itviking

Your 'spelling out' created more ambiguity than it did clarity for me, and I was simply pointing that out. No need to get upset. Yes, the word 'previous' does clarify things. Thank you for clearing that up. I have an illustration that I purchased entirely based on the artwork itself. Now in fairness, I am huge Star Wars fan, and it is based on a scene from a Star Wars movie. But I'm not a big fan of this particular movie, don't collect items from this particular movie, and really... these could have been WWII fighters and I would love it just the same. So that didnt weigh into my decision to purchase it at all. As it happens, I love aircraft and spacecraft, real or fictional. My favorite part of any movie/video game involving aircraft/spacecraft are those 'scramble fighters' scenes. So the moment I saw this, and the price ($75), I knew I was buying it. I had no idea what it was. My initial assumption based on the price was that some homebased hobbiest painter created it and was simply selling their work on eBay. After doing some research I discovered that it was painted by a well respected and prolific Disney artist (Paul Wenzel) as part of a commission for Lucasbooks, and it was published in a kids book called 'Save Naboo!'. I've since come to really appreciate his work and style in other pieces he's painted. So it was definately a case of the artwork itself speaking to me, and then leading me to greater appreciation of the artist. I love it so much I paid considerably more money to have it archivally framed. Paul Wenzel worked for Disney for more than forty years, creating many movie poster images, and artwork for all manner of Disney licensed products. One of his portraits of Walt Disney was even used on a 1968 US postage stamp honoring Walt. Edit: I posted these pics in another thread, so sorry for the repeat posting, but its one good example I have of buying artwork based on the piece itself and not a connnection to the artist or the publication.

I personally think there's a bit of a disconnect between the thread topic ("Buy art you have no connection to?"), and the question. It centers around the meaning of 'connection'. First of all, I think if you are buying something strictly based on your appreciation of the artwork itself, meaning that you know nothing of the artist or subject (etc), then you do still have a 'connection' to it. Probably one of the strongest connections possible, and one of the most valid reasons for buying art. It caught your attention and you like it. On the other hand, if you know nothing of the subject, artist, and have no interest in the artwork itself, its really hard to imaging anyone buying such a piece. Even for someone who has no personal interest in the artwork and is purchasing strictly on speculation for a profit, you would need to know something about the piece, artist, or subject.

I wanted to add that the cost of the Paul Wenzel piece was, in my opinion, completely ridiculous considering the artist. I paid $75 for it. I was more than happy to spend several times more than that just to have it professionally framed with archival materials.

Thanks for the comments Bronty. That's great to know. I would have guessed that he was a pretty down to Earth person based on his painting interests. He lives in Arizona and loves to paint western themes, and native American peoples. Btw... LOVE the post re: the painting & pinball machine. Seeing how art is used in products is fascinating.

Picked up this illustration by Disney artist Paul Wenzel. You may not recognize his name, but you've probably seen his work before. He worked for Disney from 1958-1999 and has painted thousands of pieces for Disney in his time with them. He is regarded one of their most prolific and popular movie poster artists, and his work can be found on many items marketed by Disney over the years. He also painted a portrait of Walt Disney himself for a famous US postage stamp in 1968. Paul Wenzel also managed all of the Disney Marketing Department's artists for a number of years before his retirement. This particular piece was part of a commission by Paul Wenzel for Lucas Books, created shortly after his retirement from Disney. The piece appears in a children's book titled 'Save Naboo!' published in 2000. Here it is all framed up. Here's what the published illustration looks like.