Diego Chara Celebration Tifo
What is a Tifo?
'Tifo' is a flag or banner that is held up by fans during a match, deriving from 'tifosi', which means a group of sports fans in Italian.
The Supporters of the Portland Timbers, the “Timbers Army” have taken advantage of this art form creating some of the largest and most ambitious stadium artworks in the world in support of the players and community.
Where do I come in?
In early through mid 2025, in collaboration with the Timbers Army, I was tasked to create an an image for a August 16th Tifo honoring club legend Diego Chara, who’s bobble head night was the night of the game.
This image was to be in a style of past art works I had created of Hip Hop artists that I titled “Rapper’s Delight”.
The Design Process
Using the “Rapper’s Delight” art style, I was able to create a drawing of the Portland Captain Diego Chara using various cross hatching and thick black lines.
Diego is known for having the most Yellow Cards in Major league soccer, and a signature grinning style, so these were both highlighted in this final image.
The Painting Process
With the Timbers Army Team, I helped paint this image onto a canvas sheet in large fashion over the course of several days and weekends.
I helped to manage the painting sessions using reference from the drawing I supplied.
The Final Product
This Tifo was displayed at the home Portland Timbers match in Providence Park on August 16th, 2025 in front of the fans and players.
As a lifelong Timbers supporter, it was a honor to help create this work of art to celebrate the club legend of Diego Chara. This process helped me learn skills in large format painting and designing as well as giving me more experience in drawing and creating designs based off critique.