On the easel...

[GKreindler]

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

[mark evans]

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

[Runscott]

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.

[GKreindler]

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

[Runscott]

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."

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

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.

[GKreindler]

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:


Ty Cobb, 1909 (I think?), 11" x 14"


Casey Stengel, April 19, 1938, 16" x 20"


Jimmie Foxx, 1929, 16" x 20"


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