On the easel...

Lordstan · #1 05-18-2010, 07:44 AM

Jimmy,
Now thats a really crappy comment.

Graig,
I have to agree with Jimmy. You have posted so many incredible things, I feel like I'm repeating myself every time I compliment your work.
Your stuff is just incredible.

Mark

GrayGhost · #2 05-18-2010, 07:53 AM

These paintings are amazing, but man, even Graig must be embarrassed by the constant praise..

thekingofclout · #3 05-18-2010, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrayGhost

These paintings are amazing, but man, even Graig must be embarrassed by the constant praise..

I'm sorry to say Scott, but that is a ridiculous comment.

Forever Young · #4 05-18-2010, 08:34 AM

Graig, what the heck is that guy doing in the upper right at close to a 45 degree angle?? Unrealistic...YOU SUCK!
Your friend,
Ben

PS: THE SHADOWS ARE TOO REAL!

Lordstan · #5 05-18-2010, 09:08 AM

Graig,
Here is question I wonder about.
How to you choose your skin tones?
What I mean is that for many of the early players there are no true color pictures to reference. For instance, I can't remember seeing a whole lot of color pics of Gehrig. I think I've seen some of Cobb, Ruth, and Wagner, usually as very old men. Perhaps there is something in the black and white shading that tips you off? Another idea is that you use the colorized cards and pictures as a base. Or do you just keep them sort of neutral skin tone with light and shadow control doing the rest?

Just wondering.

I just love this thread. Such beautiful things to appreciate.

Scott,
I get your meaning. I think, beside just talent alone, it's Graig's humbleness about his talent that really set him apart. Praise is a good thing, especially when deserved.

Just promise me, Graig, that when you become a rich and famous painter, that you'll still talk to us non creative types.

"We're not worthy!"

Mark

GKreindler · #6 05-18-2010, 02:38 PM

Thanks for all of the wonderful comments, guys (except from you Ben, I hate you ;p ). I honestly do appreciate all of the encouraging things you all say, and I never really get sick of it. I mean, I will admit, it always feels a little weird when someone likes what I do (especially for an artist who deep down thinks he's a fraud), but it's the stuff like that that keeps us creative types from slacking. Or at least, I think it does. There's always been a big perfectionist in me that just needs these paintings to be perfect every time. And in my eyes, they never are. I guess that's why I keep pushing myself. I imagine it's something I'll go through the rest of my life. I guess that's why I freak out so much about the color of a button, an advertisement, a weather forecast, and all of the other intangible stuff. If the viewer enjoys the painting and it brings back great memories, then that's a good thing. But if I can bring them back and really make them feel what's going on in the painting - the sun shining, the crack of the bat, the chatter of the stadium crowd, etc. - then that's just gold.

Now Mark, you raise a good question. There's a lot that goes into it, from both an artistic side and a historical side. The latter is where I start. There have been some color photos/film of those old guys, usually dating back to the late 1930s. It's definitely few and far between, but it's super important. Combine that with a lot of book reading and hypothesizing, I'm able to come up with my base color. Now, that will always vary. Joe DiMaggio had an olive skin tone, while I've read some accounts that Gehrig would sometimes appear to be as dark as an African American. Someone like Red Rolfe would have fairer, pale skin to match his hair. Babe Ruth had a pretty normal, borderline tan complexion throughout his playing career, but when he retired and started playing golf regularly, his skin was almost milk chocolaty. I've actually made a list of player's attributes, stuff that I may have learned from books, seen in films, or have even read on driver's licenses. So, whenever I find something like a hair color, eye color or skin tone reference, it always finds its way into my reference. It's the kind of stuff that's really trivial and means nothing to most, but to me, it's gold!

Then artistically, it comes down to knowing that certain areas of a face will have certain variations that are common in most, like having the cheek and nose area be a little deeper and rosier in color, while the chin and jawline become rather neutral as they turn in space. If you notice, people with really dark hair sometimes have stubble that comes in very dark and can sometimes seem to make their jaw almost blue. Sandy Koufax was definitely like that.

More important than all of that though comes down to light. Light is what really shapes everything around us, why things look the way they do. You might notice that bright light shining on someone's face will create a larger difference between light planes and dark planes. The shadows will be more crisp, and will contain more reflected light bouncing into them. And depending on whether the sky is completely clear or not, that will affect the modulation of color temperature.a On a completely overcast day, you'll have deeper, earthier tones. Usually shadows will be warmer in temperature, while light planes will usually be cooler, as they're going to reflect a lot of the tones in the sky. You can see that sort of stuff in the Mathewson painting I did, especially in the nose, cheek, and forehead areas. You'll also notice that the separation between light and shade is much less dramatic than when the subject is in direct sunlight, so the shadows will have more of a 'fuzzy' look to them.

...

I just realized that this stuff might sound like Greek. But hopefully some of it makes sense.

Honestly, there's no set formula for any of this stuff, whether it's a skin tone, a sky color, or edge quality of a form, it all comes from observing real life. Then the hard part is taking all of that knowledge and observation and trying to make something look 3-dimensional on a 2-dimensional surface.

Phew!! I'm done. Sorry for the rant.

Oh, and don't worry, I don't think I'll ever be rich or famous. Either way, you guys are the people I love talking to. It's just wonderful that there's a forum for people to converse about such passions. One of mine is matzoh ball soup - I don't talk much about that here. But the other is baseball.

terjung · #7 05-18-2010, 02:51 PM

Wow. Just reading that Graig makes me realize that how little I know about painting. Amazing to hear your descriptions of shadows and facial toning as it relates to the weather. So much goes into your work that I can't even imagine it. No wonder they all look so realistic and as if they could walk right off the canvas. You have an amazing gift and talent! Thank you so much for letting us have a glimse into your world!

