Baseball Season

After three straight weeks in the studio doing nothing but football, I'm letting those LT & Osi pieces marinate for a little bit while I move onto some baseball stuff. Below are two pieces I started last winter but let coagulate during that whole "getting a divorce/moving the studio/depressed and broke/why, god, why, won't it ever stop f***ing raining?!?!" period that I went through during the early part of the year.

However.

I am now in a solid groove and CM Studios is just about fully up and running. So, back to work I go on these two lovely pieces which should be up for your viewing and purchasing pleasure within the next 2 or 3 weeks. Ladies and gentlemen, you know 'em, you love 'em: Joltin' Joe Dimaggio and Mariano Rivera!



(Trust me, they're gonna look great.)

Giant and Yankee Art Sale

Now, that all the craziness of moving the studio and prepping for that Giants show is over, I'm finally getting down to the business of business. The new CM Studios Facebook page is up, I've got the Twitter feed rolling, and, soon, I'll even have the new website up and running as well. You'll also notice the look of this blog changing (if you haven't already). The groundwork is being laid for a long, successful run here @ CMS, but, this being the real world and all, I gots to pay me some bills to keep it rolling. So, the following is a quick inventory of all original artwork still in my possession and up for sale (and, whaddaya know, it's all Yankee and Giant stuff). If interested, e-mail cm@craigmahoney.com.

I'm also going through a lot of my "lesser" drawings, basically anything I did in the sketchbook that only took a few hours, and I'm going to choose the best pieces for a "Sketchbook Sale" at some point in the next month. So, keep coming back, kids.

"Eli's Escape" autographed by
Super Bowl 42 MVP Eli Manning
36"x24" acrylic on canvas

"Pinstriped Dreams"
17"x14" pencil on paper

"Simm-ply Great" autographed by
Super Bowl XXI MVP Phil Simms
14"x11" colored pencil on paper

"DJ's HR" autographed by
Derek Jeter
36"x24" acrylic on canvas

"Brandon the Battering Ram"
11"x14" colored pencil on paper

"A Bad Break"
11"x14" pencil on paper

Autographed "Eli's Escape" For Sale

I'm also selling my "Eli's Escape" painting, with a fresh, new autograph from Super Bowl 42 MVP Eli Manning hisself. Eli was another Giant that I was lucky enough to run into @ the Super Show and he was nice enough to sign this for me. The painting is 36"x24" acrylic on canvas, and the autograph has been certified authentic by In The Game Collectibles. For more info, shoot an e-mail to cm@craigmahoney.com

New Projects - Jeter, A-Rod

I am feverishly at work building up my portfoilio right now. Not only am I trying to become an exhibiting member of the Shrewsbury Creative Arts Guild here in NJ, but I'm also on a mission to develop some sort of working relationship with the major sports leagues and memorabilia distributors and manufacturers. It's time to make the jump to full-time professional sports artist and move my desk and easel out of my bedroom and into a studio. My ultimate dream right now is to have at least one of my pieces hanging in the new Yankee Stadium and the new Giant/Jet Stadium.

So, I'm jumping back and forth from one project to the next to keep each one (and myself) fresh, but I'll post updates on each as I go along. Here are some pastel sketches of what will become acrylic paintings. The first is a 36'x24" canvas of A-Rod hitting his 500th home run. The second is a 16"x20" canvas of Capt. Jeter doing his trademark "Veni, Vidi, Vici" fist-pump.

Game 14 - YANKEES 8, Rays 7

So, Ian Kennedy (who has not looked that good) finally throws a decent game and the bullpen of Billy Traber and Brian Bruney (who have heretofore been excellent) come on and serve up 3 home runs to tie up what was a 7-2 game. Then Cano (who hasn't been able to buy a hit) comes off the bench (where he was napping during the game) to pinch-hit a home run that gives the Yankees an 8-7 lead they would never relinquish.

This is why they play 162 games and why I watch every one of them: you never what's going to happen.

Here's the happy Cano after giving the Yankees back the lead:

You can now view all the drawings I'm doing of this Yankee season over at my new Flickr set. I've also put a link up to it over in the panel to the right.

Eli's Escape pt. 3

After blocking the colors out for the figures, I went in today to block out most of the line work so that when I start going into the serious detail tonight and this weekend it'll all hang together. I want to make sure everything lines up where it's supposed to and that it all works together, so I don't get burned when I put in the fine detail work.

Game 9 - Yankees 0, ROYALS 4

What in the crap was that? I don't know how you could even begin to analyze the pitching performances last night. The bullpen still looks good minus one Mr. Farnsworth, but what to make of young Ian Kennedy? He gets thrown off his routine and start time, then comes into a game already down two runs. He started off a little wild and gave up two runs, but then settled down for his other two innings. Who knows how he would've performed if he had started.

