Acrylic and spray on 30″ x 40″ canvas
Prints of this painting are available through Highspots!
Bret Hart is one of the all-time greats in the history of professional wrestling. I know I say that about a lot of these guys, but it doesn’t get much truer with Bret. If he were a music act, he would be at the level of the Rolling Stones or Paul McCartney. The son of Stu Hart and the most famous of the legendary Hart family, Bret started in his father’s Stampede Wrestling promotion in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He then went to the WWF where he established himself in the tag division along with Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart and manager Jimmy Hart (no relation) as the Hart Foundation. Bret would later break out as a singles wrestler after winning the Intercontinental Championship from ‘Mr. Perfect’ Curt Hennig, then later as the WWF Champion after defeating Ric Flair. Hart would have many notable feuds with the likes of Jerry Lawler, his brother Owen Hart and his most notorious with Shawn Michaels.
Bret and Shawn’s feud is, if not the most legendary, then the most notorious in the annals of professional wrestling. They were two tremendous athletes competing at the highest level, as can be seen by their amazing hour-long Iron Man match at Wrestlemania XII. Many argue that this was the greatest Wrestlemania match of all time, an argument that I could be convinced of. Hart would later have an amazing match with ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin at the 1996 Survivor Series that may be the best double-turn ever, where Austin walked in the heel and Bret the face, but those roles were completely reversed by the end. (My personal favorite match for both men.) Bret would leave the WWF for WCW the next year following the infamous Montreal Screwjob, which I will not get into here but it is worth looking up.
Bret’s time in WCW was ultimately unremarkable due more to the company than himself, and his in-ring career was cut short following a concussion. But that has not stopped the wrestling community’s continuous love and appreciation of the man and his abilities. He has held thirty-two championships across five decades(!), is a Royal Rumble winner, is the only two-time King of the Ring winner, and is in the WWE Hall of Fame, inducted by Steve Austin.
About the piece: I limited the color palette on this to be his flesh tones, then pink, white and black, the colors that Bret is most known for. I painted the background black first, then used a combination of pink and white spray paint with splotches of pink house paint. Then I painted Bret in and brought in a bit more spray and some drizzles of pink and black paint. I’m extremely proud of this piece and consider it to be my best yet.