A day without matzoh ball soup is like a day without sunshine.

Couldn't have said it better myself, David!

Hey guys,

I finally got these back from the photographers (it's about time). I'm at the point where I've been looking at these for so long, I just can't even tell how I feel about them anymore. I've been color correcting them a little bit in Photoshop the past hour, and I think what I have is pretty close to the reality of the darn things, though they could probably benefit from some more tweaking.

Anywho, the first is based off of Conlon's famous photo of Joe Jackson from the Polo Grounds during the 1913 season. I felt like it was necessary to not keep the stands as blurry as Conlon's camera showed them to be, as that's the true sign of the painting being done from a photograph. So, what's there are the simple structures that appeared in the ballpark that year, most notably the front row (which at the time, was painted white, but would be replaced by white marble a few years later).

The second is of Honus Wagner lacing one into the outfield against the Chicago Cubs at the West Side Grounds. I'm a bit unsure as to what the exact date is, but I know it's sometime during the 1909 season. This one also had some tough issues with the stands, as I found out that when the place was remodeled in 1908, the grandstand (along with most of the other features of the ballpark) was painted red. Using that color and making it sit back enough behind Wagner was NOT easy. I hope I succeeded.

And last is the weird assignment, a scaled up version (5.5"x10") of the famous T206 Wagner card, specifically the SGC 40 that was brokered by Memory Lane last summer. There were a few tough things going on with this painting, one being the recreation of the moire pattern, which I could only suggest without driving myself absolutely bonkers. Also, trying to get that damn orange right also proved to be tough. After having the original card scanned, then sent to me, then printed out, you can imagine that there would be some color shifts in the whole process. And, now that you're all viewing it on different computer screens, it's probably still not right. But, hopefully the client is happy with how it looks in person!!

So, any crits/problems/tomatoes/comments/suggestions are appreciated. Always!!

Thanks,

Graig

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ckson_1913.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...r_1909_WSG.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...agnerCard2.jpg

Amazing...
 

...as usual, Graig.

Wow
 

Graig,
Here goes:
To me painting the baseball card is a waste of your incredible talents. It becomes even more obvious when you compare to the other two. I guess we all have our customers to satisfy. To each his own I guess. You did a very nice job though.

The Wagner...I just can't imagine it looked any better on the day it happened. The color really makes these images come alive. They seem less like memories of bygone days and more like real events.

The Jackson....Spectacular!!!!!!!!
The glove and pants look like real leather and fabric, respectively. The hands are so lifelike. The intensity of the face is fantastic. It is just an amazing painting. Certainly close to the Mathewson.
Pardon me a sec...I have to get a thesaurus so I don't keep repeating the same superlatives about your work.

Mark

Thanks, David!!

Mark, I'm so glad you dig the first two, as I'm not as happy with these photographs as I normally am. But it's good to know they still look alright. Now, I just have to completely believe that!

In regards to the Wagner piece, well it's interesting that you say that. It's definitely not something that I would ever really pick to paint. I mean, the card is iconic and all, but to me, just trying to replicate that is really boring (just don't tell that to the client). I would be MUCH more excited if I was trying to bring to life Horner's actual photo, even down to some colored background. I feel like it would be cool to try and paint Wagner (and the rest of them) in that kind of studio environment. Even though the north light that was probably used in them might not be incredibly exciting, it's still light. To me, that stuff gets completely lost in the card lithograph. Not that the lithograph is bad by any means, but I'm sure you understand.

I think in the end though, you're right, it's not the kind of thing I would normally do. I'm still debating whether I'll even have it up on my website!

Thanks so much for chiming in, I really appreciate it.

Graig, you know what you could have suggested....
 

With that T206 Wagner commission?? Oh this would have made for SUCH a cool piece!

Paint Honus posing in the artist's studio for the portrait that was used to make the card. Now, while the original was a Horner cabinet (is that right?), wouldn't that be a fun piece, to re-create a scene where the T206 card was being painted, and Honus himself was sitting for the work in the studio? That way you could have taken license with the rest of his body and clothing as he sat there, as well as re-created what an artist's studio might have looked like at the time!
It would be like taking a picture of the scene when the card was created.
Well, maybe that's a little corny or folksy, but you could probably have some fun with that. could probably apply that concept to some other baseball scnes of the past century as well...might require some thought, though.

excellent work, once again, by the way. and thank you again for continuing to share these and your thoughts with us...

Jason,

I agree with you 199%. 1999% even. I actually brought that up to the client when he approached me, but he didn't seem interested. For whatever reason, I guess he had some money and just wanted to have somewhat of a companion piece to his friend's (who bought the SGC 4), as he couldn't afford the $925,000 for another one.

But what you bring up is actually what I plan on doing. I really like the idea of doing the original photos used for cards, especially that Horner portrait. Painting the actual scene of Honus sitting there having his photo taken is MUCH more appealing than painting the card itself. I know that I'll also do a painting of the image used for the '52 Topps Mantle and treat it the same way. It's cool to take those iconic images and paint them as they were seen with human eyes, not through a camera, or on a card. Now, I just need to find the time to do all of this stuff!!

Either way, thanks for the input, as well as the compliments. I'm just so glad that people don't yell at me for wasting space on the board! I'll keep posting as long as you will keep enjoying it. Which I hope you will.

Graig

Wasting space???? Are you kidding me?????

Graig's work is exemplary and incredible, and he certainly isn't wasting space. Honestly tho, the comments about criticisms and I hope I'm doing the picture Justice do get a bit old.

I mean, I know there's being modest, but lets not get crazy. An Incredible talent is just that.