Tulsa World: Tisdale admirer captures his memory in art

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Tisdale admirer captures his memory in art
The Sapulpa sports fan started the portrait, done in chalk, just weeks after learning of his idol's death.

Bryan Waytula, an art teacher at Sapulpa High School, created a chalk drawing of Wayman Tisdale in his University of Oklahoma basketball days. It will hang at the OU-Tulsa Wayman Tisdale Clinic when that is completed. SHERRY BROWN / Tulsa World

By MANNY GAMALLO World Staff Writer
Published: 10/25/2009 2:25 AM
Last Modified: 10/25/2009 4:24 AM

SAPULPA — Bryan Waytula was an impressionable 13-year-old when he had a chance encounter with the late basketball legend Wayman Tisdale at a National Basketball Association event.

The brief meeting lasted no longer than a handshake, but Waytula remembers the awe he felt standing in front of the towering 6-foot 9-inch Tisdale.

That feeling never left. To the contrary, the awe grew in 2001, when Waytula, then a student at the University of Oklahoma, met Tisdale again.

So with the announcement in May that Tisdale had died at age 44, Waytula, now an art teacher at Sapulpa High School, knew he had to do something for a man who made such a mark on his life.

Combining his love for sports and his artistic abilities, Waytula, 29, worked on and off from June through September to create a giant drawing of Tisdale.

Done in black and white chalk, the 40-by-60-inch portrait shows Tisdale dressed in his Sooners uniform, basketball in hand, and with that all-too-familiar, remarkable smile of his.

Waytula paid special attention to that toothy smile, Tisdale's signature throughout his life.

The portrait has already captured attention.

OU President David Boren has offered to hang the portrait at the new $20 million OU-Tulsa Wayman Tisdale Clinic when it is completed in about two years.

Boren, who called the portrait "outstanding," offered to store it for Waytula until it can be properly displayed at the clinic.

For now, however, the

portrait is on display in Waytula's classroom, where he guards it with the attention and care of a parent.

In many ways, Waytula's life has come full circle.

As a student at Sapulpa High School, he sat in the same art classroom where he now teaches, and his dreams of becoming a professional artist never wavered.

But Waytula doesn't want to do just any old artwork.

He's zeroing in on becoming a professional sports artist.

There's something about an athlete's sinewy form in motion, the sweat, the physical exertion that inspires Waytula to put out the best of his art abilities.

Being a sports junkie helps, too.

Waytula loves sports, particularly basketball.

He said he earned a spot on OU's basketball team, but an earlier injury prevented him from playing.

Waytula said his penchant for sports and artistic talents come from his parents, both of whom nurtured his skills and encouraged him.

He said his mother and grandmother were regarded as master craftsmen within the Cherokee Nation, and they inspired his artistry from age 6.

Waytula said he began by weaving baskets, but that wasn't necessarily his strength. "They came out somewhat lopsided," he joked.

So he turned his attention to drawing, and his grandmother offered his initial encouragement.

Like many budding professional artists, Waytula looks to be discovered, to have his artwork displayed and appreciated, to move along with that dream of being a sports artist.

For now, he is basking in the knowledge that his Tisdale portrait is getting recognition.

It definitely would be an honor for the drawing to be permanently dispayed at the Tisdale clinic, Waytula said.

Moreover, he said, his contribution to the clinic allows him to give back to his alma mater and "to know that it will be appreciated" by all.

"I think Wayman would have loved seeing it," Waytula said of the portrait. "I think he would have been impressed, and he would have smiled."

Manny Gamallo 581-8386
manny.gamallo@tulsaworld.com By MANNY GAMALLO World Staff Writer

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	Report Comment Few Clothes, America (10/25/2009 10:54:17 AM) I really miss Wayman's elegance and charm he had on the basketball court. That smile is etched in my memory.
	Report Comment Centrist, the burbs (10/25/2009 5:26:18 AM) Thank you Brian for using your talent and passion for art to honor Wayman Tisdale and your generosity to share it with others as part of Oklahoma's history. I'm sure he would have been very impressed and make his family smile as well.

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