Inspirational Office Art

Man in the Arena

I am looking to have an inspirational print designed that contains an image of a gladiator and the Theodore Roosevelt quote listed below. The print will end up matted, under glass with a thick wood frame.

My goal with this project is to have a print created that is almost the opposite of something you might find on successories.com. Successories tend to have large crisp photos with limited text. I would like this product to have a rich, warm, textured, heavy feel with less emphasis on the image and more on the text. The image might catch the viewer attention and draw him in to read the quote.

Entrepreneurs and small business owners. Basically someone who would appreciate the following quote.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt

Size: Final product will be printed on paper 12.5” by 22.5”. There will need to be approx a 1” margin to secure the matte. I am open to size suggestions.

Space: Image in the top 1/3 or 1/4 with the quote using the balance of the space.

Font: Some form of calligraphy. Easy to read from a reasonable distance.

Background: Antique or aged feel, perhaps appearance as if written on a scroll.

Gladiator image: I would like this image to embody the quote. This is the area I struggle with the most and need your creative vision. I have an image in my head of a gladiator standing alone or in an arena, spent from battle, but not defeated. This image could be in all black or contain color. The figure could have very little detail using posture and body language to tell the story. Possibly a lone figure or a sole gladiator in a packed arena with a faceless crowd. The image may almost have an oil painted appearance to it.