Jeff McNutt - The Art of the Iowa Hawkeyes

06/12/2026

Four Kings…
5” x 7”, oil on panel

05/10/2026

Happy Mother’s Day Hawkeye Mamas!
Hope you’re having a High Porch Picnic kinda day!
😎😊🙏💐

05/08/2026

A year ago today, I received a voicemail from a man I had never met but will forever keep.

Our paths crossed way back in 2012 when Alan sent me a message on my page. His name was Alan Koffman from Albia. He was incredibly enthusiastic about my art and was a HUGE Hawkeye fan. During our back-and-forth messages, he told me he hoped to go to a game someday, but tickets were just too expensive. I told him I’d see what I could do, and I ended up getting him great tickets to a game.

I sent him the tickets. The game came and went, but I never got a call back or even a thank you. I remember thinking, “Man, that dude probably scalped the tickets.” Oh well. I let it go and eventually forgot about it.

That was 13 years ago.

Then I called back the mysterious person on the voicemail. It all came back to me. Alan was that guy with the tickets way back when.

He told me he had always found it difficult to express himself, and that those tickets and that game had meant so much to him. He said he could never think of the right way to thank me, so he kept putting it off, but he thought about it often. He was in Iowa City and hoped we could meet. I was out of town, but hoped we could meet soon.

Twelve days after that call, Alan passed away.

I’ll always keep this voicemail with me. I wish I could have met him face to face, but I think we both mattered very much to each other.

Thank you, Alan, for your call. Now I understand what you meant when you said you didn’t know how to thank me. Even though we never met in person, I’m proud you were my friend.

05/05/2026

Excitement and fear are twins. Sometimes you don’t know which is which.

Today is May 4th.

In 11 days, the Class of 2026 will walk across that stage at the University of Iowa just like Nile Kinnick did on June 3, 1940.

I remember when I graduated. I remember it felt like I was getting a diploma, but hadn’t quite earned it. Like I somehow missed the seminar everyone else attended. The one where they teach you certainty. The class where you walk out and have it all figured out. I missed that elective somehow.

Because that’s how it sounded, looked and felt around my fellow students and friends getting ready to graduate with me.

It seemed like everyone had great grades, were going to wear one of those graduated with distinction accessories, had good jobs lined up and a plan of certainty.

And then there was me. I had a job but I felt like I got lucky. I stunk at interviewing. A plan? Psssp. Nope.

There was some excitement though. My job was in Los Angeles, working at a drug store as a manager trainee. But I was also nervous as hell.

I remember that isolating feeling.

Then I came across this letter Nile wrote to his mom just days before his graduation. May 26, 1940.

Not the version of Nile we all think of. Not the Heisman Trophy winner, the flawless student and thinker or the war hero. The icon.

When I read his letter, I hear a 20-year-old kid trying to figure out what the right path was and questioning if he was making the right decision.

Reading his words stopped me. Because I remember thinking back then that everyone else seems so sure.
Huh. Nile didn’t attend that seminar either.

Maybe that feeling that is the mix of excitement and fear isn’t a sign that something’s wrong. Maybe it’s the moment you step across the line from a sea of peers you’ve known your whole life into a world something that’s now yours to navigate.

If you’re graduating this year and feel like you missed the “have it all figured out” seminar…you didn’t.

There is no such thing.

You don’t graduate into certainty. You take one step at a time, try to do your best (not perfect - your best at the time). And while you take your first steps, occasionally you remember to just breathe.

So if you’re in that class of 2026 and you feel the way Nile and I did…..you’re normal. It’s not finished and certain. You’re just beginning.

Welcome to the world of being a lifelong learner.

04/28/2026

If this post had a title, I think it would be…

“It’s not how you start…it’s how you finish.”

There are some things in life you don’t do because you have to…

You do them because they matter.

For the last couple of months, I’ve had an idea brewing for a graduation painting series.

Truthfully, it’s probably been in there for years. But recently I’ve been chiseling away at it, not quite sure how to introduce it or why it felt so important to finish.

Then out of the blue, I got a call last weekend from someone who has quietly been part of my art journey for years. His name is Scott Eastin.

Over the last few years, Scott has collected my paintings. I’ve always been grateful, but until this weekend, I didn’t know his story.

He called and asked if I could create something custom—something just for him.

Why?

Because this May 16th, Scott graduates from the University of Iowa.

But his path here isn’t typical.

Scott started at Iowa as a freshman back in 1990. Like a lot of people, life stepped in: work, family, responsibility. He built a career, raised two boys, and kept moving forward.

No regrets.

But there was always something in the back of his mind…

Something unfinished.

During COVID, after being laid off, Scott started looking for work, but nothing was landing. He thought maybe it was his resume, so he went back to school. First Waldorf, then Kirkwood, earning an Associate’s Degree in Occupational Health.

That led to a strong role at Hormel in HR & Safety. His career had momentum again.

But that feeling never left.

So he made a decision.

He went back to Iowa.

Not all at once.
Not full speed.

Since going back to school, Scott has taken one class at a time…

For nine years.

Step by step.

This May 16th, Scott graduates from the University of Iowa with a degree in Liberal Studies and Organizational Studies, along with a leadership certificate.

He didn’t need this degree for his career. He did it for himself and for his boys—to show them it’s never too late to finish something that matters.

So when he called me, I couldn’t believe it.

I’ve been working on this graduation series, feeling called to complete it… not fully knowing why.

And then Scott calls, wanting to give himself a gift to mark this moment—and he wants a painting from me?

Scott, what an honor.

This one will mean something. That’s a promise.

Because this isn’t just a Herky.

It’s not just a diploma.

It’s 36 years of life, and nine years of hard work, determination, and heart… now finished.

A lot of us have something in our lives unfinished.

Me included.

A children’s picture book.

It’s not too late.

It’s just waiting.

It may take nine years. It may take less. But all it takes is doing it step by step.

Thank you, Scott, for reaching out this weekend, for supporting my artwork these past few years, and for giving me the honor of creating this one just for you.

Scott, you are truly what it means to be a Hawkeye:

Determination. Heart. Grit. Work ethic.

I’ve heard Hawkeye coach and legend Tom Brands say, “You don’t get what you deserve, you get what you earn.”

He’s also said, “Win. Graduate. Do it right.”

That’s you, Scott.

You earned it.

You did it right.

GO HAWKS!!!

04/06/2026

My wife’s thought for the evening….
“Tonight’s the only night I root for Michigan to win.”

04/05/2026

03/28/2026

LETS GO HAWKS!!!

12/26/2025

From Kinnick to Christmas,
New Year’s Eve in our sight,
Let’s fill up the Ray Jay,
And cheer “Fight, Fight, Fight!”

Our rank doesn’t matter.
Pundits? Yeah, right!
They won’t know what hit ’em,
when the Hawk Swarm takes flight.

Our fans make the journey,
From far and from near,
Can’t wait!
Jump with Herky,
🎵🎶 In Heaven, No Beer! 🎶🎵

Commodores will berate,
Doubters will scoff,
Kirk’s crew keeps grinding,
No switch ever off!

In silence or roar,
Through joy or through strife,
It’s not about perfect.
I’m a Hawkeye for life. 🖤💛