Back in 2015 Dustin ‘Goldust’ Rhodes pulled me aside at a show and said he really wanted a painting from me of “When Cody and I did the Shield fist bump with Pops.” This was shortly after Dusty had passed. Dustin and I had struck up a camaraderie over the years (one time physically pulling in someone who hadn’t signed their prints yet), and knowing how much this moment meant to he and Cody, I of course made it happen.
Dustin’s kept it framed in his home since. When the ring jackets get hung up, when the face paint gets washed off, these characters we watch on our screens go back to being the human beings they really are. They experience life, they suffer loss and they celebrate triumph in ways specific to each of them just like all of us do. That my work can connect with them in special ways with moments like these is an honor and a duty that I don’t take lightly when it comes up.
This was one of the times Katy cried when I showed her the C2C video. “It’s his hand…reaching out to their hands…”
Love you more,
Rob
