I lean towards Aaron flying into the fence. Great action shot with an ad that says paints on a painting? Would no doubt be sweet.

+100

Hey all,

More progress on this today. Though I've worked on it for plenty of hours, it probably doesn't look like much:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...psb356bc48.jpg

Things are definitely coming together nicely, I think. I'm really enjoying that bright light on Henry's uniform, and have started to have some fun with it. Some of my favorite kind of stuff in painting can be seen in the edges of shadows - especially, when they're against a lighter subject, you're going to get a sort of penumbra of super intense color. It's the kind of thing that gives those bright values a luminous quality, as opposed to just being properly placed.

I just really feel that the quality of light can be exploited with the proper manipulation of edges. Though it's a bit crude so far in this stage, here's a better example of what I'm talking about:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps996a615e.jpg

With that red along the edge of Aaron's fingers and lower arm, it would just be a flat shape. It would still give the impression of that light, but with that kind of color choice separating the darker tones from the light, I think it really actually shines off of the surface and makes the white in his jersey seem that much more brilliant, and even makes his arm turn in space a bit better. It might sound a bit crazy, but trust me, when seen on a painting in person, it's a really cool effect.

Anywho, hope you're enjoying the process thus far!

Graig

Graig,
You know I love you, but what the hell are you talking about????
It doesn't look like much?!?!?! It's a bit crude so far!??!?!
HFS. In my wildest dreams I couldn't create anything even in the same universe as your beginning work.
Damn man. It looks spectacular. Even unfinished, I would proudly display that in my home.
Mark

Unreal, Graig! :)

I had my doubts about the photo used, but this is AMAZING!!!

Graig, it looks incredible! Can't wait to see the finished piece.....


Tim

Graig,
What an outstand work of art. Not Finished, Crude????? I totally agree with Mark, "what the hell you talking about".

John, (Effie),
You have got to be spending hours in front of your monitor just drooling. And I don't blame you. Soon, you will have that beauty in your hands.

Hell, if it were mine, I'd hang my wife on the wall and sleep with the painting. Okay, after a couple of days, I would find an excellent wall space for the painting.

This reminds me of a joke about a guy named 'Art' who had no arms or legs.

Regarding Graig's paintings, I showed one of his studies to a painter, telling him that it was a study for a larger, more detailed painting. You should have seen the look he gave me.

Just thought I'd play around . . .


http://www.cal-lector.com/Net54/Krei...InProgress.gif

That's cool Tim!

Hey guys,

Sorry, that post probably came off wrong. I just had meant that I had put in a lot of work into it since the last time I posted, but the progress probably seemed minor. And the crudeness was more in reference to where the arm was with that red line, which still needs modifying. But yeah, sorry about that - didn't mean to come off as sounding like a d!ck.

Tim, that GIF is friggin' AWESOME. I love it. If you end up doing for the painting when it's complete, I would love to see it.

Scott, did he look at you the way Ben looks at a plate of wings?

Graig

As in..."That isn't going to do it." (I think I got the quote right).

Glad you liked it!

I will certainly try to update it as you post more progress pics.

Hey everyone,

Hope this post finds y'all well and ready for the end of the summer. For those of you back in school, I'm sorry.

Due to some business with the Gehrig ALS painting, and some attempts to get back to other commissions, I haven't been able to work too much on ol' Hank over the past few weeks. However, these last few days have seen him back on the easel.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps9631a676.jpg

It might seem like not a heck of a lot has been done since the last post. Once stuff gets blocked in completely and I try to focus on rendering and sweetening certain parts up, that's kind of the nature of the beast. But I assure you, a lot has been done.

At this point, I'm trying to just be precise in my carving out of the shadow and light shapes throughout the image. And there are tons of areas that need a lot of temperature and color changes, all of which end up being pretty minor, but in my opinion, make all of the difference.

There's one spot in particular that I'm talking about in regards to that sort of thing, and that's in the Braves script across his chest.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...pse8100811.jpg

It's even a little tough to tell in the photo, as it doesn't necessarily come across in reproductions. But that spot where the shadow comes across that 'B', there was room for a lot of fun stuff to happen. I tried to play a bit with the compliments there, having some greenish-grayish hues in the cooler, shadowed red area. Also, the line separating the shadow from the light has a toned-down green touch to it, which hopefully accentuates that warmly-lit red curve. That's one of the fun things I've learned about color over the years, as it can always be made to sing louder when it's working with something around it.

There are similar things happening in areas throughout the painting, some of which are more finished than others. Hopefully in the next week, I can sweeten them up (along with everything else) and get this thing closer to done.

Hope you fellas are enjoying the updates (and my babbling).

Graig

Graig,
It's always a pleasure to read your posts. I learn so much about painting techniques. Things that you describe were mostly lost on me, up until now at least. You explaining why a certain color pops here instead of there makes my appreciation of the skill it takes to create these paintings even higher.
Great stuff.
Best,
Mark

Graig,
That painting is just amazing. Your descriptions in this process shows your dedication you put into each painting. Mark is right, that it makes us understand better, and appreciate more, your skills. Keep up the great work.

Hey all,

So, we're reaching the final moments of this one, finally.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps193c614a.jpg

Right now, there are a lot of things in the background that are gonna need work, mainly stuff with the stands. However, for the most part, Hank is pretty close to completion.

