Introducing Rebecca Oberle - Artist and Designer

I usually discover artists at comic cons. My latest discovery though came courtesy of Sara Moulton, a former standout pitcher with the Chicago Bandits. The Bandits are sort of the gift that keeps giving. I have made so many great friends and have had so many wonderful experiences because of my association with the Bandits.

Sara came to the Bandits from the University of Minnesota, where she starred on the mound. She was a big part of two National Pro Fastpitch championships here in Chicago. I hated to see Sara retire, but I knew she was on to bigger things, like Strike Zone Sports, the premier Softball Training Academy she owns and operates in Minnesota with Michelle Harrison, another former standout Golden Gopher.

I have kept up with Sara through social media. It was on her Instagram page when I saw a painting which caught my attention. It was a painting of Sara on the mound with the Bandits.

I contacted Sara and artist Rebecca Oberle about the painting, intending to do a story on Johngy's Beat, my pop culture site. After learning more about Rebecca and seeing more of her work, I felt compelled to share it all here, too. Rebecca and her creations deserve as much exposure as possible.

Rebecca started creating art as a youngster, drawing mostly in pencil and colored pencil. Fast forwarding to college, Rebecca graduated with a degree in design, while taking several art classes, including painting, drawing and pottery. Since then, she has done mostly graphic design work, along with cake designing. Only in the last two years has she focused on painting.

The idea of painting of Sara came to be when Rebecca's passion met practicality. Wanting to grow her portfolio, Sara turned to her love of sports, more specifically softball and Sara.

Rebecca loves softball and played daily until a couple years ago, when she retired due to the hectic sports schedule of her children. Sara is her daughter's pitching coach and obviously she has left quite an impression on daughter and mother.

She thought the painting would be a standout piece in her portfolio and she thought it would look great in the Strike Zone Sports building (putting her design skills to use), but it wasn't all just about Rebecca though. She wanted the painting to showcase Sara, too. Rebecca stated, “I want to see more of "who she is" when I walk in the door. She has a lot to brag about.”

Sara does have plenty of reasons to brag, but she doesn't. Despite her success, she remains humble. At Strike Zone Sports, it's all about the young students of the game.

Much like Sara, Rebecca also has plenty of reasons to brag. Every painting (and every cake, too) that she has created is proof of her talent.

The Sara painting brags for both of them. A determined Sara is about set to release a pitch, one of thousands she threw in her career, but each with a laser focus. It is a perfect frozen moment in time, a moment I was privileged to see so many times.

The background is “funky” (as Rebecca would describe) and perfect. The serious and the fun juxtaposed on one canvas definitely captures the Sara I knew from her years with the Bandits. The combination also seems to apply to Rebecca, who I have only known for a short period of time, but her words and painting have given me a glimpse into who she is (much like Sara's painting reveals Sara).

Rebecca said she had been thinking about painting Sara for a few months, but didn't tell her. Once she started the painting, she was “too excited” and couldn't keep it a secret. When Sara first saw it on Instagram and later saw it in person, Rebecca describesd it as “so much fun seeing her reaction” and I'm sure it was a lot of fun for Sara, too.

I haven't seen the painting in person, but it blew me away from the first picture of it I saw. As fantastic as it seems, Rebecca says it is “way cooler” in person. Some things cannot be properly captured in pictures (a common statement I have heard from many other artists). In this particular case, Rebecca says the Sara painting has “copper shimmery paint for the orange and gold glitter sprayed on parts of it besides the Bronze glitter in the corners, but it really just comes together in real life.”

Although it was a labor of love, I had to ask how long the painting of Sara took. For the 24”x30” masterpiece, Rebecca figures it took about 11-13 hours. In general, it takes Rebecca about 2-3 weeks (depending on size and complexity) to complete a painting.

Currently, Rebecca is working on 5 paintings, with at least 8 more planned. On her project list are a few paintings of her nephew, who has played for the USA National Football team. In addition to all of her current and planned projects, Rebecca is always open to commission work.

Part of the fun of what I do is spreading the word on talented folks like Rebecca. The best way to do that is by showing some of her beautiful creations.

As cool as these are, they are only a small part of her work. You can see more of her artistry at RebeccaOberle.com.

I thank Rebecca and Sara for their time in helping me write this. It has been a real pleasure learning more about Rebecca and her work and it's totally my pleasure to share her talent here with Patch readers.