What image would you choose to have Graig paint for you...
 

regardless of size or price?

This is still a very tough decision for me but I think I would stick with this image of "The King of Clout"

And for those of you that are new to the board, simply click on his site and you'll understand what we're talking about...

http://graigkreindler.com/

Attachment 15207

I cant tell you how many times I've thought about this. Every time I see a killer photo I cant help but imagine how it would look on canvas in Graig's hand. I think it would be the coolest thing for him to do a big panoramic style team photo (although that would likely be one hell of an undertaking).

This shot of the 1912 Red Sox walking onto the field in the World Series would make a killer painting. Love the menacing stare across the field at the competition. And those amazing jackets. Also love that they are carrying their equipment. And not to mention the great stadium signage.

1912 Red Sox coming on field & The Sultan
 

Brock,
I agree! I've never seen anything like that image before- very emotionally moving! Start saving your shillings:D

Jimmy,
Your image would be a great one too! Babe looks like he means business!

I agree it's a great image. But - regardless of what was scratched in the negative, the Sox are clearly walking off of the field - probably after pre-game batting/fielding practice.

Nice Phil!
 

A team photo never occurred to me. I like it.

You have the image Jimmy!
 

I would have to give it a bit more thought, but the image of Roberto Clemente making his leaping catch featured on his 1956 card was the first to come to mind.

As Graig will concur... I've been torn between the Bambino or the Clemente that hcv123 is referring to.

Attachment 15257

I think the quote refers to the entire team was coming onto the field from the clubhouse. You can clearly see they are bringing their equipment with them...stuff they wouldn't have if they were coming off from batting/fielding practice.

Dan

Oh, Jimmy. What am I going to do with you?

Brock, I LOVE that shot. I actually have a few more from that World Series and the one from 1911, many of which are shots of both teams taking the field. The compositions have great views of the old Polo Grounds, complete with advertisements, old sweaters, and many familiar faces. I can't wait to paint one of them!!

Thanks Jimmy. Will be in the "On the Easel" thread soon enough. With Graig's workload that could be a while though.

I agree that the Clemente image would look incredible as a Kreindler painting. I was also wondering where that photo was taken. I'm sure that one of the "wizards" here can easily identify the stadium that featured that scary giant cement wall.

That thing looks so archaic, with the chipped concrete and huge painted graphics. I wonder how many outfielders bodies were obliterated, running into that thing?

Hey Mark,

That Clemente shot is definitely from Ebbets Field. If I remember correctly, it was a line drive that was caught off of the bat of Pee Wee Reese. I also think it was an early July game in '55. I'm sure Jimmy can weigh in, as the photo probably still has the slug.

Anywho, that wall in Brooklyn must have been so damn interesting. What's so wonderful about it is that sometimes, I forget exactly how large it was. I mean, you can see it in panoramic photos of the ballpark and all, but it's only when I see an actual player in front of it that I remember how much vertical real estate it took up.

What a park that place must have been...

1955 Clemente Photo
 

Graig is spot-on as usual. I have the photo in front of me and the slug reads:

LEAPING CLEMENTE---

NEW YORK----PITTSBURGH'S ROBERTO CLEMENTE GOES HIGH ONTO THE RIGHTFIELD WALL TO GRAB PEE WEE REESE'S BLAST IN THE SECOND INNING OF TODAY'S FIRST GAME BETWEEN THE PIRATES AND THE DODGERS AT EBBITS FIELD.

7-3-55 PHOTO BY HERB SCHARFMAN

From "A Portrait of Baseball Photography"

"A photographer for International News, The New York Mirror and the Brooklyn Dodgers in his early days, Scharfman became one of the greatest sports photographers of his generation."

Amazingly, this 55 year old photograph remains in stunning NM condition.

Attachment 15273

OK - they had walked onto the field from the outfield clubhouse, but as the playing field is now behind them and the 3rd base (visitor's) dugout is a relatively few feet in front of them, and are also walking off of the field. So I guess we're both right.

You're a very sharp guy Mark and I mean that sincerely... but even I have made a mistake...once...maybe... well kinda...actually... I still think I was right... never mind ;)

Thanks Graig and Jimmy...

Had a feeling you guys would be all over this. I found another great picture of the Ebbets Wall (equally intimidating!). I guess the image of Snider below is probably a famous one... just never paid close enough attention.

