Love them all! Always a great job! I think the only thing, that kinda bothers me and this is really small but, I would of changed the color for your signature on the Cy Young.It doesn't stand out, like your others. Like I said, it doesn't take away from your masterpiece. The eyes are stunning on the Cy Young! Favorite one in the new bunch!

Thanks a lot for the kind words, everybody.

Regarding the signature in the Young painting, it's a good call. I think in this case, for whatever reason, the signature really disappears in the scan, though in the original, I'm pretty sure it's brighter. I'll have to double-check once I see it again. But thanks for noticing!!

Oh, and also, Dean (the ol' agent) is starting to go through his contact list of those interested in my work, as he'll be sending out periodical updates in the very near future. So, if any of you want to be kept in the loop regarding news, prices and/or deals on my artwork, feel free to send me a private message with your email address. Of course, your info will NEVER be sold, rented or traded.

Thanks again,

Graig

Dude,
That Young is crazy good. The whole face is so realistic it's incredible.
Congrats on more great work.
Any updates on the 27 Yankees?
Best,
Mark

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Wow Greg
 

Greg, here is the actual photo. Your work is incredible to say the least.

It shows that you enjoyed painting the Young portait. Very well done though I'm not sure I'd want that rough mug hanging in my den. Hard to believe he was just 41 or 42 at that time and still pitching some decent ball.

Since the signature die has already been cast I'll pick a nit as well. I actually prefer an obscured signature or even none at all. If attribution is necessary I'd rather it be on the back of the work. That being said you do have one of the nicest signatures I've ever seen and I do not find it obtrusive.

Graig,

Thanks for continuing to share your work here! It's always great to see what you're working on.

Hey all,

Thanks so much for all of the comments from my last post, especially the critique of the signature and everything. I really appreciate that honesty.

You might have to exhibit some more of that for these next two paintings, which I got scans of today:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps8056c173.jpg
Dorothy Kamenshek, 14" x 18"

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps3020e945.jpg
Rube Waddell, 1901, 16" x 20"

Yeah, they're a little different from what I've done before in terms of subject matter, but that matters not.

Kamenshek might not have been the most attractive of women, but she was still perhaps the greatest player ever in the AAGPBL. It's actually not one of Dean's favorites, though I like it a lot. And it was an honor to paint her.

Rube is...well...Rube. I enjoyed painting this one too, especially with that bad@$$ double-breasted suit. It's amazing to see how clean-cut he was here, yet I can't even imagine the kind of craziness that must have been going on in his mind. I think the eyes have it.

So, I'd love to hear your thoughts on any of these, be they good or bad. Or even unrelated.

Thanks for all of the constant support, everybody.

Graig

Graig,
I absolutely LOVE the Rube Waddell.
I think you captured him perfectly, FWIW...

I agree w/Scott, you really nailed Rube there. He looks like his mother forced him to comb his hair and wear his father's suit for that portrait.

That Rube is absolutely fantastic.

Scott, Kevin and Howard, thank you so much for the kind words. I gotta admit, after painting Rube twice in the past few months, I can't wait to paint him again. His face was just so...um...weird looking. That nose, the upper lip, and those eyes...just all very distinct. I hope I get to do many more in the future.

Graig

Hey everyone,

Spring is alllmmooossstt here in New York, so I'm happy to see the weather warming and the ice melting. And that's even if my car is covered in salt.

Anywho, some of you had written me and asked about the progress of the 1927 Yankees team painting I've been working on. It's still not there, and it's definitely taking some serious time. But over the past few weeks, I've been dedicating an hour or more to it everyday in the hopes that I can start making some headway.

I'm happy to say that almost everything is blocked in, which in itself is the most time-consuming part of it. There are a couple of faces that still need a lot of work, but overall, the majority of them are getting close to the finish line. And those pinstripes...ooohhh, those pinstripes. Trying to paint 30 different pinstriped jerseys convincingly - having them undulate in space and all - has been a real exercise in patience (and madness). Also, the straight lines of the stands, seats and rails...my brain hurts just thinking about it.

But regardless of what's kicking my @$$, I thought I'd post some progress shots of the thing.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...psd8c8f256.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...psf0a26834.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps2af09d63.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...psc398d4b8.jpg

Gehrig is probably the figure closest to completion, but even he's not there yet. But it should give you an idea of what the other 30 guys will look like when they're complete.

The photos were taken with my iPhone, so they're not super sharp. And since the piece is so large, the lighting from the windows has been wreaking a bit of havoc on the right side of the piece (hence the glare).

As per usual, comments, thoughts, and critiques are ALWAYS appreciated.

Thanks,

Graig

Only one comment.....WOW!

