VH1 host hopes to redeem Pirates with art

After learning that VH1’s weekly Top 20 Countdown host Jim Shearer was raised in Pittsburgh, it’s not hard to believe that he’s a diehard fan of Pittsburgh sports teams. “Opening Day: Yinz Luv ’Da Buccos”

Tomorrow

8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Wildcard

4209 Butler St.

wildcardpgh.com

After learning that VH1’s weekly Top 20 Countdown host Jim Shearer was raised in Pittsburgh, it’s not hard to believe that he’s a diehard fan of Pittsburgh sports teams.

After creating the YouTube Web-series “Yinz Luv ’Da Guins” and “Yinz Luv ’Da Stillers” in 2008, Shearer is trying his hand at a different type of artistry — drawing — with illustrations of the beloved Pittsburgh Pirates of his childhood.

The drawings were originally supposed to be athletes from all the Pittsburgh teams, including the Steelers and the Penguins, but after drawing one Pirate, Shearer was taken back to his high school days.

“It had been a while since I’d even thought about the Pirates,” Shearer said. “And even longer since I’d actually drawn one, so I decided that I’d make the Pirates the focus of the artwork.”

Shearer is planning to showcase the drawings in a collection titled “Opening Day: Yinz Luv ’Da Buccos,” which will display through the month of April at Wildcard, a handcrafted-items gift shop in Lawrenceville.

“Opening Day: Yinz Luv ’Da Buccos” kicks off with a reception on tomorrow at 8 p.m. The free, public event features complimentary drinks and refreshments, Pirates trivia, a surprise guest and a chance to reconnect with the Pirates of the past.

For Shearer, this exhibit is a personal one as he believes it was him, not Barry Bonds, who cursed the Pirates into an 18-year losing stretch.

“I’m trying to un-curse [the Pirates] and make peace with them by showcasing this exhibit,” he said.

According to Shearer, one day when he was in high school, he wanted to get autographs from a few Pirates, whose identities he chose to conceal.

“They kind of blew me off in a rude manner,” Shearer said. “So being a teenager, I said, ‘You know what? You’ll never have a winning season again.’”

Unbeknownst to the now-36-year-old Shearer, his threat would become a reality.

MLBlog writer Kristy Robinson says she has heard her fair share of stories regarding who’s responsible for cursing the Pirates, but “most of them say it’s the ‘Barry Bonds curse.’”

The Pittsburgh Pirates have yet to have a winning season since the year 1992 when Barry Bonds, once beloved by Pirates fans, left as a free agent and signed with the San Francisco Giants.

Robinson, who writes features in her blog and reports all news related to the Pirates and baseball, admits that the Pirates organization has been losing for a very long time, but she sees a winning season in their near future.

“The team is slowly turning things around,” she said. “With 105 losses last year, it may not look like it, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

Shearer wants “Opening Day: Yinz Luv ’Da Buccos” to not only be a peace offering but also the guiding light the team needs. After all, he’s been a Pirates fan almost all his life.

“This exhibit is an ode to my past as well,” Shearer said. “The first piece of artwork that I ever sent to a professional athlete was a picture of Kent Tekulve, who was a pitcher for the Pirates in the 1970s.”

Shearer made the decision to use only art supplies and drawing tools that he would’ve used as a child. This includes pencils, crayons, colored pencils, magic markers and watercolors.

Along with the theme that Shearer describes as “kicking it old school,” he also limited himself to drawing Pirates who played for the team during a winning season.

“So, unfortunately, you will not see any Pirates from the last 18 years,” he said.

Some of the players that viewers can expect to see are fan favorites, such as Roberto Clemente and Bill Mazeroski. Shearer also included his personal favorites: Jim Morrison, John Candelaria and, of course, Tekulve.

Accordingly, below each piece of artwork in Shearer’s exhibit will be an explanation of why that player was significant to his childhood. Though those players are no longer active members of the team, the Pirates organization has yet to lose a place in Shearer’s heart.

“I think fans grow up rooting for a team, and they stick with them through the rough times,” Robinson said. She drew a parallel to the Chicago Cubs, who haven’t won a World Series in more than 100 years, but have never lost their supportive and hopeful fans.

“I also think a lot of people really want to see the team turn things around,” Robinson said.

For Shearer, making peace with the Pirates with “Opening Day: Yinz Luv ’Da Buccos” was a good place to start in the 180-degree process.

Rebecca Morris, Wildcard proprietor and a friend of Shearer’s, knew the importance of the Pirates to Shearer and encouraged him to serve as guest artist for the month of April.

“With the opening day of the Pirates season being April 1, I thought [the exhibit] was timely,” she said. “We sell a lot of Pittsburgh-themed items [at Wildcard], so I thought his artwork would be a good fit.”

The Pirates will take on the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field that day, but Shearer thinks it would be worthwhile for them to stop by Wildcard sometime during the month and check out the exhibit.

In the meantime, a former Pirate will serve as a surprise guest for tomorrow’s event to sign autographs for attendees.

Both Shearer and Morris thought this personal addition to the event was the perfect way to kick off the season.

“We give a lot of love to the Steelers and Penguins here in Pittsburgh,” Morris said, so she and Shearer are only expanding that devotion to another Pittsburgh team.

Robinson, who will also be in Chicago for opening weekend, saw potential for victory in an exhibit dedicated to the Pirates.

“I think any way to draw Pirate fans together is great because fans are going to want to be there when the Pirates turn things around,” she said.

To the fans in Pittsburgh, she offered this advice: “Things are getting better. Don’t give up hope.”