We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful John DAcquisto. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with John below.
John, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I started my quest in art back in 1996. I had no formal education in art Accademia at all. I started with pencil sketches and then advanced my medium to paint pens, color pencils, then watercolor and acrylic paint and some oils. Then later on as years past digital became the craze. I bought an iPad with procreate and began creating some pieces just as a hobby. Then it happened…some wanted to buy a piece of my artwork. I had no idea what to charge or what to do. I got through it with the help of some very good friend that where artists as a profession and also educators. who told me I should pursue my dream and create some pieces for sale.
I had dreamt of pursuing a creative career, but had written it off as a self-indulgent fantasy? Convinced it would mean a pay cut too far, or worried you’d end up ruining a much-loved hobby?
By ‘creative’, I mean the thing you’d love to do. The route you’d follow if there was no risk of failure. But for many of us, that creative path seems closed off by a big pile of doubt and uncertainty.
“Finding time to get started while still working full-time.” Or part-time even. So, I had to reposition myself as a creative artist and not just a person working in Major League Baseball, and working to gain and maybe I could do both?
Doing a dual role of MLB and Artwork by John D’Acquisto was working out well for me and I was actually holding my own. My so-called hobby was now becoming a stand-fast business a sole proprietorship Trademark in the State of Arizona. I was doing rather well with my business and felt confident that I could keep it going the work confident is the key to the success of any business.
Finding subjects to paint or sketch was becoming easy. I didn’t have a specific gallery per se. It was on my website and in a digital format. So, I had to become creative in my advertising while not spending too much yet getting my point across.
So, the journey began….
John, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am John D’Acquisto I pitched 12 seasons in the majors 18 years in the as a professional Majors and Minor League, mostly in the National League. Of my 266 total appearances, 92 were starts. I was gifted with a tremendous fastball 102.4 MPH; I was clocked in today game standards at 113.4 MPH and deemed the fast pitcher in my ERA.
I made my major league debut for the San Francisco Giants late in the 1973 season, after having been a first-round pick in the 1970 amateur draft. I had some real success in the minors, going 17-6 for the Fresno Giants in 1972 and 16-12 for the Phoenix Giants the next season, striking out 244 and 245 batters. I went 1-1, 3.58 in his first taste of the majors then had a very good rookie season in 1974. I made 36 starts in 38 games for the Giants, going 12-14 with a 3.77 ERA. He pitched 215 innings, striking out 167 batters – but also walking 127. I was named the National League Rookie of the Year by The Sporting News as well at its NL Rookie Pitcher of the Year.
In 1978 I was put into the Bull Pen and responded with an excellent season, when he was 4-3 with a 2.13 ERA and 10 saves 100% completion rating in 45 games. I struck out 104 in 93 innings, walking only 56 and giving up a mere 60 hits. It looked like I had found my niche’, but the Padres already had an outstanding – and high-priced – closer in Rollie Fingers, so they tried to maximize my value by giving me some more starts in 1979. I made 51 appearances, including 11 starts, pitching 133 2/3 innings with a record of 9-13, 4.92. I struggled anew with my control, striking out 97 while walking 86. I was back in the bullpen full time in 1980 and put up a 3.76 ERA over 39 appearances before being traded to the Montreal Expos on August 11th. I pitched even better in Montreal, going 0-2, but with 2 saves and a 2.18 ERA in 20 2/3 innings over 11 appearances. I signed with Oakland Athletics in early August. I came back to the majors at the end of the year, giving up 11 runs and threw my last big-league pitch on October 1st, 1982.
I am now based out of my art studio in Goodyear, Arizona and I focus is on color & black and White pencil sketches using iPad, PC and art paper sketching mediums acrylic paint pens and water color as well as a stylus called iPencil Procreate for iPad pro 2 and Microsoft visual Studio, I paint most of the artwork is sports related Major League Baseball and wildlife, and old world Scenes, with a touch of Western artwork and Indian Art as well as many other custom piece. I have been commissioned by WINSTAR, LLC the owners of JUSTIFY the Triple Crown Winner and did a piece called Crossing the Finish line Triple Crown Winner Belmont Stakes. I have Licensing agreement through MLBPAA Vendor, MLB, MLBPA First Choice…
I also do Major League Baseball players in action as well as Vintage shots of Hall of Famers and collectors’ items, fan-filled stadiums and images that share the “Love of the game.” My Wildlife Sketches of the beautiful wildlife that has been granted to us to enjoy and respect captured in full detail as never seen before.
My Mission is to make people happy, to be able to save their memories on paper or Canvas. My focus is on my artwork and to not stereo type myself on one subject but to do many different subjects and stay flexible. I have a number of friends who inspire me with their beautiful ideas, and I have a plethora of inspirational point all around me. I paint what I feel when I get up, I start on my inspirational highway. I don’t get frustrated with myself or with my family life I try to stay even keeled and I really think that is the key to creativity. Let your mind fly, and let it breathe.
My brand is me, Artwork by John D’Acquisto, my organization is me with help from my family. I do this alone for the most part. My confidence is high, and I enjoy my work.
I am most proud of two accomplishments. My very first licensed picture, a sports piece of Bryce Harper and the picture I did for Justify since I am a horseman at heart; but what I am truly proud of is that my dream and idea came true. Now I have to maintain and continue on my model of focus and performance. So far everyone has been totally satisfied and most of happy and that’s my goal.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
There are many ways to support artists and creatives in society.
Buy art from local living artists.
Provide artists with good reviews and share them on social media.
Buy art books from living artists.
Commission art from local artists.
Buy clothes & accessories from local artisans.
Volunteer time to organizations that support the arts.
Buy gifts from local artists.
Attend an art event, gallery or museum (take your friends!).
These are just a few examples of how you can support artists and creatives in your community. Additionally, you can also donate to your local arts charity or fund which can aid this industry by providing individuals and smaller institutions with the resources they need for artistic production, programming, residencies, exhibitions, and much more.
Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?
NFTs or non-fungible tokens are unique cryptographic tokens that exist on a blockchain and cannot be replicated. They can represent digital or real-world items like artwork. “Tokenizing” these real-world tangible assets makes buying, selling, and trading them more efficient while reducing the probability of fraud.
NFTs create scarcity for digital objects, enabling a new kind of traceable digital ownership. In principle, a digital asset, such as an image or video, could appear many times throughout the internet, but only a few instances of it—or maybe even just one—would have the provenance of an NFT.
Once you sell an NFT it is no longer yours, remember it is a digital asset and that means it can be reproduced many times over if the new owner so chooses. NFTs cannot be copied, substituted or subdivided, so it can be used to certify ownership of any kind of digital file. However, multiple NFTs can be officially released of the same image as a series, depending on the artist’s intention. Each of these will have a unique place on the blockchain. This is what makes them original and impossible to replicate fully.
I don’t like them, because there are many different deals out there that don’t maintain a higher standard. You have to be careful when dealing in NFT’s
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.artworkbyjohndacquisto.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artworkbyjohnd/
- Other: I post many other pieces on my main Facebook meta site. https://www.facebook.com/johndacquistoDsC/
Image Credits