Forever Young · #8 05-18-2010, 02:57 PM

Here we go....fishing for more compliments......HATE is such a weak word.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GKreindler

Thanks for all of the wonderful comments, guys (except from you Ben, I hate you). I honestly do appreciate all of the encouraging things you all say, and I never really get sick of it. I mean, I will admit, it always feels a little weird when someone likes what I do (especially for an artist who deep down thinks he's a fraud), but it's the stuff like that that keeps us creative types from slacking. Or at least, I think it does. There's always been a big perfectionist in me that just needs these paintings to be perfect every time. And in my eyes, they never are. I guess that's why I keep pushing myself. I imagine it's something I'll go through the rest of my life. I guess that's why I freak out so much about the color of a button, an advertisement, a weather forecast, and all of the other intangible stuff. If the viewer enjoys the painting and it brings back great memories, then that's a good thing. But if I can bring them back and really make them feel what's going on in the painting - the sun shining, the crack of the bat, the chatter of the stadium crowd, etc. - then that's just gold.

Now Mark, you raise a good question. There's a lot that goes into it, from both an artistic side and a historical side. The latter is where I start. There have been some color photos/film of those old guys, usually dating back to the late 1930s. It's definitely few and far between, but it's super important. Combine that with a lot of book reading and hypothesizing, I'm able to come up with my base color. Now, that will always vary. Joe DiMaggio had an olive skin tone, while I've read some accounts that Gehrig would sometimes appear to be as dark as an African American. Someone like Red Rolfe would have fairer, pale skin to match his hair. Babe Ruth had a pretty normal, borderline tan complexion throughout his playing career, but when he retired and started playing golf regularly, his skin was almost milk chocolaty. I've actually made a list of player's attributes, stuff that I may have learned from books, seen in films, or have even read on driver's licenses. So, whenever I find something like a hair color, eye color or skin tone reference, it always finds its way into my reference. It's the kind of stuff that's really trivial and means nothing to most, but to me, it's gold!

Then artistically, it comes down to knowing that certain areas of a face will have certain variations that are common in most, like having the cheek and nose area be a little deeper and rosier in color, while the chin and jawline become rather neutral as they turn in space. If you notice, people with really dark hair sometimes have stubble that comes in very dark and can sometimes seem to make their jaw almost blue. Sandy Koufax was definitely like that.

More important than all of that though comes down to light. Light is what really shapes everything around us, why things look the way they do. You might notice that bright light shining on someone's face will create a larger difference between light planes and dark planes. The shadows will be more crisp, and will contain more reflected light bouncing into them. And depending on whether the sky is completely clear or not, that will affect the modulation of color temperature.a On a completely overcast day, you'll have deeper, earthier tones. Usually shadows will be warmer in temperature, while light planes will usually be cooler, as they're going to reflect a lot of the tones in the sky. You can see that sort of stuff in the Mathewson painting I did, especially in the nose, cheek, and forehead areas. You'll also notice that the separation between light and shade is much less dramatic than when the subject is in direct sunlight, so the shadows will have more of a 'fuzzy' look to them.

...

I just realized that this stuff might sound like Greek. But hopefully some of it makes sense.

Honestly, there's no set formula for any of this stuff, whether it's a skin tone, a sky color, or edge quality of a form, it all comes from observing real life. Then the hard part is taking all of that knowledge and observation and trying to make something look 3-dimensional on a 2-dimensional surface.

Phew!! I'm done. Sorry for the rant.

Oh, and don't worry, I don't think I'll ever be rich or famous. Either way, you guys are the people I love talking to. It's just wonderful that there's a forum for people to converse about such passions. One of mine is matzoh ball soup - I don't talk much about that here. But the other is baseball.

Kawika · #9 05-18-2010, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forever Young

Graig, what the heck is that guy doing in the upper right at close to a 45 degree angle??

It is Tiger Woods fleeing a horde of enraged bloggers.

GKreindler · #10 05-18-2010, 11:51 PM

The word 'succinct' is not in my vocabulary!!

I'm pretty sure that the guy in the right hand corner is pulling at some sort of barrier, perhaps a rope or something. I know it's hard to tell in the scan I provided, but that crowd in the foreground is actually being held back by a similar rope. For some reason, I haven't been able to upload anything to Photobucket for a few days, so I can't show a detail right now. Once I figure it out, I'll post a bigger shot.

Though, I do like that banner, David - who knew that Bobby Jones was a pimp?!

And Mark, that's kind of what it comes down to. It's weird that I see the world in the way that I do. Well, maybe not weird, but you know what I mean. I just can't not dissect every bit of information I have in front of me. And I know that most of it comes from going to art school and all, especially considering the teachers I had there. But yeah, it just seems like I'm always drawn to the way light falls on things. And that doesn't have to be bright light or anything, but just the concept of it in general.

I guess that's why I paint the way I paint. Someone like Ron Stark might paint the way he paints for a completely different reason, and the same goes for Purdom, Neiman and the like. And by no means is that a bad thing, it's just that different things inspire us to create what we do. I think that's really the true meaning of the word 'style' when it comes to painting. It's not necessarily what school of rules you follow, it's what inspires you to get up and paint in the first place.

Alright, I'm really shutting up now. Succinct! Succinct! Succinct!!

whitehse · #11 05-18-2010, 11:59 PM

Graig....Will you be at the national in Baltimore this year???

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