On the easel...

[GKreindler]

Hey all,

Has it really been this long since I've posted anything here? Jeez, the great Photobucket fiasco from a few months back really curtailed things - I can't tell you how depressing it was to see every single image on this thread vanish. Well, I'm back for now (at least for the year), and I'm hoping that in that time I'll be able to switch everything over to a server I don't have to pay for. In the meantime though, I'll also try to get back to posting here with some regularity. That is, if y'all still want to see what's been going on.

On the personal note, I'm now a father of two, a two-and-a-half year old and an almost six-month old. Both boys. They're amazing. And insane. Becoming a father has been one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life, especially coming from somebody who works in a pretty insular field. With that said, getting into yet another routine to try and paint has been challenging to say the least. But, in the words of Mayo, I got nowhere else to go.

So, here are some examples of what's been coming out of the studio these past couple of months:


Walter Johnson, 1907, 22" x 28"


Chief Bender, October 24, 1911, 12" x 16"


Babe Ruth, 1915, 20" x 22"


Ty Cobb, 1916, 18" x 18"


Hank Greenberg, Goose Goslin, Charlie Gehringer and Pete Fox, 1935, 29" x 35"


Arky Vaughan, 1935, 16" x 20"


Stan Musial, May 21, 1946, 30" x 44"


Ernie Banks, 1953, 18" x 24"

I think there might be some more that I've missed, but I'll update this thread (finally) as I remember them.

Also, I was given some great press by the nice people at the National Review a few weeks back, which can be seen here:

https://www.nationalreview.com/magaz...seball-history

Anywho, I hope you're all doing well, keeping happy and healthy, and excited for Cleveland (which I should be going to). Also, hopefully you dig some of these! If you have any comments, questions, criticisms or musings you'd like to share, please feel free to do so!

Thanks,

Graig

[Jay Wolt]

Man, they are off the charts, its like looking at color photo
As always Graig, great job!

[GKreindler]

Thanks a ton, Jay!! It feels good to be back. I hope I can keep it up.

[perezfan]

WOW Graig.... just phenomenal.

Especially love the spectacular Musial and the Walter Johnson. The rich colors are just incredible, and I can almost read the Patch on WaJo's wrist-strap. Have narrowed it down to either Reach or D&M!

So gorgeous... thanks for revisiting this great thread!

[billyb]

Wow Graig, all great, being from Detroit I really like the four Tigers painting.

[Scott Garner]

Awesome stuff, Graig! I can't believe the WaJo. Soooo cool!
Congrats to whoever will own that!!

[yanksfan09]

Originally Posted by Scott Garner

Awesome stuff, Graig! I can't believe the WaJo. Soooo cool!
Congrats to ever will own that!!

+1! All are amazing but I'm in love with that Weiser Johnson!

Love the colors and the background! Amazing as always, keep it up man!

[twmoore7]

Absolutely love the Musial!!!

[icollectDCsports]

Just fantastic, as always. They all have cool aspects that I notice when looking at them. For instance, the sense of depth conveyed is really something else. For instance, I'm amazed by the slightly raised letters on Vaughan's jersey. That's got to be very difficult to do. Looks like the actual jersey is right in front of you.

[GrayGhost]

Amazing as always!!!

[yankeesjetsfan]

Wow! Great paintings Greg!

Mike

[Dewey]

Originally Posted by GKreindler

On the personal note, I'm now a father of two, a two-and-a-half year old and an almost six-month old. Both boys. They're amazing. And insane.

May these boys be your greatest masterpieces, Graig. All the best to you in the great adventure of fatherhood!

[GKreindler]

Thanks, Brett! If nothing else, they’ve guaranteed my spot in a white-walled rubber room. Weeeee!

[perezfan]

Amazing Graig...

Couple questions...

The background of that early Babe Ruth is so intriguing. Looks like he is on a sandlot, more so than a professional grounds. Any idea where that image emanates from?

The Fred Clarke is gorgeous as well. I should know this, but which stadium is depicted in that one? The high screen looks identical to the one behind Ty Cobb, in the famous Bain image where Ty is covertly flipping the bird. But that would likely be an American League Field, and Clarke played for Pittsburgh. Is it possible that one image or the other was captured at the 1909 World Series?

[Steve D]

Someone should've told Fred Clarke that if he'd just back up further away from the wall, he wouldn't have had to choke up so much on the bat!



Steve

[YankeeFan]

Beautiful works Graig. It's hard to take my eyes off of them. I especially like the WaJo and Musial, but several others are tied for second place.

In all of your works, the attention to and recreation of the details is nothing short of amazing. Like the sweater on Chief Bender...the wrinkles in the Elephant, the "fuzziness" of the fabric, and the way the light bounces off the sweater in different ways. Awesome.

Congratulations on the most recent addition to your family. Seems like the kids both exhaust and inspire you!

[GKreindler]

Thanks again for all the kind words, everybody!

Jack, those details are the kind of things that make the image for me. It just becomes so important for the viewer to feel that cold air, and for the sweater to feel like a sweater. That stuff also happens to drive me pretty bonkers, but ya know, there are worse things to be obsessed over, right?

Mark, the image is from Ruth's first spring training (1915) in Hot Springs, AR - I think the field was known as Majestic Park? Pretty spartan for sure, but it feels like most stuff was back then. But yeah, the image is from the client's own RPPC.

And regarding the ballpark depicted in the Clarke image, you're actually right: they ARE the same. It's the Polo Grounds in 1902, a time in which the walls to the stands were a lot higher than they were when Cobby had that photo taken of him by Bain. The reason Cobby was at the Polo Grounds was because the Yankees were playing there at the time - they left Hilltop in 1913 and stayed there until the new ballpark opened in '23. So I guess the ballpark was considered to be an American and National League one (though I doubt that distinction made John McGraw happy).