Avoid Craig Hamilton -- or move forward at your peril

[Michael (OML)]

Craig Hamilton is mini-Madoff. He swore up and down to Bob Shaw who put us

together that Defenders #1 One Minute Later commission would be done December 2008. I've been pretty patient -- twelve months later, he produced a very rough layout. Now, nearing year two, he tells me that he has no art supplies so he cannot do the piece.

 

Oddly, he posted this very week on Facebook that he was spending the afternoon

painting and the evening drawing at the "monthly drink-n-draw". I wondered how

he can do such things with no art supplies. Indeed, a photo was posted of him

holding a pad and doing a nice piece in color at the drink-n-draw:

http://outside-affiliatelinksnotallowed.com/2elnlca

 

I guess people loan him supplies and then carry them off the second he is done.

You'd think he might ask for a measly pencil and one board so he could do this

for me.

 

I would avoid this guy at all cost -- I worked hard to earn the money to pay him

but all of that means nothing to Craig "Mini-Madoff." He took my money and two

years later, I have nothing whatsoever and apparently no hope.

 

I've tried to be patient and not call him out but jeez, saying you have no art

supplies and then posting you are painting and drawing is really inappropriate.

 

Michael

 

 

[jbud73]

Is it just me or does it seem as if every other artist that gets commissioned these days takes 2-4 years and has to be called out in public to deliver on the goods?

 

I have to say that A) this has really made me wary of commissioning anything and B) there is no way in H-E double hockey sticks that I would pay up front.

 

That sucks Michael, there are a buch of other threads of collectors having similar artist commission problems, might be worth a read to see how those people were eventually able to get things settled. It took time effort and a little bit of public advertising on open forums to get the job done in some cases. Patience in this case may NOT be a virtue for you.

 

[Brian Peck]

I wouldn't say every other artist. I only had one commission take a year all others were under 6 months.

 

 

 

[Michael (OML)]

Thanks for your comments.

 

The only reason I paid Craig upfront was that Bob Shaw, someone I trust, vouched for Craig getting it done and Craig said so in writing as well. So, Craig has burned me and burned Bob Shaw, one of the nicest and most trustworthy art agents in the business. Bob is as much a victim here as me.

 

I didn't want to call Craig out publicly but if he is telling the truth and he has NO paper and NO pencils, then NOBODY should be getting commissions from him as he has ZERO chance of delivery. If, as I suspect, there must be a way to find a pencil and get a single board (something I offered to send Bob and which Bob has said he could send to Craig), then there really is no excuse for him not doing the work. He posts on Facebook all day long. He has had months and months and months to do this piece.

 

Michael

[Michael (OML)]

Thanks for this; I'm going to check out these other boards too. Michael

[Scott Goodman]

Dude, I'm going through the same thing with an artist friend of mine, who spends his days posting on facebook (he even talks to me very often!), but who has not found the time in almost two years to do the sketch I PAID him for well in advance. It was supposed to be a birthday present nearly two years ago and he promised it again this birthday, but has since told me three or four times it's being finished as we speak, but it's still on his drawing board. He does assure me that when I get it, I will love it. I hope so. I won't call him out by name, but this is a problem with a LOT of artists who do commission work.

[Pirate]

i've been waiting since early june for a two week commission.

 

It's all part of the process in this hobby it seems and i'm confident I will get it.

[mister_not_so_nice]

 

I didn't want to call Craig out publicly but if he is telling the truth and he hasNO paper and NO pencils , then NOBODY should be getting commissions from him as he has ZERO chance of delivery.

 

Michael

 

Best excuse I have heard yet. Pure genius.

I've heard, wife lost her job, Mother sick, Mother died, Mother's hearse in a car accident, I need new tips for the airbrush thingie, Deadlines, I'm sick, Deadlines. The list goes on. But no pencil, no paper? That can only be topped by an email from the artist letting you know he is dead.

 

It is an excuse, though. I'm still dumbfounded how a guy can paint a cover a month for 6 years straight(plus one-shots and minis) on a title, like, say PREACHER, but can't managed to complete a commission for me(when I've seen others eh has done) since 2003. I've even gotten the "it's done, just needs to be shipped" line.

 

But this isn't about me, don't mean to derail the thread. Back to Craig. Ask him if he has looked on the other side of his desk. There is a whole of pencils right there!

[Michael (OML)]

Scott and Pirate,

 

Thanks for the comments. I've had to wait plenty of times so I do know the feeling. But when a guy says he has no art supplies at all and then you see him post that he is painting and you see pictures of him drawing, it seems like I'm getting the run-around.

 

 

 

Michael

[Scott Goodman]

I'm sorry to hear about Craig not delivering. I wanted a commission by him... Oh well. A friend of mine had a good experience getting a nice painting by Craig a few years back, so I had always thought he'd be professional and would deliver on time.

