W. Scrivner

Lining the walls around his desk is a number of pencil drawings that he has created of some of today’s top athletes. The images are so detailed and vibrant, they almost look like photographs. “I’ve never had any lessons or formal training,” said Scrivner, who is gaining national acclaim for his art. “It’s something I’ve always liked, and I’ve just gained experience by doing it.”

In the same way, he tries to recreate the subjects he draws as exactly as possible. Drawing primarily sports figures, Scrivner will use different photographs as the model for his pencil drawings. Using several layers of color, he can capture such details as a grass stain on a jersey, the ripple of a muscle and the steely determination in a player’s eyes. “Sports are my passion,” said Scrivner, “I love playing sports all the time so that’s why I draw athletes.”

He first started drawing in high school, but after graduation he didn’t pick up a pencil for about a decade. He served in the U.S. Air Force and Virginia Air National Guard for seven years and couldn’t find the time to draw, especially while serving in Desert Storm as a mechanic on an F-15E Strike Eagle.

Each drawing he produces can take weeks or more to complete. Once he begins a new piece, he’ll work for several hours a night on it, and he’ll devote most of the weekends to it. “It’s real painstaking work, but the end result is worth it,” he said. “I just enjoy doing it. I like seeing people’s reaction to my work, and I like to see how each of my pieces turns out, too.”