OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Anthony Oropeza, also known as AO, uses blank canvas to create masterpieces.
After temporarily putting his passion for art on pause, he decided to give it one more shot. In 2018, he started painting the Kansas City Chiefs.
“This Patrick Mahomes kid started making an impact, and I started painting in the parking lots at Arrowhead,” Oropeza said.
Originally from the KC area, he says he feels lucky to create artwork for Chiefs Kingdom.
“I love the team and any of the players. Putting them on canvas or paper is a blast,” Oropeza said. “I love to create for people who love the players, and to have a piece of artwork in somebody’s home, there is nothing like it.”
The artistic process starts with Oropez working with customers to sketch their vision.
“They tell me their player or players they want me to consider that have an image or most of the time they ask me to find an image that hits me," he said. "If it’s a custom piece, like a couple of them have been, they give me images that they love at an event, a tailgate or, in two cases, a Super Bowl. So I will figure out a way to incorporate that into the design, and we will see what happens after that.”
And with more inspiration on the horizon with the AFC Championship Game, Oropeza is ready to see his team in action Sunday.
“My bigger hope is not only to just get a win, I want us to demolish the Bengals. So we will see how that goes,” he said.
