Artist Statement: (**** written less than a week before the shocking and historic NBA trade deal sending Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February, 2025)

They call him Luka Magic but his last name is Doncic, pronounced DON CHICH. From Slovenia, beloved to Dallas, he led the entire NBA in scoring last season - 2,370 points to be exact which is about how many bowls of cereal were eaten in the making of this project. He leads the Dallas Mavericks franchise in triple doubles. It’s actually not the hoops accolades but his merry spirit that drew me to this subject.

It’s not surprising that he just launched a foundation to bring “joy, creativity, and exploration” to youth basketball. Doncic says, “When I'm on the court, having fun, it feels like the ball is smiling back at me.” For this reason, it’s only fitting that he has his big toothy grin and a big winning fist in this piece.

According to General Mills, Lucky Charms cereal will make your mornings magical. I think this basketball superstar brings a happy magic to the game as sweet as those little horseshoe-shaped marshmallows floating in the milk.

(****updated May, 2025 : this piece originally featured Luka Doncic wearing his Mavericks Jersey with a green background)

This is definitely the first time I have written an artist statement, reworked the piece, and then written another one. After much deliberation and a couple months on display for Dallasites in a Mavs jersey, I present a reworked “Luka Charms” in his new get up.

I say this all the time… it’s my favorite quote from my pastor; the future you hoped for is not the only future with hope. When all your dreams of what you thought life would be are gone (often overnight), the pivot becomes the new dream. I chose Doncic as my subject because I love Luka magic no matter what team he plays for. Our collective love for him was only underlined as the most shocking trade in NBA history all played out.

It’s like when a really good remix of a song that gives it new dimension drops and gets you all excited about the song again.  That’s what I hope to accomplish with the reconstruction of this art, which is of course still made from 100% cereal boxes on canvas.