETNA for a live art installation for local kids at Pan Pacific Park to get kids interested in picking up a paintbrush.
In between mixing colors on a canvas–that produced several paintings from Amar’e, RETNA and future Basquiat’s and Davinci’s–Stoudemire played some hoops with the kids.
This is the first stop on the ex-Knick player’s(couldn’t resist, I am native New Yorker after all) cross country tour to promote his “In the Paint” Series meant to connect young artists with emerging ones in local communities through his Melech collection, which fosters his two loves, P+B (painting and basketball.)
The painting showcases are all to get youngsters motivated about the arts that arent’ necessarily revolved around rapping or singing. Not that anything is wrong with that. Who shouldn’t aspire to Beyonce on any given day? Yet, it would also be nice for kids to know Jean Michel Basquiat, Kehinde Wiley, Jamea Richmond Edwards, Toyin Ojih Odutola, like they do Drake and Nicki Minaj. You’ve likely seen all these artists’ masterpieces, if you’re an avid “Empire” fan like myself.
Anyway, kudos to Amar’e for exposing the kiddos to more forms of art. Below he displays his work, and talks about his passion for painting with “Late Late Show” host James Corden and Betty White.
Amar’e topped off his artistic visit to Pan Pacific Park by dropping a $20,000 donation. Of course he was honored soon after by the city for his charity work.