It's at the point where the whole painting needs to dry for at least a week or so, and then I can throw some Galkyd on it to enrich up the painting surface. For those of you who may have any pieces of mine, the Galkyd is what makes the surface shiny and glossy. When it's applied, all of the areas that appear matte and dull will come back to their initial states of application, where the color looked wet and vibrant. In part of the oxidation process of oil paints, they're certain colors that go a surface and keep a bit of their sheen, though others might not. - it all depends on the nature of the pigment. Anywho, it's through that medium application that I'll be able to see the exact problems going on in the background stands. In this case, they're rather dark and dull, so not only are the values a little askew, but it's tough to make out whether the actual lines are even straight.

At the same time, Hank will also really start to pop after the Galkyd, and I'll be able to fix anything on him that isn't quite noticeable to me in its current state. I'll be excited to see if his jersey still maintains that sense of bright light, as there's a lot of subtle temperature changes within it right now which almost seem like they might be in need of some value control.

But yeah, like I said, he's pretty darn close now. And that makes me happy.

Graig

Effie,
Hey John, when you finally get this beauty, you better wear a diaper, because you just may wet your pants. It is that good.

Agree.... an ongoing supply of adult undergarments should be stored in your man cave. You'll need some for visitors, as well.

This is just phenomenal work... and that Braves Flannel is such a classic (and so beautifully executed by Graig). I love how the sun peeks through the back side of his sleeve, right behind the tricep.

Just another jaw-dropper!

Thanks, guys. I hope John loves it just as much. :)

I'm looking forward to another raffle soon, too.

Hey all,

Just a quick update, the painting of Hank has been completed and was dropped off at my photographer's on Friday. I would imagine I'll have a scan to show by tomorrow or Tuesday, and then I suppose I'll close out my participation in this thread with some final words.

However, I wanted to again thank John, Bill, Lance and Leon for letting this whole thing happen, as it's been a LOT of fun. I was thrilled to paint someone who I've been meaning to do for some time, and then having a forum to get my thoughts out on the whole process became pretty meaningful. I hope in the end, John and everybody else likes the final product.

I'm definitely excited for the next raffle when the time comes. Until then, I still have a LOT of stuff that needs catching up with.

Graig

Hey all,

So, here we have the final piece.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps2e433fec.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...psa29086e5.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...psab37a772.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps9b651d3b.jpg

I got the scan back from the photographer's today, and after a little bit of color correcting, this is pretty close to the original. However, like I've mentioned before, no photograph - no matter how good - will ever come close to actually seeing an original work of art. Especially when it comes to oil paints, the luminosity of the medium can really only be experienced in the flesh. Or paint. Yeah.

I gotta say, I enjoyed the hell out of doing this project. I was so thrilled to be able to paint Hank Aaron finally, and the fact that I got to do so using such a killer image was an absolute boon. Not only is it just crystal clear and iconic, but all of the light-play combined with that amazing Milwaukee jersey makes for some really exciting (and bold) color.

The only thing that I wish was different doesn't really have anything to do with the painting process itself, but I wish that I knew exactly what year it came from. I'm sure that it dates from either '55 or '56, but I've never been able to lock down the specific season. Granted, knowing the day and month would be great too, but I don't need to be that exact here. Had it been an action shot, I think I really would have pushed for that a lot more.

So, I'll pick up the original from Gamma (my photographer) at some point this week and then get 'em out to John shortly there after. Hopefully he'll be willing to chime in once the painting is in hand.

If anyone has any comments or questions, I'd love to hear them!

And again, thank you ALL for participating in the raffle and keeping an eye on this thread. I sincerely hope that this can be a semi-regular thing on Net54, as long as the interest in having it continues.

Graig

Graig,
The color seems so vivid and real. What a great work of art. To be just a small part of the creation of this gem, as was everyone who participated in the raffle, makes me feel great. If it was not for everyone who participated, this great piece would not have existed.

Bill

Graig,
It really is a beauty. That photo was a great choice.
Now for the most important question. When is the next raffle?

Mark,
I hope to be posting something in the next couple of weeks. Just want to focus on John and his new addition to his collection.

Bill

Nice painting

You can really see the youthful exuberance in Aaron's face, despite the fact that he's in a relaxed pose. Graig, you captured it perfectly. Little did Hank know of the milestone he'd pass 18 years later. Love the painting!

Gorgeous! The lighting is fantastic. Congrats all around!

John
Just curious, do you have a spot all picked out for the painting????

Amazing work of art, and it was fun to follow the process.

Not yet, but I've begun planning it out. The walls are full now, so its a matter of determining what comes down.

John,
Word is Hank is on its way home. Enjoy.

Graig,
Your explanations of the process through these months have been great. You need your own reality show. "Kreindlers Krafts, of Baseball Art". I'd watch it.

John,
I know the selection process was not that easy, finding just that right photo can be a chore. When and if we have a second winner, any suggestions to them that may help them out.

Bill

I guess my only advice for the next winner would be to remember that it is your choice. Suggestions from the board can only help, but in the end choose a image that you're happy with. I couldn't imagine any of the other images I saw turning out as nice as this one did.

Nor can I, thank you John for the response.

Hank is in the house!
 

All I can say is wow. As great as the photos have looked, finally seeing the painting in person is truly a jaw dropping experience. I couldn't be happier! Graig really has a rare talent. Thanks to Billy for organizing this event!
http://www.net54baseball.com/picture...ictureid=16494

Stunning!

Awesome! Can't wait to win the next one! :-)

John,
You are more then welcome John, it truly was my pleasure. Thanx for sharing, it looks great. You answered my next question. Do They look better in person? And your answer.....WOW!
Enough said.

Billyb