Friend Encounters: Tony Schiavone and Steven

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends meeting celebrities.

Today is another case of my friend being a celebrity, too. Artist Steve Walden would probably humbly eschew that label though.

Steven is a fantastic artist. You can see some of his work in the background of the picture. Those paintings are his recreations of sports trading cards, but he is not limited to just that. His art spans all genres. Mixed in with the many colorful fun booths at conventions, Steven's always stand out.

I'm not the only person who loves his art. At the recent sports convention, veteran broadcaster Tony Schiavone visited Steven's booth. With his background in wrestling and baseball, Tony is right in the target range of Steven's audience. I'm sure he was just as happy to see Steven's work as Steven was to meet him. I know other athletes and several hundred fans also checked out Steven's work there, too.

For for info on Steven's art, go to stevenwaldenart.com. Check back here for my other Friend Encounters.

Tony Schiavone and Steven in Rosemont, IL-August 2026.

Steven Walden at The National 2017

I had a blast at The National 2017.  One of the highlights was coming across artist Steven Walden.  As I roamed the convention floor, the Steven Walden Art booth really caught my eye.

His creations are so vibrant.  His subjects include the four major sports, as well as comics and pop culture.  He has some awesome paintings of the Rat Pack, superheroes (where's Aquaman?) and more, including a beautiful Statue of Liberty.  I love that he has a few versions of Batman (including the Adam West one).

On the sports end, he has a lot of St. Louis Cardinals, but I won't hold that against him, because they are incredible.  At least I saw some Chicago Cubs among his works.  I'm giving him a hard time about his Cardinals love and his lack of Aquaman, but I seriously loved his works.  His painting of the Busch Stadium Winter Classic is almost breathtaking (seriously).

He uses bold and rich colors.  The paintings are alive.  I think he would do an interesting job with pro wrestling, considering the already colorful characters.  I'd also like to see his take on The Johngy.

Steven's subjects and style were much different than the usual art I see at comic cons.  I'm happy that I got exposed to his work at The National.

You can check out a lot of his painting at StevenWaldenArt.com or follow Steven Walden Art on Facebook.

Steven Walden and me in Rosemont, IL-August 2017.