The one thing that is for certain is that the Yankee lineup is currently a big bowl of suck. Even though it's too early to really panic, this offense is off to a historically slow start. And, with a tough month ahead and a more competitive division this year, you'd like to see them get the wheels rolling soon.

Andy Pettite takes the mound tonight. Let's see if he can regain his past form as a stopper and put this two game losing streak on ice.

Here's a pencil sketch of Farnswroth serving up that home run to John Buck. I wanted to do a little atmospheric pen and ink thing with the rain, but I have to get to work on this Eli painting, and finish this other commission piece by the weekend. So, I apologize for the slight shittiness of today's drawing and, most likely, the next two or three as well.

Eli's Escape pt. 2

I've been working on my website for the past two days (you can see most of it now), but I finally got a chance to get back to work on the Eli Manning painting. The background is finished, and I got the first layer of color down on the players. Now, comes the hard part: all the meticulous, goddamned details.

Game 7 - YANKEES 6, Rays 1

Whaddaya know? We might be able to get something out of Moose after all this year. Last night Mike Mussina defined the term "crafty veteran" as he mixed his pitches well, hit his spots, and went 6 innings while only giving up 2 hits and 1 run. I don't know that he's gonna have that kind of command every start, but if his year ends up being a mix of his first start and his last one, I'll take that in the fifth spot.

After Moose left, Brian Bruney came on and continued to impress this year. Farnsworth had one of his good days, and LaTroy Hawkins finished up, but made you sweat while you did it.

One note on Hawkins: I know I slammed him the other day, I have absolutely no faith in the guy and will slam him the next time he blows up (which we shouldn't have to wait long for), but can we wait on the booing and the "Paul O'Neill" chants until the guy actually screws up? Do those Yankee fans want him to blow the game? Let's not completely destroy the guy's psyche when we need him to get another 3 outs.

The offense finally woke up, with Bobby Abreu leading the charge and coming one hit shy of the cycle, but, of course, the big news is Jeter and his strained quad. I think the Yankees can make it a week or two without him. Let's hope it's no longer than that, but I'm gonna hold off pressing the panic button until I hear more.

Today's drawing is a colored pencil and marker sketch of the scene as Moose was about to unload on Johnny Gomes.

Game 6 - YANKEES 2, Rays 0

I don't have much time to write too much about yesterday's game. I did, however, actually put some time into the drawing today. Bottom line is Wang was great, Hideki got his first HR, Cano made a HELL of a play at second, and what the NY Post is calling JO-MO were fantastic and are going to be bowlfuls of fun to watch this year. It's good to see Wanger get off to a great start after his lousy postseason and poor spring training. It'll be interesting to see his performance Friday night in Fenway.

I'll leave you with a pen and ink sketch of Wang and Hideki for your Monday viewing pleasure.

Game 5 - Yankees 3, RAYS 6

Well, what are you gonna do? I expect Pettite to pitch better than that for the rest of the season, and I certainly expect this lineup to start hitting better than they've been.

It's days like today that I stay away from the Daily News and the radio call-in shows because everybody's looking to start panicking. The fact is, while I'd like the team to get off to a hotter start than they did last year (especially with the brutal schedule they have this month), it's game 5. There are 157 left to play. In fact, if you look at the standings for the AL East and Central today, it looks like they were printed upside down. The Orioles are in first in the East and the Tigers are in last in the Central. So, let's all just hold our collective horses for a bit until May, at the earliest.

Below is a sketch I did of Andy Pettite kicking the dirt while leaving the field in the middle of the third inning. It seemed to kind of sum up the day. Chien Ming goes up against James Shields today to try and stop the skid and notch his second win of the season.

Game 4 - Yankees 4, RAYS 13

What a goddamned mess. Actually, if you remove Kennedy and Hawkins from the equation it wasn't too bad, but, "Hoo, boy!", did they stink the joint up last night.

I don't think Kennedy's control problems last night portend anything dire for the rest of the season. Hopefully, he'll work out whatever the problem is and be fine by his next start, but I hope they saved the receipt for LaTroy Hawkins. From what I've read, Hawkins is supposed to be a helluva guy - and I know he's wearing 21 to honor Roberto Clemente - but, I would probably still have been one of the crowd chanting "Paul O'Neill". Here's a tip, LaTroy: If you're going to wear 21 to honor Clemente, you probably don't want to do your best impression of a plane crash when you take the mound.

Albaladejo, Ohlendorf, and Traber were the bright spots last night, and it looks like the bullpen should be pretty good this year, except for crossing our fingers when Farnsworth is out there and closing our eyes when Hawkins is.

The Rays now look like they may have another good young starter in Andy Sonnanstine to go with Scott Kazmir, and they're lineup is a pain-in-the-damn-ass. They're gonna be trouble this year, and, along with the resurgent Blue Jays, could provide a nice wrinkle into the whole "Yankee, Red Sox Battle For World Supremacy".

