Notes from Life - Stippling Art Book Cover

Notes from Life by Daniel Rickett

Stippling art by David Accurso

This past spring David Accurso was commissioned to create a stippling book cover for author Daniel Rickett. The cover is for Daniel’s latest novel titled Notes from Life. The foreground of the stippling piece pictures a man cresting a hill as he walks with purpose. The background depicts a rough terrain with rugged, rolling hills covered with trees and fog. Daniel Rickett was looking to have a book cover that was both meaningful and memorable, and he saw David’s stippling art as a perfect fit for the project. David’s custom stippling art for the novel is 5.5” x 8.5.” The piece required 16 hours of stippling, and it is David’s first book cover commission.

Daniel Rickett’s novel Notes from Life contains a selection of Daniel’s personal journal entries spanning from 1983 to 2021. His entries are periodic accounts of events, reflections, hopes, struggles, meditations, and prayers over the course of this time period. When asked about his personal journals, Daniel Rickett added “although the entries are scattered anecdotes rather than a seamless story, they flow like autumn leaves on a mountain stream, tumbling every which way revealing the current beneath.”

Close-up view of David Accurso’s stippling art

When creating his stippling art for the book cover, David sought to capture Daniel’s journey through life. The rugged, foggy, and hilly terrain represents the difficulties Daniel faced along the way. The man cresting the hill symbolizes Daniel’s perseverance and strength to make it through the difficult journey.

Daniel Rickett is an established author with many years of experience. His most popular books are Building Strategic Relationships and Making Your Partnership Work. He has also helped author and co-author several other books and dozens of published articles. Follow the link below to learn more about Daniel and his career.

MLB Umpire Steve Palermo - Custom Stippling Piece

MLB Umpire Steve Palermo, 18” x 24,” custom art piece

In the summer of 2017, David was hired to create a custom stippling art piece of Major League Baseball umpire Steve Palermo. Steve Palermo passed away in May of 2017, and the commissioned piece was created as a gift for his wife, Debbie. Multiple prints of the stippling piece were framed and gifted to Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore and Rich Garcia, Palermo’s crew chief in the MLB.

Steve Palermo had a very successful career as a major league umpire. His umpire crew, led by Rich Garcia, umpired the 1983 World Series, three American League Championship series, and the 1986 All-Star Game. Steve was recognized as one of the finest umpires in the MLB, and he was ranked the number one American League umpire by The Sporting News in 1991.

Close up view of Steve Palermo’s profile

David’s commissioned portrait of Steve Palermo was ambitiously made at 18” x 24.” The average size of David’s original stippling pieces is 11” x 14,” so this project was a large time commitment. The project ended up requiring 65 hours of stippling, which was David’s second longest piece (Barn Owl took 100 hours). Accurately capturing Steve’s profile view, along with his chest protector and umpire shirt, were the most time-consuming aspects of this piece for David. The realistic quality of the piece, along with the sheer volume of effort it required, have made this project one of David’s all-time favorites.

David and Debbie Palermo holding the original piece

David’s letter from Dayton Moore, KC Royals general manager

The original art piece was custom framed and gifted to Debbie Palermo, Steve’s widow. David had the opportunity to personally give the piece to Debbie in August of 2017. In addition to framing the original, two 18” x 24” prints were custom framed and prepared as gifts. One was gifted to Dayton Moore, the Kansas City Royals general manager. The piece is currently displayed in Moore’s office. The other was gifted to Rich Garcia, Palermo’s umpire crew chief. David received a letter of thanks from both individuals.

Prints of this stippling piece are available for purchase in David’s shop. Follow the link below to see more details.

The Independent Magazine Rising Stars Reception

Each year, The Kansas City Independent Magazine hosts an event celebrating local philanthropy. For the 2020 event, seven individuals were selected and named the class of Rising Stars, and each individual was gifted a custom-made print of Accurso’s work. 

Local community members and subscribers to The Independent Magazine nominated the class of individuals that went on to be chosen by The Independent as the 2020 Rising Stars. A private reception was held in February of 2020 at the 1900 Building to celebrate the philanthropic success of the seven individuals.

In addition to being recognized at the reception, each of the Rising Stars was gifted a print of David’s piece of the Kansas City Skyline. David created a custom print for each Rising Star which included his or her name underneath his popular stippled piece of the skyline. After being customized, the prints were framed and displayed on stage at the event for attendants to see. The Rising Stars received their gifts on stage with David at the end of the reception.

A page was dedicated to showcasing David’s Kansas City Skyline that was gifted to the Rising Stars.

The Independent celebrated the 2020 Rising Stars throughout the year in their magazine. A page was dedicated to showcasing David’s Kansas City Skyline that was gifted to the Rising Stars. See images of the event below.

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