Since you identified this as Ebbets Field, I now remember reading how Pete Reiser destroyed his body crashing into that thing. I would sell my soul to the Devil, just to have attended one game there!

What a painting this one would make.... and how the heck did he get up so high?

im a little different then most, i would want a picture of me and my grandpa together, he passed in 1982. He financed my collecting when i was a wee one back in the 70's and got me started on my addiction to cards. I miss him alot even 28 years later!

Favorite shot of one of my favorite players
 

Hack Wilson is one of my all time favorite players (along with Rube Waddell & Kirby Puckett) and this is my favorite shot of him swinging. The catcher and crowd adds alot too. I should get my brother -in-law to paint me this.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2..._wilson_01.jpg

How about this great Yankee team shot. Really shows the architectural beauty of Yankee stadium.

Brock,
I love this photo also. Good choice!

I have always been drawn to deadball era photos that feature dugout shots,especially shots with all the bats layed out on the ground,I don't know why? I guess because I wonder what became of all those bats.

This is one I like.

Joe

Oh what a question!
 

Probably have a hard time choosing just one...

so here's a few images I would love to see him lift from cards:
T206 Nap Lajoie w/bat - I think this would be his #1 stunner
T200 Cleveland team photo
1948 Leaf Stan Musial
1951 Bowman Roy Campanella
1971 Topps Thurman Munson
1978 Topps Reggie Jackson

and then 1 or 2 images of my cousins. One is a photo already in hand, and the other is a composite that Graig will have to construct to depict a scene that was never captured on film, only told over time...

Edited to add: In fact, thinking about this some more, I think the most fun could be had by having Graig create some scenes that were not previously depicted, (or maybe never happened), -like Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, and Joe Jackson chatting at batting practice of the 1909 All-Star Game...you know, the kind of smiling semi-candid you might see on a multi-player card from the 1985 or 1986 Fleer set. Or a nice group shot on the field before gametime of Johnny Evers and Fred Merkle!

Jason

Here's a 1948 Leaf painting Jennifer did as part of series for Hal Lewis

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2802/...43573c01bf.jpg

The painting is about 24 x 30, as that's a photocopy of the card displayed with the painting, not the actual card. Here's the collection

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/42/89...6e2b86e6_o.jpg

A number of photos of the paintings in process and on completion can be seen on her flickr site here

Max

Max, awesome, thanks!
 

That is fantastic stuff. And a great little selection of cards to focus on as subjects, too! I can't help but notice that they all suffer from dead-on perfect centering! :p

Casey at his coolest

Attachment 15479

Famous Slugger
 

I go back and forth on what photo I would love to have him paint.
I think this slugger would be the one.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ou/Dad001a.jpg

He's the greatest to me.

I would love to see what Graig would do with this endearing image...

Attachment 21786

Wow, Jimmy! That's beautiful. It's what baseball should be about.

(Think Lou charged a fee for posing with the kid and letting him wear his cap?)

Awesome photo, Jimmy. Really, any image including Gehrig and kids can't be denied. The whole motif is very Rockwellian. Can you imagine that kid being a grown man, telling his kids that he once spent some time hanging out with Lou as a kid??

Here are two random ones that I would love to paint at some point:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...indler/BB1.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...indler/BB2.jpg

That Ruth image would look incredible at a large, mural size. I guess I'd just have to be able to fit it through my door first.

Esxcuse my ignorance but what stadium is that Ruth photo taken in? That looks nothing like Yankee Stadium and I just cant place my finger on where it would have been taken at!

It's the Polo Grounds. The Yankees played there 1913-1922.

BTW, Graig, the Ruth's been done--it's in Bill Goff's catalog:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...z/goffpol3.jpg

Damn you, Bill Purdom. Damn you.

something diffrent - baseballs lighter side
 

There may be better photos of Max but he would make a great lighter side painting subject.

How about a smiling Eddie Gaedel looking up to a smiling Bill Veeck as they're giving each other a wink and the "ok" sign while standing in the batters box?:D

Ruth & Meusel may deserve consideration.

That shot of Ruth and Meusel is KILLER!!

Thanks Greg. Keep up the excellent work. Your stuff is very, very cool. The clarity in the Ruth/Meusel posted photo for some reason turned out pretty weak. This 33' Joe D. maybe worth a swing or two of paint. Barry

Bench
 

As soon as I saw this picture I thought of Graig. Not as vintge as some of his other work but great action and light.

