How long between art buys?

[Eric Seffinga]

I see people posting art days on CAF, sometimes more than 1 a week, for years. And then poof, major selloff and all gone from the hobby. Some other folks rarely ever seem to post new art, or at least don't share when they do.

 

So I was curious, from the point people bought their first piece of OA, what's been the longest period of time they have gone without making an art purchase?

 

As an aside, do you feel like activity or inactivity effect your interest in art, and or art collecting?

 

Please feel free to add how long you've been involved as an OA collector, and any associated anecdotes that are semi-related if you like.

 

[vodou]

Started in 1993, got my first original right off the artist's table and then went on a multi-year hiatus. Unlike comics where you can complete a run, I knew immediately there was no end to this hobby. That scared me.

 

A few years later I was back and haven't really stopped since, dropping all other hobbies along the way. Understand I mean "art" though, not just comic art (I don't draw the distinction). Made the mistake of selling that first piece to Eric Roberts in 1999 but luckily got it back from Jim Cardillo in 2006 (whew!) Haven't made (too) many mistakes since...

[Eric Seffinga]

I bought my first piece from a guy set up at a local comic "show", in 1992, back when they used to do these monthly comics shows in a Tysons Corner hotel ballroom. In fact those shows were good for my OA buying hobby, as I wasn't traveling out of state to go look for the stuff for a number of years after that. Just buying from ads in CBG, and eventually got hooked up with the catalogs from the various dealers that offered them, and eventually the internet.

 

But that first piece opened my eyes, as prior to seeing it, somehow I never realized that OA would be available to actually purchase from people. And through the whole of the 90s, I was on an OA tear. But after my wife and I got married and moved into our new house, I had switched my total focus to my other slightly more ongoing love, guitars.

 

And so for a little over 5 years, I didn't buy any art at all. Just happy with the work I had bought the previous 8 years. And then I saw a piece, sold one of my guitars and jumped on it with both feet. I also sold off a bunch of the art I ahd accumulated that just wasn't speaking to me as much as it had when purchased originally, and it was this period that I really began to understand what made a keeper piece for me, vs just something I merely liked.

 

From there, it didn't take long until I was really back into art again. Since then, the guitars have mostly gone, and the art has grown. This year, I've really only added 1 piece of art that has yet to be shipped to me. I've slowed down a lot again. A little something here or there, but saturation of the walls dictates that something go for something else to come in, and after all previous attrition, it has to be really really special to know what's left off a perch.

 

We'll see if it goes another 5 years, starting after this last piece shows up (the story we all tell ourselves each time).

 

-e.

[AnkurJ]

Took a break for 5-6 years at one point.

[alxjhnsn]

Started in 2005 and haven't stopped.

[zhamlau]

First page bought at the motor City Comic con in 1987 off Keith Pollards table. He had stacks of art for 5.00 a page. Passed on all those boring like ASM fight pages and Fantastic Four splashes...went straight for the good stuff, New Mutants issue 39 pages BOO YAH!

 

Between 1999 and 2009 didnt buy any art, infact sold a fair amount to finish paying for college. Started back up in 2009 when i found my old portfolio that had a Charles Schulz peanuts1952 daily i forgot about and some other good pages. been going nuts ever since.

 

 

[Peter G]

On again/Off again since buying from the Donnellys catalog in 1985. Shipped them my money for a copy of their catalog every few years. Sometimes the catalog was sent. Most of the time they just kept my dollar. To this day - every time I hear of San Mateo I associate it with the Donnellys and the excitement of looking at the art in their catalogs.

[Lucky Baru]

I buy all the time. Have been doing so since the mid-1990's. I'm not rich so nobody takes notice of my purchases as they are not flashy. However, I have put together a pretty nice collection this way. Sometimes you get lucky and the trash of today's collectors becomes the sought out page of tomorrow's collector. Sometimes that doesn't happen.

[Brian Peck]

On again/Off again since buying from the Donnellys catalog in 1985. Shipped them my money for a copy of their catalog every few years. Sometimes the catalog was sent. Most of the time they just kept my dollar. To this day - every time I hear of San Mateo I associate it with the Donnellys and the excitement of looking at the art in their catalogs.

 

I started back in 1986 first piece I bought was from the Donnelleys at Wonder Con. Back then being on the west coast I only went to one con and most of my purchases were thru CBG and I was a poor college student.

Peter how long did you wait for the Donnelley catalogue? I had been to their comic book store in San Mateo, one of the worse comic shops I have ever been in. Completely disorganized comics stacked everywhere. For 5 years they promised a comic art catalogue , amazed they finally came out with one.

[Nexus]

I buy all the time. Have been doing so since the mid-1990's. I'm not rich so nobody takes notice of my purchases as they are not flashy. However, I have put together a pretty nice collection this way. Sometimes you get lucky and the trash of today's collectors becomes the sought out page of tomorrow's collector. Sometimes that doesn't happen.

 

This sounds like what voudou has described in his own collecting. And, as he has pointed out, he's done very well financially this way. Whether that was your intent or not, congrats on buying at the right time, and more importantly, having a nice collection to enjoy.

 

I'd been aware of art for a while before I dove in headfirst in late 2005. It's been non-stop ever since. My major wants are thankfully, for the most part, taken care of, so it's mostly commissions for me now. A relatively cheap way to scratch the itch.

