Local Painter Honors Team Hoyt's Spirit in Painting

Since late December, Hopkinton artist Dustin Neece has been working to try to capture the spirit of Rick and Dick Hoyt in the second painting of his “Honoring the Spirit” series.

Neece grew up in Hopkinton and has been painting since he received his grandfather’s oil paints as a kid. When he found out the Easter Seals were looking for an artist to commemorate the Hoyts' 30^th running of the Boston Marathon, he knew it would be right down his alley.

The Hoyts, of Holland, are a father/son duo that has done the marathon for decades, with Dick pushing his wheelchair-bound son, Rick, to the finish line.

“The marathon is probably the biggest thing that goes through Hopkinton, so it just felt like a natural fit,” Neece said. “Because they are so well-known in this marathon it was very easy for me to get involved in the painting emotionally.”

Neece started painting seriously in high school when a teacher entered a self-portrait he had done into a national competition on a whim.

“A couple of months after it was submitted she came to the house knocking on the door and telling me that it had been selected as the winner of the Scholastic art award competition. That’s when I really started to think about pursuing art,” he said.

Since then, Neece has created numerous paintings, but his painting for the Hoyts is something with which he feels a strong connection.

“For me the portrait is the focal point. This is more about them than the marathon,” Neece said. “One part of a portrait is capturing their likeness, but when people look at it they will also get an impression of their personalities.”

While working with the Hoyts, Neece said, he has learned much about them, but he’s also learned a lot about himself and how he works as an artist.

“Usually when I’m painting people I ask them questions so I can see their expressions and how they respond,” Neece said. “I can’t do that with Rick, though, so I’ve started talking about myself and seeing how he reacts to me.”

Neece will have the painting complete to be premiered at the Easter Seal Ready, Set, Go! event April 12 in Cambridge. Easter Seals is an organization that supports people with disabilities and is a group the Hoyts have always had a close relationship with because of Rick’s disability. A limited series of 300 signed prints will be available for sale at the Easter Seals event and on the day of the marathon.

“It will be a little bit bittersweet when I finish this,” Neece said. “It was such a great opportunity to meet them and work with them but now I won’t have a reason to go hang out with them.”