Hey all,
Hope this finds everybody getting a bit of warm weather. Things in New York are finally starting to feel pretty nice, as the last snowstorm should be behind us all. Hopefully. Fingers crossed.
Anywho, I thought I'd share what's been on the easel these past couple of months:
Napoleon Lajoie, 1902, 12" x 16"
Branch Rickey, 1914, 12" x 16"
Willie Mays, 1951, 18" x 24"
Tim Lincecum, April 12, 2009, 22" x 18"
The Lajoie was a lot of fun - I'm enjoying the hell out of painting stuff from Horner's lens. I still have Wagner and Dahlen to finish, but have plenty more in mind for the queue. They'll hopefully all make for nice business card fodder in the future.
Mays was a REAL challenge with all of the light and color stuff. It's not often that I paint anything from flash photography, but I've always loved his expression in this image. But yeah, you have a figure in the shadow, with the exception of some of the sun light on his cap, arm and knee. But that main shadow over him gets a bit blown out because of the flash. So, you have cooler temperatured colors coming from below, as well as some of the warmth of the lit ground reflecting into his jersey and face. And then you have the reflection of the sky cooling down the top plains of his head and shoulders. That is, where there isn't that blinding light. Basically it's a shitshow. But I think I got it.
The Lincecum was a nice change of pace, as I don't normally venture into modern territory all that often. But his body is an absolute freak of nature - kind of in the same way that Satchel Paige's was - so I couldn't even consider saying 'no.' Not that I would have anyway.
Hope ya dig 'em.
As per usual, if you have any questions, critiques, or comments, feel free to share!
Thanks for reading,
Graig