On the easel...

[GKreindler]

When I see you again, Ben, I'm gonna kick you in the nards.

[GKreindler]

Hey all!

Hope everyone's starting to enjoy some nice weather. Thankfully, things in Brooklyn are starting to really come alive with the changing of the season.

While I've been working on catching up with some Net54 commissions, there have been some things I've been working on on the side. Here are a few that I got back from the photographers last week, most of which are 5" x 7" color studies.


George Wright, 1874


Fred Merkle, 1907


Mickey Mantle, 1950


Hank Aaron, 1956


Sandy Koufax, 1963

The majority of them were commissioned, but a few of them are still on my eBay page thingy.

And there's also this one:


Lou Gehrig, 1925, 9" x 12"

This is going to be pretty exciting, I think. The Gehrig is going to be included in an upcoming Love of the Game auction, and from what I understand will be on the catalog cover. Al will also have the painting on display at his booth in Chicago at the National, which will probably look pretty cool.

But yeah, I was really happy with how this one came out. I fell in love with the image when I did the color study for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and since then have been jonesin' to make a full-sized one. That smile of his is just golden. And the dimples!!

Anywho, I hope you all dig these. And as per usual, if you have any questions, comments, problems, or anything of the like, feel free to drop me a line.

Thanks for reading.

Graig

[yanksfan09]

The new Gehrig is outstanding! Especially for being a smaller piece!

[GKreindler]

Thanks so much, Erick!! I thought it came out pretty nice. Granted the photo is just an absolute winner, so the source material couldn't have been better. I hope it does well for Al's auction.

Graig

[cwazzy]

Damn, Graig. I've said it before but you get better with every one! That Gehrig is amazing! One of these days I WILL get a Campy from you. Looking forward to seeing it in Chicago.

[GKreindler]

Thanks a lot, Chris!! Lord knows I'd love to tackle Campy one day.

In the meantime, here are two more I got back from my photographers today:


Rube Marquard, September 20, 1912, 24" x 20"


Mickey Mantle, May 4, 1951, 16" x 20"

I'd been meaning to get Rube photographed for a while, as I finished him last year. I had always really loved the image, as he just seemed super young and confident - a great subject for a painting if I ever saw one. It was really tough to get my hands on a nice quality version of the photograph, too. Being a Conlon, I'm pretty sure that the original negative still existed, but for whatever reason, John Rogers' company never made it available on their website. So I had to dig pretty deep. In the end, I'm pretty happy with how he came out.

The other image was also a lot of fun, but posed an interesting challenge. Once again, dealing with flash photography ain't terribly easy. In this case, the game (which was against the Browns in Mantle's first trip out west in '51) was a night affair, so the image itself was probably taken as the sun was starting to go down. The lights on the towers aren't even on, but with the flash bulb, the sky ends up appearing a lot darker than it actually is. Mantle himself pops pretty well, I think, but even that was tough, considering how washed out his face had to be. The majority of the color in there is cooler than it normally would be (as the flash itself is a cooler one), so I did my best to intermingle a lot of complementary hues to give it a shimmering quality. It doesn't really present itself that way in this particular photograph, but in real life, I think I got it. Maybe. Either way, his smile can't be denied.

Anywho, hope you guys dig it. If you have any questions, comments, or criticisms, please feel free to post away!

As per usual, thanks for reading.

Graig

PS: Now, onto the '27 Yankees!

[Leon]

Wow, it doesn't get much better than that!!

Originally Posted by GKreindler

Thanks a lot, Chris!! Lord knows I'd love to tackle Campy one day.

In the meantime, here are two more I got back from my photographers today:


Rube Marquard, September 20, 1912, 24" x 20"


Mickey Mantle, May 4, 1951, 16" x 20"

I'd been meaning to get Rube photographed for a while, as I finished him last year. I had always really loved the image, as he just seemed super young and confident - a great subject for a painting if I ever saw one. It was really tough to get my hands on a nice quality version of the photograph, too. Being a Conlon, I'm pretty sure that the original negative still existed, but for whatever reason, John Rogers' company never made it available on their website. So I had to dig pretty deep. In the end, I'm pretty happy with how he came out.

The other image was also a lot of fun, but posed an interesting challenge. Once again, dealing with flash photography ain't terribly easy. In this case, the game (which was against the Browns in Mantle's first trip out west in '51) was a night affair, so the image itself was probably taken as the sun was starting to go down. The lights on the towers aren't even on, but with the flash bulb, the sky ends up appearing a lot darker than it actually is. Mantle himself pops pretty well, I think, but even that was tough, considering how washed out his face had to be. The majority of the color in there is cooler than it normally would be (as the flash itself is a cooler one), so I did my best to intermingle a lot of complementary hues to give it a shimmering quality. It doesn't really present itself that way in this particular photograph, but in real life, I think I got it. Maybe. Either way, his smile can't be denied.

Anywho, hope you guys dig it. If you have any questions, comments, or criticisms, please feel free to post away!

As per usual, thanks for reading.

Graig

PS: Now, onto the '27 Yankees!