Andahaion

On 12/11/2019 at 2:57 PM, JadeGiant said:

I am a huge fan of Paul Pelletier's work and pick up a lot of his artwork. (hint in case you have any of his Hulk related artwork you'd like to sell). He's not a newer artist and has been around a long time. I wouldn't call him lesser-known but, in my eyes, his work is under-appreciated by many. I discovered Alex Reigel this year and love his work. 

I recently picked up an Aquaman cover of his (my first Pelletier piece).  Really presents well in person despite it being only his pencils.  This penciled cover was also published as a variant, which I think speaks well to his ability with graphite.  Good stuff and quite affordable.  He's now on my radar.

Yes. My first purchase from him was an offer on a mid/upper four figures page. No idea how long he had it, maybe a few years. No issues. He replied with a simple “offer accepted” and the rest was smooth. 

50 minutes ago, Jesusjon said:

Wow, first art update in years really. I have been in semi retirement but peaking out now from the shadows with these few pieces.

As Tom King's run on Batman comes to an end, I wanted to post a few pieces from some of my favorite artists on the series. I'll be getting these all framed together as they all have the same theme - the ongoing relationship between the Bat and the Cat that King made so central to his storyline. 

Here they are! Will the Bat and the Cat make it in the end? Only time will tell...

Thanks for stopping by. One more big art day in the works then back into retirement again for me!

JH

Good stuff.  I'm just now going through that run.  Mann seems underrated, I really like his style.  

In case any of you with young kids hasn't seen this book, "Fairy Tale Comics" is a little gem.  My four year old daughter loves it, asks we read it together almost nightly.  It was during one of these nightly rituals that I ran across this gem by David Mazzucchelli (even though DD fails to make an appearance).  Like most things in my house, I have no idea where the book came from.  I actually paid it little attention until I saw David's name. I've no idea how much these pages would cost and have no idea if they're even available, but I would think quite less than Born Again/Year One pages (not that you can buy those either).

6 minutes ago, Varanis said:

It's just straight up art.

Indeed. I was a buyer strictly on the artistic merits. Haven’t read the series yet, but the trade is on the Amazon wish list. 

Yes, I thought that was the best page of the bunch.  I couldn't imagine being a colorist and have a fellow collaborator hand me something like that.

Keep in mind I'm just one guy making (silly?) comments on a board.  I think Tradd's work on SSBlack is super unique and want an example purely from an artistic admiration standpoint.  I wish I could speak with more authority as to whether it is initially under priced.  I'm just not that in tune with OA markets.  It feels to me that he has some hot artists on hot stories that drives demand.  I just understand what I like and what I'm willing to pay/offer to get what I want.  I could be in a small minority that would spend that much on these pages.

1 hour ago, vodou said:

Oh yeah, me too. I don't even try anymore.

You may have seen it, but Felix sent an email stating there were over 400 requests for this last Surfer drop.  Crazy.  I offered a guy double what he paid for one of the Thanos Wins pages a while ago.  That didn't work out.  To your point about being more determined and hungry, I had an urge to make the same offer of double (or more??) for this great Surfer Black page, but came to my senses when I realized it would have been an offer of $3.6K+.  A part of me continues to believe it's worth it even at that price.  Stupid art.  Ha.

11 hours ago, vodou said:

$?

It was listed for $8,000. 
 

Somewhat unrelated, I’ve come to realize I’ll likely never win something in these art drops. I’m 0-life so far. I do check out the published pages, but the art looks different in B/W. Once the art and prices drop I like to compare pages, see what my options are. Just can’t do this, it seems. I made a request within the first three minutes for this last Surfer drop, which is lightning fast decision making (when it comes to art) for me. Just not fast enough. Oh well. 

Pre ordered this guy, looked pretty neat for $100:

My second cover arrived last night.  Aquaman #24 by Paul Pelletier.  I wasn't too familiar with Pelletier, but really love this run of Aquaman.  I think it was one of the highlights to the New 52, Geoff Johns really did some good work with a "lower tier" character.  This is also a pretty interesting self-case study in what I'll accept from OA, or how I'll justify a purchase.  This is Pelletier pencils only and when CAT first brought this to my attention, I passed.  But, since the cover to Aquaman #10 has yet to surface, I contacted the dealer/rep and inquired as to where the inked version was located/if it existed.  It turns out that the inker has the inked version on blueline and is not selling.  So, normally I would pass since I can't have the whole package, but the dealer (much to her credit) informed me that this cover was actually published as a sketch variant.  The variant part doesn't really move the needle for me, but I do like that the pencils were published.  So, I know where the inks are, pencils were published, it's from a run I really want an example from (plus this issue is full of great Aquaman lore), it was pretty affordable ($1,450), and the dealer/rep was super helpful and responsive.  As a bonus, in person the pencils are strong and in places almost look like ink.  So, it will look great framed up and on the wall. 

BTW, TDArt was the rep and she was so great to work with.  I recommend and will be going back to again.

Happy Tuesday!  Where the heck is the fall weather?  94 degrees here in the DC area tomorrow...but Go Nationals tonight!

On 9/28/2019 at 1:33 PM, Rick2you2 said:

Does it matter if it .05mm instead of .07mm? The cheaper pens weren't available as .07 mm.

This will likely vary by artist.  It matters to me when working with graphite.  More important though, is the hardness of the lead (at least to me).  

Good question, OP.  I think I've mentioned on here that I collect fine art as well as OA and have wondered if anyone else does the same.  More to the point I collect contemporary figurative artists which I'd imagine the vast majority of the world hasn't heard of, but I really enjoy.  Names like Juliet Aristides, Candice Bohannon, Stephen Bauman, Jeremy Lipking, Robert Liberace, Colleen Barry, Travis Schlaht, Maria Kreyn, and so forth.  But, "fine art" is a big world, so there are lots of pitfalls as someone else mentioned above.  But many of the same rules apply, I think.  Such as do lots of research, talk to the artists (if you can) and their reps.  And most importantly buy what you love.  I'll be brave and share my most recent acquisition by an artist named Joshua LaRock.  It's titled 'Bather in White' (10" x 26").  Very Bouguereau, but today...

I believe Jenny Frison (and I'm sure many others) operates similarly.  That is, she starts digital, prints out a copy and uses a pencil just for the line work.  Then she rescans that and prints the pencils onto a gray toned paper and finishes traditionally with copics, acrylic, chalk, washes and such for a finished piece.  I have no issue as I purchased a cover a while back.

I had no idea that cover was worth upwards of $50K, so I suppose I can legitimately claim that I would not have bought it.  

You should go Rauschenberg and erase the whole thing. 

My prediction?...

If it were a painting, you could basically call it a mottled background.  But no idea what it'd be called in this art form.  I guess partial might make the most sense.

@Catwoman_Fan That Lee piece is awesome.

Learn something new everyday...that is a sweet "Cask of Amontillado" prelim.  And it's huge (that's what she said)!  I like it more than the final version.  I love Poe.  Maybe I've finally found a Wrightson piece to bid on.  28% juice for internet bidders?  Fresh squeeze baby.