Mr. T (Unofficial Fan Art), by Brandon A. Miltgen, 2014
As a kid I saw Rocky 3. It made an inspirational impact on me. Clubber Lang—Mr. T’s intense beast of an adversary against Rocky—always stood out to me as a premier symbol of personal drive and tenacity. While Rocky lazily lost his edge, Clubber stayed hungry and was able to knock Rocky out of the championship spot. I felt inspired recently to draw some tribute fan art for Mr. T. The above image is the result.
We can gain spiritual insights from both villains and heroes. This artwork represents both sides of the equation. Clubber is the villain, while Mr. T who portrayed him is a positive role model to me—hence the title of this post is “Spirituali-T.” As I prepared to begin this piece I researched Mr. T. Not only does his intensity to achieve goals stand out, but his charity as well. Fans may not know that he gave up his gold jewelry after helping to serve those devastated by Hurricane Katrina:
“As a Christian, when I saw other people lose their lives and lose their land and property…I felt that it would be a sin before God for me to continue wearing my gold. I felt it would be insensitive and disrespectful to the people who lost everything, so I stopped wearing my gold.” (The quote is from a Sky News interview with Mr. T.)
When I asked my wife what color I should use for the background, she suggested the obvious: gold. I think it’s more than fitting. Mr. T may not wear gold around his neck anymore. No, it’s in his heart now. To anyone who’s hungry to improve their character or accomplish a worthy goal, I invite you to keep at it with Mr. T’s Clubber Lang intensity.
One of the songs I listened to quite a lot while working on this was From the Arrow Loop, by Ronald Jenkees. Click play and listen in while you take in the art. It has just the right dub-stepped feel of that intense drive and thirst for achievement that says “Mr. T” to me. Enjoy:
Illustration Time 