As always your work amazes me!

Andrew took the word right out of my mouth. I was going to type it a few more times for emphasis though :D

What a project! Awesome Graig!

I want one. Please?

Thanks a lot, guys. :)

Wait, David, you like the '27 Yankees? :):)

I believe this is one of your most ambitious works to date, an entire team of very recognizable faces. If not, please share your thoughts.

As always it is astonishing, even in the raw...

i am relatively new to the board so this is the first i am seeing these. AMAZING - Great job. These are unreal!!!

Greg, as always just simply amazing. Any more progress on your book? Probably the closest I will get to owning something of yours.
Drew

A one-way ticket to Cooperstown.

Thanks so much for all of the kind words, everybody. :)

Drew, there hasn't really been much of an update on the book (to my knowledge), but I'm hoping it's still something that's being worked on. Sometimes, Dean keeps me in the dark about a few things, as he knows I can get emotional if they don't work out.

Ty, this one is most definitely the most ambitious painting I've ever attempted. There's just sooooo much going on here. Before, I could say that the large Gehrig farewell paintings took up that slot. In those, Gehrig and Sid Mercer end up being the most important figures in the painting. So, they have to be pretty crisp and their portraits pretty tight. With the other guys, since they stand pretty far back in the composition, I can be a lot looser with them.

Even though this team photo might have the same amount of figures, since it's a straight-up team shot, they ALL have to be fully realized. One can argue that maybe only the 'important' players should be super tight, but I'm of the thinking that each one is just as important as the next, accentuating the team concept.

So, they're 31 main figures in the painting, 30 of which are wearing pinstriped uniforms. If they were all standing, it would be a lot easier, as the stripes would just follow a vertical sweep. But here you have people sitting in chairs and then on the clay. That adds up to a bunch of crazy angles to work with.

Then they're the seats and rails in the background, all of which have to be straight and parallel to each other. And of course, those spectators in the back, all of whom are wearing different clothing and are doing different things with their bodies. There's the unique metalwork of the grandstands, too.

All in all, it's a pretty daunting task. I just hope that in the end, it looks the way I hope it can, and that the client is pleased!

Graig

Simply remarkable, even unfinished.

I think I need to go back to work as I'm afraid my pension won't stretch to acquire one of Graig's masterpieces.

Mark

Graig, just let me know when the 1915 Red Sox photo is done. I'm getting impatient with coming back here looking for it, and just seeing this trivial junk - 1927 Yankees? geez....lame.

Thank you, Mark. I appreciate the kind words.

Scott, more pinstripes????? GAAAAHHHH!!!!

Thanks for your thoughts on the '27 Yankees piece. It is truly remarkable.

Painting runs in my family, in all forms. Our home always had great artwork. My cousin, Tim Fisher is an Associate Art Professor at Grand Valley State who concentrates on dream-like landscapes. His brother, Tim Fisher, invented that Dr. Seuss/preying mantis machine that paints and strips football fields, including the Clink in Seattle. My brother, Rob Phelan, is an art teacher at Shelton High School and his focus is watercolors. As for me, I dabbled but it didn't take, I prefer historical research.

I vigorously defend sports as subject matter and have shared your works with them. They may be coming around. Not to get off-topic but I thought I'd share, here's an example of Tim's work at Springfield Museum of Art:
http://www.springfieldart.museum/?ex...dis-landscapes

If the Sphinx had ever seen one of your paintings, you know what he would have said:

"Graig is number one. All others are number two or lower."

Great team painting. It is good to see the effort you are putting into the background - those details are often the difference between good and great.

Thank you for all of the kind words, everybody.

Scott, never trust that sphinx. Ever. He's been sitting out in the sun for thousands of years - his brain's fried.

Ty, your cousin does some really cool work. Normally, I'm not huge into the surrealist stuff, but his are a nice exception. It's nice to know that the art bug runs in your family. It does a bit in mine as well, though not through my parents. They were both teachers in the Bronx for 35 years (math and science) and don't really have any artistic bones in their bodies. However, somehow both my brother and I got into drawing and music. He's now a professional musician (classical bassoon and a cast of others), as he really stopped drawing a while back - though he can still tear it up if he was given some paper. Also, my cousin Scott caught something too, as he's currently the writer for Batman at DC, and has become very popular in the past few years. It's nice when we all get together because we just kind of get each other on that level. The triumphs and setbacks seem to make so much more sense that way.

