Filmmakers working on the documentary about Dick Perez and his art were shooting part of it at this year’s National Sports Collectors Convention.
Perez was a guest at Robert Edward Auctions’ booth during part of the show in Rosemont, IL, happily meeting collectors and signing autographs of his work.
The Diamond King by Marq Evans, looks to honor Perez’s unique style and some of the cards he created that became favorites of collectors. Evans is looking to release the film sometime next year.
It isn’t the first time Evans used childhood nostalgia to inspire his films. He gained critical praise for the documentaries Claydream and The Glamour & The Squalor.
Perez’s entry into baseball started in 1972 as a team artist for the Philadelphia Phillies. His paintings of all the Hall of Famers with ties to Philadelphia reside in a permanent collection at Citizens Bank Park.
While working with the Phillies, he also became the official artist for the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Perez has painted every Hall of Famer’s official portrait.
In 1980, the popular Perez-Steele Hall of Fame postcards were released and updated every year with every new induction until 2002. By the end of the project’s run, there were 270 postcards. The larger postcards have become favorites among autograph collectors.
There were also the popular Diamond King baseball cards put out by Donruss, a series that became synonymous with the company when it debuted in 1982 as Fleer and Donruss battled Topps for collectors’ attention.
“I loved doing them because I had the freedom,” Perez told SC Daily. “(Donruss) got the license to do cards and they wanted to separate themselves from the pack.”
Perez also has a special auction of his works upcoming.
“I put all of my works off for auction,” said Perez. “There is the special painting of Roberto Clemente and I was happy to do it after meeting his family. The proceeds from the painting will go to the Roberto Clemente Foundation.”
Evans was a kid when Perez was painting for Donuss and collected the cards that helped him become a huge fan of the game and the artist.
“It’s great that the documentary is being done by one of the kids who collected Diamond Kings and now he is collecting cards with his son. It started with an email and he really wanted to make a documentary about my career. I said “yeah!”
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