Matt

I think this window display would make a great painting.

That Cubs photo is absolutely wonderful. The action, the light, everything!! I'd kill to do 100 paintings like that!

Here's one I need to get you a good scan of, Graig.

or this one...

talk about use of light...this baby would sell like hotcakes.

'Yes', 'yes', and 'yes'.

Mmmm...hotcakes.

you saw Cubs
 

I was watching this photo on ebay and was interested (ultimately i did not win the auction) because of Bench in the photo. I don't know any of the other players but i love how the Cubs player is in the air, starting his slide, coming home from third and Bench is waiting to recieve the ball, not to mention the guy on deck.


Matt

#714
 

This is Ruth's last homerun #714 at Forbes Field...would be an awesome artwork!

Looks like the sliding Cub is Don Kessinger. #7 - Rick Monday.

Eddie Collins
 

I'm kind of partial to this snapshot I bought from Dan Bretta. Eddie Collins with Mr. Mack in the background. Don't those unifroms look a little warm?

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...ST/collins.jpg

There were two photos in the most recent addition of sports illustrated that would make very nice paintings. One is of Honus Wagner and an amazing image of Satchel Paige. If I get the time I will try to scan in the photos.

Kessinger and Monday are correct. The funny thing is I ran across DOn Kessinger on Facebook and "friended" him. Very nice man and I try not to stalk him. LOL

I bet he would love this photo

Jeff, that Collins photo is KILLER. I would LOVE to paint it.

Oh, and Randall, did you win that photo? I remember seeing it in Henry's auction (I think) about a year ago, and was blown away.

Ruth Photo
 

Hi Graig, no I didn't bid. I just took the scan offline. I collect scans that I like. I think it was one of the big catalog auctions within the last two years. Here is another Ruth you don't see often that would make a great artwork...

Graig did one of the Bambino's backside a few years ago. I'm looking at it right now as it displays on my wall together with my TYPE I photo by Paul Thompson.:)

Attachment 22074Attachment 22075

VERY much agreed, Randall. I think that Ruth shot was from one of the Legendary auctions of the past half-year. I'm pretty sure it's from the Detroit News negative collection and the like. The majority of those images were absolutely killer.

And Jimmy, I still think the photo's better than the painting. Thompson had quite the eye.

#3
 

Yeah I like that one a lot. but I love seein that #3 for some reason. Here is a pic of me wearing the #3 standing over right field at the last game ever at Yankee Stadium. I thought #3 should be there one last time.

Blocking the plate like that, Bench looks like the dominant predator, ready to devour his prey (Kessinger). I wonder if he was safe or out?

Either way, that is a great shot, and would make for a tremendous Kreindler work of art!

Now that would make a killer painting Randall! With those cops there and the other fans wearing jerseys, and you standing out with that huge #3 on your back with the stadium backdrop! :)

LOl
 

I'd buy one!

Christy Mathewson, 1911
 

Question for Greg--

What is it about Conlon's portrait of Christy Mathewson in 1911 that you found so compelling?

It is one of my favorite images.

Sphere and Ash,

They're plenty of reasons that I went for that Mathewson image. They are, however, a little hard to explain, so please bear with me.

When I opened up the Conlon book for the first time, I was amazed at the images of these deadball era players who I'd never seen, and in some cases, never heard of. At the time, Matty was one of those players.

Now, the first image of him you see in the book is that posed shot with his arms over his head, outside the Polo Grounds in the early 1900s. It didn't really register as anything special at first, just a pitcher who at the time, I'd never heard of. But then, when I saw the 1911 shot further along, I absolutely flipped.

The gaze that he has into the camera lens is just so striking. I felt like it was one of those photographs whose eyes would probably follow me around the room if I walked away. And that half smirk that he seems to have in all of his photos - the fact that he seems to know something that you don't, well that's the kind of stuff that made me wonder who this guy was. These simple aspects inspired me to read up on the man. Learning that he was maybe the first superstar in baseball probably helped a bit. His Frank Merriwell image did too, I'm sure. But in the end, it all just came back to the aesthetics of the image itself.

I fell in love with the uniform for one, as you have those beautiful bluish pinstripes undulating with the form of his body. It was the first time I had ever seen a jersey from that era look like that. Heck, it was one of the first times I had ever been captivated by a pinstriped uniform that wasn't worn by a Yankee. The interlocking 'NY' on his sleeve didn't hurt either. And heck, I even had an idea of a narrative, seeing that the sleeve on his pitching arm had been cut for practical purposes.

