Priscilla Wadsworth: Celebrating The Crimson Dynasty Through Art

Fans have different ways of showing their appreciation and love plus celebrating their favorite schools or its accomplishments. With some, the celebrations are extravagant and magnificent as is the case with artist Priscilla Wadsworth.

After seeing her portraits, one would think that she has been creating her artwork a lifetime but that’s not the case. Wadsworth, a Birmingham AL native, didn’t begin drawing until she was 15 or 16 years old.  “I kind of woke up one day and took a picture of a high fashion model and decided to draw it. I think after my first portrait, I just thought it would be a cool thing to try to draw things as realistically as I could.” At the time she started drawing, Wadsworth was studying to be a flutist and only created 2 to 3 portraits a year until she turned 22, when she decided she wanted to make a career out of her artwork.  To top things off, she has hardly had any training or classes. Everything you see from her, she has learned on her own for the most part. “I wasn’t great at first, and there were no art classes available when I attended high school. I did ask some tips from an artist I found online in my first year of drawing. Other than that, I have never had the chance to take any classes since I was a music major when I attended Alabama.” Starting out, Wadsworth would draw celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Tyra Banks, Katy Perry and so on but that was before she fell in love with Alabama football.  “In high school, I was actually not a fan of football. I didn’t understand what made it great, but at that point, I had only watched my high school play. I basically ignored any others until I was about 19 and my boyfriend at the time told me to give it a chance. I watched my first season of Alabama football and have been hooked ever since.”

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The first player that Wadsworth had the pleasure of meeting after completing their drawing was former Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron. She had already met AJ’s mother at a charity event that they both attended in Tuscaloosa and learned how much McCarron loved the portrait. A month later, Wadsworth would run into McCarron and his now fiance Katherine Webb at Baumhower’s in Tuscaloosa. ” I first spotted Katherine and when she realized who I was, she stopped AJ and pulled him over. They both loved my work and were very sweet.” She also got to meet Mark Ingram after completing his portrait and she was told that Ingram held his portrait with delicate care on his trip home. Ingram’s mother Shonda ended up purchasing the original portrait. Former Tide running back Eddie Lacy reached out to Wadsworth to draw something specifically just for him. Her artwork even allowed her the chance to have C.J. Mosley over to her house for dinner and video games with her family.

After all of those meetings with Tide players, the chance to meet Coach Saban is one her most memorable moments.  Social media plays a role in most of our lives for entertainment but in Wadsworth’s case, it made a once in a lifetime opportunity come to fruition. Alabama assistant coach Bobby Williams happened to see Wadsworth’s portrait of Ingram on Facebook and shared the post on his page. One of Wadsworth friends told her that Coach Williams had shared it. She contacted him to thank him for sharing and was invited to the athletic facility.  “Coach Saban’s favorite drawing I did of him was Number Fifteen. I also had my (unfinished at the time) Mal Moore drawing, and he just kept asking, ‘Man, how do you do that?’. He later requested to have a larger version of the Number Fifteen print, and I have been told that one of them hangs in his office. So that is definitely one of my breakthrough moments.” Another moment that sticks out in her mind was meeting former Alabama coach Gene Stallings after completing his portrait. “He just loved it, and so did his wife. They said it was the best portrait of Coach Stallings they had seen, and even told me it would be hanging in their home. I was very honored.” Wadsworth’s portrait of Coach Mal Moore was also in the Bryant Museum hanging over the display of rings that Coach Moore won during his time at Alabama.

Her works have been gaining popularity at a constant rate and meeting the people that buy her work is one of her favorite things. “I am always really floored when I meet people in person because of how excited they are about my drawings”, she told me. She also recalled one particular time that almost moved her to tears “At one of the events I did, I even had one lady bring me a gift. I was so touched I almost cried right there in front of everyone! Also, when people say my drawings look just like a photo… that really makes me feel like my drawings are better than I realize because when I see them, they look like obvious drawings.”

She continues to press on with her work with more portraits planned for the future including one special one for Alabama fans. “One of the next Bama drawings I am doing is actually a secret, but it’s going to be really exciting for the fans.” She also says that there are plans for a full color portrait of Julio Jones and is currently in the process of finishing a drawing of Norman Reedus who plays Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead, who she recently got to meet and got to sign the portrait.  I asked her what she would tell a fan of Alabama if she knew that they would remember it. Her answer might surprise you. It definitely doesn’t have anything to do with sports directly, but it is some advice that sounds like it came straight from Coach Saban. “I would tell them that yes, any career takes a ton of hard work, but believing is most of the battle. Of course, I don’t mean that in a way that you can just believe, sit on your butt, and something will happen. I mean that as long as you put in the work.”

With a long career ahead of her and lots of portraits still to come, she plans to draw who the fans want because it is usually who she wants to draw. I asked her after everything was said and done, what did she think she would remember the most. “I will always remember how much inspiration the players and the coaches at Alabama gave me. It’s funny that I don’t have any artists who drive me to improve like the people who have made Alabama football so great. I will always remember Coach Saban and how much he makes me want to take my drawings to the next level every single day.” For more information on Priscilla Wadsworth and to place orders, please visit her website at http://www.priscillawadsworth.com. You can also keep up with what is going on with her on her Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. Images Courtesy of Priscilla Wadsworth