On the easel...

[howard38]

Graig, I ordinarily don't respond to threads such as this but your paintings are too good to ignore. It doesn't have anything to do w/the baseball theme either. The mastery of color and shadowing/contrast is fantastic w/the Mathewson portrait being perhaps the best example (fwiw I have a degree in Art History).

Do you do anything other than baseball related work that can be viewed on the web?

Thanks,

Howard

[GKreindler]

Wow, you guys are all incredibly nice. Really.

DanC, Thank you!!

Jantz, thank you so much those kind words. I was just curious, what about the Cobb right now makes you want it the way it is? I've actually had one or two other people tell me the same thing, and that sometimes they really dig the 'unfinished' look of the paintings.

Whitehse, I don't think that we're going to be doing lithos or reproductions of the baseball stuff anytime soon, but it is possible that there will be a book or catalog available at some point. Or at least, I'm hoping so. Of course, when/if that stuff happens, I'll be sure to let you and board know. And thanks for the compliments, both from you and your wife!! I'm really glad that you guys dig the stuff.

NoizeBringer, did we get to talk at all during the National? Either way, I'm really pleased you liked the Matty painting. That one seemed to be received better than anything on our walls, which I guess can be a double-edged sword. Hopefully I can continue to make portraits that can illicit that kind of reaction!! Regarding the Negro Leagues stuff, I definitely have a lot of images in mind, including some of Satchel, Jackie, and of course, Gibson. The only problem that I run into with those is that there's so little available in terms of photo reference, and in a lot of cases, just general information, that I'm a little worried that I couldn't do the justice that those images (and men) deserve.

robedits, the compliment of 'haunting' is really friggin' awesome - thank you so much!

Howard, thanks for those awesome words, especially since you may not respond to art threads often!! I appreciate the exception . In regards to other work, there isn't much that's available on the web, as the majority of my older illustration work never made it into the digital world. I feel like right now, the only paintings in the studio are either baseball themed, or just older art school stuff (studies from life, plein air, etc.).

Again, thank you so much everybody!

[Jantz]

Graig,

I posted the comment because when I look at your Cobb painting that is exactly how my eyes would see it.

Just image if you had tickets to that very game back in 1908 and this was the view from your seat. Up steps the great Ty Cobb to take his at-bat. How much of the background or any other detail inside the stadium would anyone really notice? If I were sitting there, my entire focus and attention would be on Cobb. You might see it differently because you are an artist, but the way you have the painting now, Cobb's form being the only detailed part in the painting makes him "jump right out" of the painting.

Some may say it is unfinished, but I think you've already captured the moment in this painting.

Once again, truly amazing.

Jantz

[Lordstan]

Jantz,
Wow. Great observation.
It is interesting to compare the Wagner to the Cobb. Both shots are from the same perspective, but opposite sides of the plate.
Cobb does stand out more than Wagner, between the two. Cobb def has a more 3D effect. In the Wagner, the stands and all the detail do lessen the impact of his figure. Still, there is something to be said for seeing that stadium in all it's glory. The colors, crowd and all those little things help bring me back to that specific setting to feel what it would've been like to to be there.
I think this is a matter of taste. I certainly would be happy with the Cobb as is. Welll, maybe a little more detail to the background. Though I'm sure it will look spectacular, in all it's glory, when fully detailed.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
And Graig, we all have beheld a lot of beauty in this thread.

BTW, how did the final Old Pete come out?

Mark

[MVSNYC]

graig- awesome work. not sure if you have explained this in the past, but i'd love to know what your process is? how do you take the images from the photos and transport them to the canvas? can you explain the pencil marks on the canvas and how you use them, etc, etc...truly great work.

[GKreindler]

Jantz, it's interesting that you would say that. Normally, in traditional realistic/figurative painting, the artist usually attempts to draw the viewer's eyes to a certain area of the work. More often than not, said area will be more developed than the other areas, whether it's more refined, has a larger range of values, or has the most chromatic color. I guess in the Cobb painting, the eye goes to the most complete part - Cobb himself. The other stuff does indeed become secondary, and its representation becomes less important. In that regard, I'm free to be a little bit more liberal with edges, color contrasts and temperatures. It's really cool that both you and Mark are aware that that's how the brain can work. Honestly, that's something that I think a lot of artists miss out on. But, I guess that in the end, I could never purposely leave the painting 'unfinished' like that, as I'll always want to include as much visual information as possible. If nothing else, it's one of the only ways to satiate my OCD!!

Mark, I'm just so glad you guys are enjoying this stuff, no matter what state the art is in!! Ol' Pete is indeed complete. I'll have to post or send you a scan when I get home on Tuesday morning.

MVSNYC, regarding the drawings on the canvas, well, let's just say that it's a lot of comparing and fixing and comparing and fixing. I pretty much work on getting all of the proportions down with basic shapes, and then from there, get into small shapes. That's actually what you end up seeing in those little squiggly lines. It kind of ends up being a topographical map, as I end up thinking of the image in terms of light and dark shapes, rather than line. When doing realistic work, I find that it's important to have this kind of attitude to get the effects I want. I guess one of my main concerns ends up being whether the objects sit in a realistic space, and that's really done best when light is treated in such a way. Actually, that's just what works best for me, and certainly not the gospel. If you're interested in knowing anything more specific, drop me a line and I'll fill you in as much as possible!

Thanks again, fellas...

[MVSNYC]

thanks for your response! your talent & process is so fascinating! my dad is an abstract artist, so i have always had a love for art...my personal collection is mostly abstract expressionism, but i certainly admire and love photo realism as well. amazing work, my friend...so you do it all by eye, comparing photo to canvas, back to photo? there's no overlay or projected image on canvas, etc? truly remarkable! i'll PM you about some pricing.