TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida artist created an art piece of Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady by painting with a football.
Cortney Wall painted during a live auction at The Super Bowl Art Gala on Saturday.
The event also featured about 100 other artists and was held at ZooTampa at Lowry Park.
Her two paintings featured Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
"What made these two paintings so much fun to create was using an actual football to create the entire background so this was my primary tool right here," said Wall.
Her painting of Patrick Mahomes sold for $15,000 in an online auction. It will be signed by Mahomes.
"The Brady piece is going to be signed as well and that is still available through the online auction for $15,000, that will be the starting bid and the auction closes on Friday," said Wall.
The Super Bowl Art Gala was hosted by Athletes and Causes. It is a charity that focuses on getting athletes, coaches and artists to use their platform and passion to positively impact the lives of others.
Proceeds from the art gala went to Project G.O.A.T.
G.O.A.T. stands for Global Offensive Against Trafficking, an art-based awareness and support campaign in the fight against human trafficking.
"As an artist, my primary focus has always been partnering with charities and giving back to local communities so that's one of the driving forces behind my work and why I love what I do," said Wall.
Wall said she played softball, volleyball and tennis while she was growing up.
"I learned a lot about pressure just from being on the mound and I think that's one of the reasons I love live painting because there's nothing like having the pressure of having to create a unique painting specific to a certain organization in a certain period of time with a variety of eyes on you," said Wall.
She found a way to combine athletics and art.
"I was always retreating to my sketchbook and picking up my paintbrushes. It was a really wonderful way to kind of balance out my love for athleticism and when I started to paint athletes, it was probably in high school. I knew at that point, I knew that this is what I wanted to do for a living," said Wall.
"It is so gratifying to not only do what I love as an artist, but to see the money going to really important causes," she said.
To view the online auction visit: https://e.givesmart.com/events/iZC/i/
To view more of Wall's artwork visit: https://www.cortneywall.com