I haven't had the best luck in getting commissions on time over the years (one artist recently told me to send money and he'd do a commission for my birthday, but then forgot about it, got busy with deadline and conventions and I finally got it a couple weeks ago three months after my birthday had already passed), but I did get Ernie Chan to do a commission a few years back and he had it finished THE NIGHT I ASKED HIM TO DO IT and I sent him payment the next day. It was one of the most amazing experiences to actually get artwork done so quickly. A few others, like Steve Erwin and Luke McDonnell are true professionals and you get the work on time every time.

Russ Heath delivered on time, and John Byrne was super fast. Dan Parent was fast, as was Neal Adams. Dennis Fujitake was quick and so was Luis Dominguez (except that the late, great Arnold Drake lost my drawing somewhere in New York and had to get Luis to redraw everything).

The one artist who has taken so long to deliver my sketch has drawn several sketches and put them up for sale, but still can't find time to do mine.

[Michael (OML)]

These are great excuses...hadn't heard about the hearse having a car accident.

 

The great Marvel-Two-In-One guy had an artist who told him his mother died....then 2 years later, I believe the artist told him his mother was sick. Whoever heard of such a thing?

 

I am hearing lots of tales now abotu Craig repeating this behavior over and over....the guy is a mini-Madoff.

[Ferran Delgado]

It's hard for me to believe how some artists can be so much selfdestructive.

 

Many of these artists who can't deliver sooner than a couple of years and are masters of excuses, they are in desperate need of income, and were in dramatic circumstances not long ago.

 

If memory doesn't fail me, Craig Hamilton was about to lose his home a couple of years ago. And in spite of this dramatic stuation, he keeps cheating potential costumers and blows his market for comissions. Incredible...

 

And you can also find this kind of behaviour from artists who are in the list of artists in need posted at the Hero site. Some of them are more worried to get costumers who pay in advance than to deliver the paid job.

 

We're talking about jobs that takes no more than one or two days to finish...

 

Why should I to feel pity or give a damn about artists who ruin all of the countless opportunities they are given to get income and make a living? I feel pity about people who can't get a second opportunity, in spite of they deserve it, which is not the case of Graig...

[comicartcom]

Good excuses artists can use:

 

I've only pencilled the left half.. part of my brain isn't working, so I can't pencil the right half

 

well I needed the money then, I don't need it now. So I'm going to wait until I need money again so my artistic juices are right

 

I mistakenly mailed your art out to AT&T with my phone payment.. I'm waiting for them to send it back

 

my dog chewed on your art. I'm going to chew on my dog

 

I'm busy studying fraud with Bernie Madoff. After we finsih the next scam, I have your art in the queue

 

I'll finish it after I have my ice cream

 

my dog peed in my paint can

 

my cat peed on my dog while he was peeing in the paint can, so there's lots of pee in my paint

 

and of course, I have no lead in my pencil.

[AKA Rick]

Taking lead from Ferran's comments, which I agree with. In my opinion...

 

If artists are charging fees for their services, it's a business, and like most professional business owners, there should be a greater attention to customer service and satisfaction.

 

If cash in advance is requested, there should be a contract with the terms and conditions outlined. If the terms of the contract are not met, then there should be legal recourse for compensation, at minimum a refund that comes without having to beg or jump through hoops through unanswered emails. If an artist is too busy to respond to emails, they should be too busy to take money.

 

Ideally, I think commissions should be structured with a 20% deposit that's refundable if the terms are not met by the artist, and held by the artist if the terms are violated by the customer.

 

The terms can be negotiated by the artist and the customer. I know some artists prefer showing prelims. I know some artists do not like being "art directed" with specific poses or requests that stifle their creativity. Some artists take longer than others. Some artists need reference material. Some artists don't feel comfortable drawing certain characters. I do think it's an artists right to refuse requests.

 

Because art is subjective, of course delivery of the final work and a customers level of satisfaction will vary, but I think if an artist delivers the promised product, the quality of their work will result in referrals, repeat business and a general sense of admiration within the art community. Those who fall asleep at the wheel will eventually see a decline in requests for commission work. So, with that, I'd not argue the point of perceived quality when a piece is done. That's the inherant risk associated with this type of work and the hobby.

 

The problem with paying an artist up front is the customer is held hostage. To be persistent or to be a pest, how much communication is too much? Most fans fear the artist, if they are too pesky, the artist might just crank out a fast inferrior piece just to get rid of the customer. It seems like most art collectors sometimes coddle the artists egos with that very fear, almost like customers of Seinfeld's Soup Nazi. It's almost humorous to see some fans treat artists like porcelain figurines in their approach. Some almost seem deathly affraid, where others have blatant brown noses with their ego stroking of the artists.

