Artist joins Lee's team in fight against disease

Crystal Lake's John Hanley this past summer took his family to an American Idol concert at the Rosemont Theatre.

As Taylor Hicks took to the stage, the Hanleys took off to beat the rush. To Hanley's surprise, a famous baseball player also appeared to be headed home from the show.

"Hey, Derrek Lee. Hello," said Hanley, a die-hard Cubs fan since the days of Billy Williams, Ron Santo and Ernie Banks.

Lee – with his 3-year-old daughter, Jada, in his arms – waved back.

"His daughter – she was just a gorgeous little girl – was sleeping," said Hanley, his voice quieting to a whisper. "I didn't want to bother them."

Soon after, a tearful Lee announced he was taking a leave of absence from the Cubs because Jada was losing sight in her right eye; she had a rare genetic disease called Leber's Congenital Amaurosis.

So far, there is no treatment – much less a cure – for LCA.

"I saw the press conference, and he was really emotional about it," Hanley said. "I thought, 'Maybe there's something I could do.' "

Hanley, 45, has been an artist most of his life. Growing up in Crystal Lake, Hanley recalls watching baseball games on TV in the '60s and drawing who and what he saw. His love of sports and comic-book heroes – he also was a "Batman freak" – served as inspiration to draw and paint. After a starving-artist phase, it turned into a living.

That's how Hanley could help – with his art.

So, this past January at the Cubs Convention, Hanley approached Lee – who by then had helped start Project 3000, a foundation intent on providing genetic testing for anyone diagnosed with LCA. Hanley would paint Lee's portrait, sell the original painting, along with signed prints, and give a majority of the proceeds to Project 3000.

Lee seems optimistic that fundraising and a short amount of time are all that stand between scientists and a cure.

"They have made a lot of progress," Lee recently told reporters at spring training in Arizona. "The exciting part for them is they all feel like they will have a cure, and they all want to be the one that gets the cure. They're working hard at it."

Hanley, for his part, worked hard on Lee's portrait at his modest-looking studio at home, where he lives with his wife, Carol, and kids Olivia, 11, and Joey, 9.

Hanley's process, which took about three weeks, used many still photos and video of Lee, along with his own mind's eye.

Hanley said he wanted to capture Lee's tall and lean frame, along with the movement of the follow-through of Lee's powerful right-handed swing.

Lee's portrait not only reflects batting average, home runs and RBIs, but also his personality.

"He's the ultimate professional," Hanley said. "He goes about his business. He seems like a really nice guy. He just produces."

The result, a vibrant 30 inch-by-40-inch-oil and acrylic work, looks almost alive, like a scene in a realistic comic book.

Many of Hanley's works – which include paintings of his '60s Cubs heroes, along with Greg Maddux, Kerry Wood, Walter Payton, Gale Sayers and White Sox portraits – have a similar look.

Lee's reaction?

"He thought it was really cool," Hanley said. "He sent me a note saying that Lou Piniella wanted one for his own son, so I sent one down there."

Prints signed by Hanley go for $65, with 70 percent of proceeds going to Project 3000; ones signed by Hanley and Lee run $400, with 60 percent of those proceeds to the charity. Half of the proceeds from the original painting, which is close to being sold, will go to fight LCA.

So far, Hanley said, about $3,000 has been raised.

Orders can be taken on the Web at JohnHanleyArtist.com, or by calling (815) 459-1123.