Patriots.com: New England Patriots Collaborate with New England Artists for 2023 Gameday Poster Series
Alexandra Francisco, patriots.com, September 6, 2023
New England Patriots home games will be a bit more creative this year.
That’s partly due to new capabilities for in-game presentation with Gillette Stadium’s brand-new video board, but also thanks to a contest held by the team’s content department.
For each home game of the 2023 season, the Patriots tapped nine local artists throughout the region for their new Gameday Poster Series. Each design will be available for purchase, allowing fans an opportunity to collect them all while they last.
The artists were chosen from a pool of more than 250 applicants, ranging drastically in age and professional experience. The only real criterion was that they had to live in New England. The few chosen hail from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire, and recently came together in Foxborough to meet each other and hand-sign each copy of the poster they designed.
The Patriots made just 275 copies of each poster, which will be available for games against the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, Buffalo Bills, Washington Commanders, Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, and New York Jets. There will also be a poster for New England’s home game against the Indianapolis Colts in Frankfurt, Germany, designed by a German artist, to be released later this season.
Only 275 of these limited-edition posters will be created for each game, available online here or in a limited amount at the Patriots ProShop on gameday at Gillette Stadium.
Minimal direction was given by the Patriots, allowing the artists quite a bit of creative freedom. They decided how to illustrate the overall look and the team offered minor edits before completion.
Check out their full biographies here, and check out what the artists had to say about their inspiration and this opportunity to have their work featured in the Patriots Gameday Poster Series:
Richard Pellegrino
South Shore of Boston, Massachusetts
Poster: Week 1 – Eagles vs. Patriots
Art & Design Background
“I am a freelance illustrator and gallery artist. I typically show in Los Angeles, Gallery 1988, and I’ve worked with clients like Wes Anderson (Grand Budapest Hotel) and the NFL—I have a Tom Brady mural in their SoFi Stadium offices in L.A. I’ve worked with AMC, Breaking Bad—a whole bunch of fun properties. A lot of pop culture stuff. I recently did a poster with Hasbro and Transformers and went over to their little place in Pawtucket, Rhode Island and it was on the YouTube Channel.”
Inspiration
“There were some limitations with likenesses, numbers, logos—things like that. I prefer to be in a box like that. I knew I wanted a player in there and was inspired by an old illustration by NCW that has this giant cloud person walking on a beach. These little kids are looking up at it. So I wanted to make that monumental Patriots player towering over the Stadium. I highlighted the new lighthouse as well since that’s going to be the big reveal, and have some eagles in there referencing the opponent team. They are swarming the player but can never quite get to the football because he’s going in for the touchdown and they can’t catch him.
“There’s other little things. I wanted to make nods to Tom Brady with the No. 12 and the “LFG” and the six rings. There’s a few Easter eggs in there for the fans.”
Reaction to being chosen to design a poster
“I’ve been so fortunate with my career. I got to work with so many of my favorites, but this, I don’t know. This is a big one for me personally. I’ve been to so many games. I was just super excited.”
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