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This charming design is available exclusively through the Art + Design of Graeme Walker CafePress store	Project: Produce a series of paintings in a popular style that recreate great moments in sports history with young children representing the athletes and personalities. Additional items would include an appropriate logo for brand recognition and marketing support materials such as sales forms & flyers. The ‘Little Stars Collection’ was one of my first collaborations with Parkers Products Limited (PPL) and an education in the wonderful world of product licensing. PPL approached me in the summer of 1999 with the idea of producing a line of prints & collectibles that celebrated notable moments in sports history. The images and artwork were to be unique but similar to a then popular style of using stylized young children to represent famous athletes and players. Essentially, there was to be a ‘cute factor’ woven around an instantly recognizable sports event so that the images would appeal to both men and women. The paintings were never meant to be ‘high art’ but were to evoke a knowing smile from the casual sports enthusiast and be appropriate for plaque-mounting or collectors plates etc. Since Parkers Products had contacts and respect in the NHL licensing area, this was where we focussed our creativity and our discussions centred around potential events such as Bobby Orr’s famous goal from 1970 or Henderson’s ‘Shot Heard around the World’ from the ‘72 Summit series. For the prototype, Orr’s iconic 1970 Stanley Cup-winning goal for the Bruins was chosen for its dynamic composition and instant recognition factor within the community of hockey enthusiasts. As with all my artwork of this nature, I began researching the event from NHL archives and setting up model shots with children who were appropriate to the age group we needed. In this case, a neighbour’s young boys enthusiastically threw themselves around the family room floor with plastic hockey sticks in hand while I snapped away with low light film in my trusty camera. The resulting photos helped shape my pencil layout and breath life into the final painting. I chose to leave the background empty and focus the viewers attention on the children - although I did add a subtle pile of pillows for the child representing Orr in flight to safely land upon. (It’s never a good idea to portray children in mortal danger - mothers tend to look at you with a certain amount of animosity if you do..). The painting and ‘Little Stars’ marketing tag were very well received in the industry but (as with all things), timing is everything. The market had become quickly saturated with items of a similar theme and although our product was deemed superior - the moment was gone. The licensing factor was also an eye-opener, in that: Although I’d obscured the Bruins and Blues logos on the jerseys - both teams would require a hefty fee for their logo portrayal regardless, along with a cut for Bobby Orr if we were to approach him to endorse or approve the image. While the painting was never marketed beyond the prototype stage, I still consider it a success in that it opened many doors for Parkers Products (now Parker & Associates), and gave us both credibility in the sports memorabilia industry. Original painting in the collection of The Foreman family.
	DISCLAIMER: 'Bobby's Goal' illustrated by Graeme Walker at the request of Parkers Products Ltd.. Copyright and reproduction rights remain firmly with Graeme Walker only. The image displayed is for online viewing purposes only and shows proof of concept & technical execution by the artist. Unauthorized copying or use of the Bobby's Goal image shown is expressly forbidden. Obscured but partially recognizable NHL logos are the copyright of their respective teams.
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