James Bates

Linebacker

Whenever a player at Florida would get in trouble during the stretch from 1992 to 1996, the players knew what to expect.

A James Bates original.

“I’d draw a cartoon about what had happened on the white erase board in our locker room,” Bates said.

His love of drawing went from something that distracted him from school as a kid to something that has become a way of life as an adult. While working various television jobs and producing documentaries, the former linebacker can be found in his studio at his Gainesville home working on his latest piece.

“(Former UF quarterback) Eric Kresser had an interest in art and he taught me how to build a canvas,” Bates said. “Now, I’m at the point where I have to paint. When I’m on the road, I paint in hotel rooms.”

Bates has paintings hanging in the CNN Center in Atlanta, Billy Donovan’s Gainesville home, baseball player A.J. Pierzynski’s home and the home of UF president Kent Fuchs.

“It truly is a dream come true,” Bates said. “I could paint for 40 hours straight.”