I had Matzoh ball soup once, and the best Creamy Tomato Basil extant last night..haha. :):)

Graig,
How long does it take you to just draw the photos out.

Brian, thank you SO much. You're always welcome in!

Brock, it really varies with the sizes and complexities and all. The smaller portrait shots are only a few hours, but as we get larger and larger, they can take up to a week to get just right. And that can even be with gridding it all off. It's actually my least favorite part of the process, as I just want to get to the painting!

Aha!
 

Graig,
I figured your answer would be something like that.
Though I do agree with terjung, you see things in a different way than the rest of us. Or perhaps it's just that you can put to words why people feel they way they do about specific works of paintings.
I think most of us don't specifically identify light/shade as the reason we like a painting. Most just say it looks realistic or use some other adjective without identfying that the control of light is the reason it looks the way it does.

Again, great stuff buddy.

Ben,
Cut Graig some slack, after all he is a painter, not a writer.
Perhaps he could loathe you....Is that better?

Mark

I'm still waiting to hear why that little guy in the upper-right is leaning at a 45 degree angle. I keep reading and reading (and there's no explanation) :mad:

Graig, please clarify and try to put more effort into your replies.

Just kidding of course... this is the greatest thread in the whole forum, IMO and you can add me to the list of awe-struck admirers. Thanks so much for your incredibly insightful responses and for sharing your amazingly beautiful work!

It is Tiger Woods fleeing a horde of enraged bloggers.

http://photos.imageevent.com/kawika_...ball/bobby.jpg

:D :D

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!!

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

Hey Andrew! I will be at the National this year, though I won't have a booth. I plan on going for the majority of it to look around. And of course, hang out with some good people.

But yeah, I wasn't able to do much for inventory this year, as I've been super backed up with commissions. But, we are shooting for next year, I think. The only event happening in the near future (that I'm aware of) is a talk I'll be giving at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA over July 4th weekend.

Thats too bad. I was looking forward to seeing your work at the National up close. Well I guess thats something I have to look forward to at the next National which will be in Chicago I believe. Since that is my hometown I will make sure I make that one!!

Keep up the great work!! You do amazing stuff!