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

[mcgwirecom]

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.

[thekingofclout]

Originally Posted by mcgwirecom

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.

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!

[mcgwirecom]

I'd buy one!

[sphere and ash]

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.

[GKreindler]

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

[sphere and ash]

What a thoughtful response. Thank you!

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

[Lordstan]

Graig,

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

Mark