Here are a few more shots I got back from the photographers today:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...psf2c043a4.jpg
Ty Cobb, 1909 (I think?), 11" x 14"

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps87ad62f9.jpg
Casey Stengel, April 19, 1938, 16" x 20"

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps600ede20.jpg
Jimmie Foxx, 1929, 16" x 20"

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps74b8165f.jpg
Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle, 1956, 22" x 26"

The Cobb was an interesting exercise, as at first, I treated it like a normal portrait with flat lighting, but it became a bit uninteresting to me. I thought it would be so much cooler if I could have some of the warm light from the field reflecting and glowing back into Ty's face. So, now the golden patina is much more visually exciting, I feel. I just wish I had an idea of when the image culls from - I think it's '09, but I'm not exactly sure. I could never find any information about it, save what little I can surmise from the image itself.

The Yogi and Mickey image was also an interesting challenge, as it was one of those shots that has bright light and flash photography. So those areas that would normally be darker now have fill light in them. That kind of thing can really flatten out a face, so all of the dimension had to be created with varying temperatures and subtle value shifts. I hope I was successful, as it really did a number on me.

Anywho, I hope y'all enjoy them. As usual, I'd love to hear your thoughts, comments and critiques.

Thanks for looking and reading,

Graig

My favorite of that group is Stengel - love the uniform colors and you captured his expression wonderfully.

The Stengel really pops!! Love it. I also like the interaction between Yogi and Mick, makes it much more interesting.

Wow. Those are good looking.

Graig, I'll pass the kind words on to Tim. That must be a mean game of pictionary at the Kreindler household.

The eyes of Foxx are brilliant, love that 1,000 mile stare. You really capture emotion well in the moment, and I don't believe 1000 words would do those paintings justice. Thank you, always a pleasure sir.

If the rest of the Yanks come out as well as the Gehrig is coming along that will be one amazing piece. I envy your patience. Intricacies like the pinstripes are part of what made me give up art for art history (that and a lack of talent).

The Stengel is fantastic, right up there w/my favorite five or six of your paintings.

I like them all but the Casey Stengel is particularly stunning in it's color and tint.

I can smell the cigar smoke.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps74b8165f.jpg
Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle, 1956, 22" x 26"

The Cobb is my favorite. You masterfully captured his uneasy emotion at the time the photograph was taken perfectly. A great painting.

Agreed.

+1 on the Stengel. The Old Perfessor has never looked more like himself, slumped shoulders and all.

Thank you for so many wonderfully kind words, guys. I sincerely appreciate each and every single one of them.

Howard, I tell ya, those pinstripes are gonna be the death of me. It's the one annoying thing about painting Yankees - those stripes can be REALLY rough to tackle.

Then again, I'm also going batty because of the batting net on this one...

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...psd5801a84.jpg

Graig- the above Gehrig/Ruth is incredible...down to the dirt, which looks real and about to fall off the canvas. awesome, bravo. please keep posting the progress of this one!

Graig,
I am running out of superlatives. If you keep posting I'll have to buy a thesaurus to come up with more ways to say these paintings are awesome.

That Gehrig-Ruth is incredible. Is that a commission? If so, they are a lucky dog, whoever it is?

Mark

What are the chances of you finding a source photo with your name scratched in the dirt in front of Lou?:D:)

Thanks a lot, guys.

The Ruth and Gehrig painting is a commission. At first, I didn't think that it was going to be the hardest painting in the world, but it's definitely been quite the challenge.

That net really does leave me cross-eyed. And it's not so much the net itself, but it's the relationship between the net and the material behind it. That tarp-type thingy needs to still be three-dimensional with its curves and all, while still sitting behind something that's obscuring the look of it. And since it's so close to the foreground, it's not something that I can normally compress into two values. There has to be a fuller range, more prominent temperature changes, and then it has to relate correctly to the net pattern that goes in front of it. Actually, just writing this and thinking about it is making my head spin.

Instead, I'll just post what I was working on yesterday, which hurts my brain a lot less.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps4e0b32e1.jpg

Either way, still a lot to be done!

Graig

Both are fantabulous.

I received my 'Cobb sliding' photo the other day, and will get you a hi-res scan sometime today.

I have a few Jackie Robinson pics that are about as cool.

Thank you, Scott. You're the friggin' best.

Graig

Thanks Graig - would you please tell the other guys? Some of them think I'm a pain in the butt :confused:

Scott,
I would be proud of being the friggin' best pain in the butt! :-D
Mark


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Scott,

You're a good egg, dammit.

Graig

Hey all,

I'm also just about done with this guy and thought I'd share:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...psd246dc6b.jpg

Maybe I'm just really happy that I was able to follow the Gehrig and Ruth piece up with something that doesn't have a net or a ton of crazy angles. It's just that heavy stare of Grover Cleveland.

I'll be excited to get it photographed once it's glazed and varnished.

Hope ya dig it!

Graig