Baseball artwork help?

Kawika · #1 06-24-2009, 02:03 PM

Graig: I had a look at your website. You got serious skills. I particularly like the Larsen painting. I sat in that ballyard at least fifty times from 1956 to 1961 when I was growing up around NYC. My memories have been corrupted after a fashion by all the black and white photography I have seen in the interim but the warm October glow and afternoon shadows that you have depicted, that you have nailed, bring it all back in dreamy color. Thanks from an old man. Also think The Beast Bangs Gomez, Yanks is brilliant. You could hate baseball and still love that picture.

Here are some random photos that I have found on the Web. If any of these might be useful to you let me know and I can e-mail you larger files.

Polo Grounds, 1912 WS

Crosley Field, 1929

Ebbets Field, 1920 WS

Ebbets Field, 1955 WS

Polo Grounds, 1913 WS

Yankee Stadium, 1930's

Yankee Stadium, 1920's

Jay Wolt · #2 06-24-2009, 02:09 PM

Don't have anything to add, but what a great thread.
Greg - glad you are using your skills on this then seascapes.
David - cool shots of old parks

drc · #3 06-24-2009, 03:24 PM

Graig, those paintings are really something and it was a pleasure to view them. You have paintbrush talent coupled with a fine aesthetic perspective. I agree that the colorful backgrounds ad signs add to the scenes

GKreindler · #4 06-24-2009, 05:33 PM

Kawika - Thanks SO much for those compliments. Coming from someone who was actually at Yankee Stadium in those glory years and actually saw these things in living color, it's really heart-warming to hear that I got it right. Those photos that you sent are wonderful as well, and I appreciate you taking the time to do so. I actually have all of them in my files, but man, one has to marvel at the sheer artistry of these ballparks. The Polo Grounds from the 1910s is just so majestic. Though I'm a life-long Yankee fan and this might be blasphemous, I think I'd take that old Polo Grounds frieze over the one in old Yankee Stadium (don't kill me).

I feel like the hardest thing for me to do is to bring these black & white memories into the color realm, especially since I'm so far removed from that era of baseball (I'm only 29 years old). I try my best not to make Ted Turner colorized versions of the images, but to actually instill the intangible things to the paintings: the quality of light, temperature, wind conditions, crowd noise, cigar smoke, etc. I guess it's more about making them true to life, rather than photographic. Hopefully it's something I'll be able to get perfect before I leave this earth.

Jay Wolt - Looking at these images of bleachers filled with people on white shirts or straw hats really adds to that seascape feeling. Sometimes I have to stop working just to keep myself from getting nauseous. But really, thanks for the compliment!

drc - Thank you for the nice comments. I really agree with you about those advertisements - I feel like they add so much color to those old fields, and really gives them a sense of place in time. I find it unlikely that one would be able to find five Gem razors for 25 cents these days...

slidekellyslide · #5 06-24-2009, 05:40 PM

Great stuff Graig! I especially like that painting of Williams crossing home plate.

GKreindler · #6 06-24-2009, 05:47 PM

Thanks, slidekellyslide! I'm a big fan of that image too. Being from his rookie year, I absolutely love how skinny and young he looks. And man, that smile is priceless!!

baseballart · #7 06-24-2009, 06:27 PM

Graig

Great work and cool to see another baseball artist on net54, although my only claim to fame in that area is that I am married to one (Jennifer Ettinger, www.flickr.com/photos/baseballart, www.ettinger.ca)

Max