Below is today's drawing. It features young Mr. Kennedy in an homage to 'The Empire Strikes Back'.

Yankee Stadium 1923

While watching last night's debacle at Yankee Stadium I did this color sketch of the old girl when she opened in 1923. I hope you like.

Game 3 - YANKEES 3, Blue Jays 2

I don't have much to say on last night's game. Well, I have a little bit to say, but I'm working on a bunch of other stuff and don't have the time for any sort of dissertation. Long story short: Phil Hughes' breaking ball looked magically delicious, especially when it buckled Frank Thomas' knees. The Yankees bats are a little dead right now, but that doesn't concern me as much as seeing the pitching hold up which, shy of Mussina and Hawkins, it has. I liked the boys going with a little bit of small ball to win. When you start the season 2-1 going up against good pitching, and not getting much firepower from your lineup, you have to be happy.

Tonight, Ian Kennedy takes the mound against the Rays, and we get to see if the third of The Big Three can start fulfilling his potential, not to mention whether any of the Shelley Duncan noise from spring training carries over to the regular season.

I leave you now with a sketch of Mr. Hughes from last night's contest:

Game 2 - Yankees 2, BLUE JAYS 5

I don't have too much to say about this one. I was getting my taxes done, and by the time I got home, the Yanks were down 5-0. I settled in just in time to see A-Rod hit his 1st home run of the year, which I commemorated with a quick pen and ink sketch. It looks pretty cool, except for the fact that I drew his head too damn big.

Overall, if you're a Yankee fan, you just have to say 'Hey. Their pitching beat our pitching'. From what I understand, Mussina was decent and Farnsworth and Ohlendorf did what they get paid to do. I'd like to see Farnsworth's control a little better, though. Sometimes, you're just gonna have those cold days that are tough to play in and the other guy on the mound is gonna be too tough to beat. I tell you this, though, the Jays look like they have some good pitching. If they stay healthy, the AL East could be interesting this year.

Eli's Big Day and Yankee News

Holy ChristOnACracker! Three posts in one day?!?! What has come over me?

Anyway, here's a few pics on two works in progress, both of your reigning Super Bowl MVP: one Mr. Eli Manning. I'm working on a 36"x24" painting of Eli's Great Escape and an 11"x14" colored pencil drawing of a Eli letting out a celebratory shout during the game. Unfortunately, the pencils I use for my initial sketches are very light and are tough to photograph, but you folks are just so damned good to me I figured I needed to give you something.

So, here's a half done background and a very light sketch followed by some cool news, so keep reading.








Tomorrow I begin a little experiment which I hope will last well into October. The night of or morning after every Yankees game I will not only post my thoughts/analysis on each and every game, but I will also post a sketch relevant to every game. That means at least 162 new posts and sketches over the next few months. I figure it'll be a great way to keep me writing and drawing, and should bring some more eyeballs to the site. So, be sure to swing by here the day after every Yankees game. Let's see how this thing turns out.

Jeter and Gehrig on Etsy

Hey, I haven't been able to post in awhile. Had some family matters to attend to. But, that's all done, and I'm back at the drawing board and booking more gigs.

For those of you who missed the Trio at Ross's on Saturday, it was a really great time. Joe and Paul played great and the crowd really seemed to dig it. I had a lot of fun and, hopefully, I should have some more dates to announce soon.

In other news, I'm currently working on two different Eli Manning pieces I hope to post a little of by tonight, then Ive got a few commissions to get out of the way before I finally get to a bunch of Yankees stuff I want to get done.

Speaking of the Bombers, I'm all jacked up for the start of the season tonight, and I hope to do a lot of blogging about them over the summer. In addition to the art and music stuff, I'll also be sharing my opinions on the Yankees' season as it rolls along. And, to celebrate the beginning of the season, I've put some prints of my Lou Gehrig "Bad Break" drawing and my "Pinstriped Dreams" Jeter collage up for sale at my Etsy shop. Check 'em out here.

Eli's Great Escape

This is the first step for one of two Eli Manning Super Bowl pieces I'll be working on in the next two weeks. It's the rough for a 36"x24" painting of Manning escaping all those Pats defenders before making the pass to Tyree, now known as "The Greatest Play In Super Bowl History". The other is going to be a colored pencil job of Eli pumping his fists and screaming in triumph, very similar to the Tyree piece that I did. It's a nice pose and a rare bit of heated emotion from Easy E.

I'll be posting updates as I go. Also stay tuned for some pics of a nice Irish mural I'll be doing this week as well.

Big Ben III

Here's another update on that Roethlisberger painting. I'm hoping to have it done by late tonight or early tomorrow. I'll expound upon it a bit more then.