DAMN YANKEES (...throes of) part 11

"Oh for goodness sakes!!!" Ruth has often been overheard in the locker rooms to exclaim after finding his locker in disarray; and he seems to expound the same here... It was little known in his day (and fairly well hidden by the press) that Babe had a great sense of empathy for his teammates, and would often feel pity and compassion for those colleagues who's lockers were also disheveled; he was notoriously full of ruth. However, there were those from other teams who claimed Babe was rather insensitive and callous, and thereby ruthless, but of course this makes no sense at all. No one in New York ever found a baseball card of Babe Ruthless in their tobacco. And if they did they wouldn't be allowed inside anymore. (wherever that happened to be at the time) Here I have him craning his "neck" and looking quite nonplussed at Lee's presence on the scene. His eye was a particular joy to explore.

















© Richard Ewing all rights reserved

Here is the eye again in case you missed it the first time around. Note how the pop of the eye is fighting the folds of age; nice argument.




© Richard Ewing all rights reserved

I exchanged the accordion nose for one that is more evocative of Joe's real schnoz... you can still see the original planar structure underneath, but now the roads turn sharply where all the cartalige meets the sinews. The shoulders are blocked in, and the sternocleidomastoid has been reduced to a manageable level. (now when he turns his head quickly, he will no longer need to worry that his nose will snap off).

















© Richard Ewing all rights reserved

Details, details, details. Just straightening out Reggie's glasses so they don't curve with the form of his roly-poly head. Now we have pleasing contrast. Those glasses are "oh-so-'70s" aren't they? Brings to mind Luke Skywalker, Watergate, and of course Elton John. Elton influenced the look of baseball here much in the way Charles Schulz influenced the Beatles in the '60s. Think about it.











© Richard Ewing all rights reserved