Then, you have his skin. I mean, when I saw it in the photo, it looked just like that. Skin. It wasn't a photograph of skin, it was the texture and color itself. Being that the image was taken on an overcast day, I could almost see the sky reflecting into the plains on his face. The oils and sweat worked up from practice probably heightened this. But, it was Conlon who captured it. And this was before Conlon was Conlon for me.

It seemed like almost every image that he produced was a window into the past. It sounds corny, but it's true. Though in black and white, in my head, these photographs were in color. And not as a color photograph or a painting, but as if I was right there in person. I could hear the chatter amongst the players on the field, the sound of the balls hitting the gloves.

Later, when I started doing my baseball paintings, I wanted to be able to recreate that. I wanted the air to be breathable. I wanted the light in the stadium to coincide with what light was on a particular player. When someone sees a painting I make, I want them to see and feel that. If they can hear the chatter of the crowd, smell the popcorn, and feel as if they're baking in the centerfield bleachers, then I feel like I've done a good painting.

So, I had always had that image of Matty in mind. It was one of those inspirational things, something that created a feeling in me that was what true art was all about (to me, that is). So, when I finally had the time and was at a level where I thought I could reproduce it, that's when I picked up the brush.

I hope this answers your question!

Graig

Thanks, Greg
 

What a thoughtful response. Thank you!

By the way, I think you achieved what you set out to do.

Graig,

AMEN!
Art is about feelings. You paint with words almost as well as with oils.

Mark

Thanks, guys. You make me blush.

:o

And one day, I'll find the proper emoticon for it.

They are coming onto the field from the centerfield clubhouse at the Polo Grounds, walking toward their dugout.

john thorn

I am loving this thread. Some of those photos are fantastic! ...and only surpassed by Graig's paintings.

This would look spectacular in "Kreindlercolor"*

Attachment 22681

* coined by the omniscient David McDonald.

Here's another in the same vein, Jimmy. I'll be sure to tackle it on day, too.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...y001lowres.jpg

I've always thought this was a fantastic image (from a 1948 book cover).

http://s915.photobucket.com/albums/a...BERUTHBOOK.jpg

Not really vintage but have loved this image for a long time.

Joshua

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u...ySavesFlag.jpg

That's a great call Joshua!

I've always loved that photo too, Joshua. It's got a wonderful narrative to it. Maybe that's something to consider for the Rockwell people at some point...

Saving the flag...
 

I think I saw an artwork of that already. I don't remember who did it but it wasn't of great quality like Graigs...

That image of Rick Monday saving the flag still gives me chills. After that, he could do no wrong in my book!

Always loved this one of Combs slashing a single, Graig.

Have a poster of it in my basement and I feel like I'm sitting in the dugout.

Reminds me a bit of the Wagner painting you did from a similar angle.

I've always LOVED that image, jacksons. I've had plans to do a painting of it for a while now. That wonderful light in the middle ground illuminating Combs is glorious. And the combination of the foreground shadow of the triple-deck facade, and the shadow across the stands on the third base line just makes it one hell of a sandwich.

I'd probably bump the contrast a tiny bit and crop the bottom a little, and make it something like this:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...U448698INP.jpg

And, here are two shots of a couple of other Yanks from the same era, and similar vantage points. The light isn't as dynamic, but these are still incredible.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1.../U35210INP.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...U48523ACME.jpg

Man, how incredible it must have been to see a Yankee game in the 1920s.

Graig

I just got this TYPE 1 of Teddy Ballgame making the last out...
 

in Allie Reynolds second no-no of the season. On Sept 28, 1951 "The Superchief" actually had to retire Williams TWICE in order to get the win AND the no-hitter as Yogi dropped a pop foul off the bat of the Thumper. So Reynolds reached back and threw the same pitch in the same spot, and got the same result except this time Berra hung on to it.

As if all of this wasn't enough pressure on the Yankees 6 Time All Star Pitcher, the victory was also a pennant clincher!

This would make a tremendous painting once it was Kreindlercolored. Note: Check out the ball just above his bat. What an image.

Attachment 26566

This one wouldn't hurt to have on the wall...

http://www.nydailynewspix.com/sales/...52&size=medium