PORTLAND, Maine — Eamon White's life as an artist began with his grandmother, Jane, he said.
Teaching him at a young age to appreciate art and mix colors, White said he still takes those same lessons to the kids he teaches at Westbrook High School.
"I'm a Black artist, and I want to be a role model," White said.
White added that his grandmother was a big supporter of his life, and he wishes she could see the art he does now.
"My grandma was one of my favorite people. We were very close. ... We connected and did a lot of art together, like everything. You name it, we did it," White said.
Now White is tasked with a big ask by the Boston Red Sox: painting a life-sized cow to celebrate 75 years the Jimmy Fund and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have been working to provide support for those who has been diagnosed with cancer.
White submitted design ideas to the Red Sox team, which decided on the yellow and blue colors, for the City Connect campaign.
"It feels pretty good. ... We've been back and forth for a few weeks on the design. Now that it's here, I'm ready to paint," White said.
White said getting the opportunity to work on the cow is the culmination of his career so far.
From David Ortiz, a Red Sox legend, reposting his portrait of George Floyd to NFL players wearing his custom-designed cleats.
White said these milestones for his career make him feel accomplished in the creator space.
"When I do stuff like this, it's hard because I wish she was here to see everything. I wish she was here to see the George Floyd thing. I wanted her to see the cleats I've been doing, and she loves the Red Sox," White said of his late grandmother. "I wish she was here for it."
White is working out of the Indigo Arts Alliance, which he described as a workspace for Black and BIPOC artists.
"I like it because you have someone who looks like you and doing the same thing as you are and I can trust you and everything like that," White said. "It's nice to be seen as an artist and not just a Black artist."
White's work is set to be displayed in Lewiston at L/A Arts.
From March 20 to April 15, it will feature a shoe design and T-shirt workshop on April 8. It's called Full Circle.