Bountiful man creates Jazz Sharpie portraits to fight cancer

BOUNTIFUL, Utah – From a small art studio in his home, Dave Lawrence makes quick, precise strokes with his Sharpie markers. Slowly, a lifelike image comes to shape. A recent portrait he made of Donovan Mitchell, he said, represents the tenacity it takes to win.

“He just looks determined to do everything he can to win, to put it all out there,” Lawrence said.

Lawrence recently announced on his Facebook page that he’s selling prints of the portrait, and auctioning off the original. Half of the proceeds will go to cancer research.

It’s a cause that is hitting close to home for Lawrence. His own mother in-law, Carrie Flandrow, was diagnosed with breast cancer just two weeks ago.

“You want to do something to kind of let her know that it’s going to be OK,” Lawrence said. “Especially when you don’t know the outcome.”

Lawrence said Flandrow’s prognosis seems positive, but the adversity has opened his eyes to how much the disease affects everyone. That symbolic, group struggle is seen in his latest creation, still in progress that he calls ‘the huddle.’ The Sharpie-drawn portrait shows several players close together.

“It’s kind of that moment where as a team, you get together, you look at your efforts, you look at your strategy,” Lawrence said. “We’re not at this point right now, without everyone coming together as a team.”

Prints of both works are being sold on Lawrence’s website: thosewehonor.com. The originals will be auctioned off.