 

In what other business, does a paying customer surrender so many of their rights and tollerate sometimes obscene business behavior (and this applies not only to artists, but some of the art dealers / representative out there who lack social graces and business etiquette with not only their quirky demands on how to order, but their poor, if not rude communication to customers lecturing them if they accidentally neglect one of the steps (whereas if you went any retailer, the salespeople are trained to help walk a customer through the process with kindness) - - I've experienced it at conventions as well as online, as have other fellow art collectors.

 

I'm not sure of the percentage of incidents where an artist takes a commission up front without payment and then the collector defaults on payment either by flat out refusing the art (which to me is sort of insulting to the artist) or falls off the face of the earth (usually it's a customer's rude buyer's remorse or poor economic planning) and stiffs the artist. A saving grace usually is if the artist is established, they can still salvage the situation by selling the piece to another collector (unless it's a specific request that's not mainstream). I have compassion towards artists in these situations.

 

It just sounds like it's getting more commonplace that the artist, who is running a business by accepting money, is not accepting the obligation or treating the customer with professional respect, with constant excuses and delays, non-communicaton and ultimately sometimes not completing the work (and isn't that basically stealing or fraud?)

 

If an artist takes a commission assignment and does not take any cash in advance, as many artist choose to do, which enables them to default or delay the request, I personally thing that's okay - since there's no financial outlay, there's no exposure for the collector. That, to me is fair and not something anyone should really complain about. Most of those artists who use this, no cash up front system are typically the ones who are either busy or know they're schedules are hectic, so are smart not to obligate themselves and are up front with the terms and timing usually.

 

As patrons, it's our obligation to ourselves to take back the power (economic) and choose who we want to support and avoid those we don't want to. It's up to us, as the ones spending the money to ensure the terms and conditions are laid out to our own level of comfort, and to have that safety net of some sort of recourse, even if through litigation to protect our consumer rights.

 

Maybe there's an art collector who is a lawyer that can draft out a simple contract for commissioned art to share with fans to use when dealing with artists. Not one with threats of lawsuits and damages, but a basic one that outlines a delivery date and enables the customer to get their money refunded if not handled with that reasonable time. Just a thought...

[CollectingFool]

If artists are charging fees for their services, it's a business, and like most professional business owners, there should be a greater attention to customer service and satisfaction.

 

Where do you live? I can't remember the last time I got GOOD customer service anyplace other than a restaurant. Customer service in the business world is dead, a casualty of cost cutting and overseas outsourcing. At least with artists I don't have to navigate through phone options with a recorded operator for 15 minutes before being "accidentally" disconnected.

 

Richie may have been joking but he gave the most accurate excuse of them all:

 

well I needed the money then, I don't need it now. So I'm going to wait until I need money again so my artistic juices are right

 

The only problem with that is if you paid in advance then the motivation to do your piece never returns. Some artists are flakey, Some professional procrastinators and some just don't care. Whatever the reason the one lesson to learn is DON'T prepay in full and if possible get a dated receipt for a deposit. It's your money. If they aren't going to treat it like a business, you should.

 

 

[Antithesis-migration]

 

Michael,

 

To Mr. Delgado's earlier comment: I have actually heard the "I'm losing my house" story concerning Mr. Hamilton TWICE, now. Once actually resulted in an art benefit for him, as I recall.

 

A thought: I see that Mr. Hamilton currently intends on attending Heroes Con this year. Perhaps if you were to confront him face-to-face (or at least have a representative do so), you might get the satisfaction at watching him squirm uncomfortably at the very least...and your piece, at the very best.

 

In any case, I hope you get your piece. Not in small part, of course, because I'm currently being held hostage by Tommy Castillo in a similar fashion.

 

 

casl

[Michael (OML)]

From my perspective, the sole and only reason I paid upfront was that Craig Hamilton promised Bob Shaw, art agent, and me that he would get the piece done very quickly. He made that promise in writing because I said I do not like to pay upfront and then wait months and months. Now, 2 years later, I'm exactly where I do not want to be with the man. I'm out my money and he has delivered absolutely nothing?

 

What kind of human being behaves like this? Even worse, I'm getting emails from multiple fans that he has done this to them and they have been waiting much longer than me. Ungh. Just terrible. This guy needs to honor his commitments.

 

Michael

[Rich_Henn]

Whatever happened to "You get paid when the job is done"

 

There's a guy I am friendly with that has handled sketch covers for a local artist by him and the guy collected his money and has been taking forever and a day to deliver.

 

IMHO, it seems like the sense of urgency is out the window once they have the money. IE, there's nothing left to work toward.

 

Perhaps a small deposit, that's not unreasonable, but if you pay someone in full up front------ouch.

[Hart1000]

Artists that do this = JACKHOLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mrpunch0]

I got a commission from Craig (with absolutely no problems - in fact, he went above and beyond my expectations in both execution and turn-around time) a couple of years ago. At that time, I would not have had ANY second thoughts about recommending him to someone looking for a commission.

 

Craig is a very talented artist and it's sad to see that he's fallen into this hole.