Our younger readers may know Desmond Mason from his days with the Sacramento Kings or Oklahoma City Thunder, but the former NBA player was also the NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest champion back in 2001 as a Seattle Supersonic. In addition to having ups, Mason also knows his way around a canvas, and his artistic talents have caught the eye of some pretty important collectors.
According to the New York Post, former NBA commissioner David Stern bought one of Mason's paintings for $500 (a portrait of Al Pacino in Carlito's Way) after reading an article about the artist-athlete, who at the time was a senior at Oklahoma State. Since then, Mason has shown in several art exhibitions, including Art Basel Miami, and the list of people who now own his abstract paintings has gotten a lot more impressive. The Post lists George Clooney, Joe Buck, Alex Rodriguez, Tiger Wood's coach Hank Haney, and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz among Mason's fans, as well as a businessman in Chicago who recently dropped $60,000 on a painting.
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"I’m not a Hall of Famer and I’m not an All-Star either," Mason told the Post. "I won a dunk contest once. With art, I feel like I am working really hard and getting better." The artist will open his first New York City exhibition at the Athletes for Art Renaissance Tour event in Chelsea today. Head to the AART website for more information.
[via New York Post]