[Peter G]

On again/Off again since buying from the Donnellys catalog in 1985. Shipped them my money for a copy of their catalog every few years. Sometimes the catalog was sent. Most of the time they just kept my dollar. To this day - every time I hear of San Mateo I associate it with the Donnellys and the excitement of looking at the art in their catalogs.

 

I started back in 1986 first piece I bought was from the Donnelleys at Wonder Con. Back then being on the west coast I only went to one con and most of my purchases were thru CBG and I was a poor college student.

Peter how long did you wait for the Donnelley catalogue? I had been to their comic book store in San Mateo, one of the worse comic shops I have ever been in. Completely disorganized comics stacked everywhere. For 5 years they promised a comic art catalogue , amazed they finally came out with one.

 

I waited forever for the Donnelley's catalog. And by forever, I really mean it. Most of the time the catalog never came. I followed up with phone calls usually to no avail. But I sent them a few dollars every couple of years and every blue man, a catalog would arrive. I was a kid so I would just chalk it up to a loss. I was buying the art because I liked it. Not for any monetary value. So if a catalog didnt arrive, I just accepted it. I didnt get all bent out of shape. Things were different back then in the way things worked.

[CartoonFanboy]

I started collecting in 2000 at the end of my Senior year of College. I bought regularly up into 2005 when I started to slow down my buying to pursue other hobbies. By early 2006 I had stopped buying altogether (though I did not sell anything).

 

I stayed out of the hobby until December of 2009 when I bought a single page for less than $100. I did not purchase anything else until a year later in 2010 when I got another cheap page from the annual Spencer Beck sale.

 

In 2011 the craving returned in full force though. I bought numerous pages that year and have been collecting more than ever these last 5 or so years.

[Rune]

I have not been collecting for long, but have bought my 14 pieces over 17 months - so less than two months between pieces. I'm not sure I can keep up that speed, to me it seems it's getting harder to find a piece I truly like. And I'm running low on wall space (= the wall space that my dear wife thinks is available for comic art ) I do believe that art should be framed and not be hidden away...

[Rodey]

I haven't purchased anything in a year. Either due to funds or being outbid. 2016...here I come!

[AKA Rick]

I think I'm seeing a lot of my peers scale back their collections to refine their focus, and with that it typically means also bigger pieces, so the excitement of us as novices entering the hobby, picking up pieces on impulse has become a bit more tactical where there's both patience and a process called "saving up" as well.

 

I think all of these online reps/dealers as well as auctions are making it so easy to shop from home with greater frequency where back in the days it was mainly through conventions and other sources that were far and few between.

 

I know a lot of my peers who just like to pick up something here or there in the smaller dollar range just 'cuz it makes 'em happy, for the fun of the hobby too.

 

The main problem with original art is, they're all one of a kind, so many have this mentality of, if they pass on it, they'll maybe regret it, so would just as quickly snatch a piece up and figure out later on if they were too hasty with remorse or not than to lose that opportunity they may regret not acting upon for the purchase.

[Phantalien]

I don't collect art pages like you guys do. I try to get sketches when I am at cons. I filled up one book and am working on another. the amount of $$$ spent was minimal but having a piece of art that was drawn in front of me as I could see each stroke is awe inspiring and more meaningful than buying a page.

[Terry Doyle]

I started collecting early 1982 via the Russ Cochran Comic Art Auctions. Steadily bought a lot of art from Russ for over a decade (four auctions per year), my purchases comprising of mostly EC artwork (several hundred pages worth of covers and complete stories).

 

Along the way, I was also collecting prime British artwork (Frank Hampson, Frank Bellamy, Don Lawrence . . . a bunch of guys folks here have probably never heard of due to the fact they didn't do any work for the American market . . . bit like other European comic-strips that remain highly-popular). Hey, just remembered . . . John Byrne's a big collector of Frank Bellamy artwork (he owns some of my old originals!).

 

British art (the good stuff) was tough to locate, and often involved a lot of leg work, following possible leads,writing to and meeting fellow collectors (and the odd professional). Interestingly, whenever meetings took place with other UK collectors, more often than not we would just sit around talking about the art, not how much we thought it was worth. Trades or sales could be negotiated, but not in any mercenary fashion (sometimes it would be more important seeing the right type of artwork ending up with the right type of collector . . . strange as that might sound). Friendships would be made along the way, many of which still endure.

 

In a way, the pre-internet days of collecting art reminds me of pre-slabbed comic-books. I have a comics-collecting friend whom I visit every couple of months (been visiting him these past 30 years). He's not into graded/encapsulated comic-books, so we just chat away about various common-interests, such as movies and classic TV shows (amongst other things). When the subject turns to his comics collection, we talk about the artwork and the stories, not the condition of the books (decent reading-copies are sufficient for my friend). In a similar sort of way, I'm reminded of those pre-internet days when OA discussions (with like-minded friends) leaned more towards aesthetics, rather than the financial side. Nowadays, OA collectors like to focus on the financial side of the hobby . . . comic-book collectors are similarly hip to grades/condition. I understand that.

 

But I digress . . .

 

Back to the question posed by Eric, "How long between art buys?"

 

Fact is, I'm pretty much done with high-end artwork acquisitions (which I'm more inclined to sell in any case). I'm still collecting (difficult habit to kick), but nothing too expensive (I have a monthly budget set aside for possible artwork purchases). Buying art can be like waiting for a bus . . . you wait around for ages, then three show up at once. As such, no regular buying pattern. When the right piece comes up, at the right price, I'll go for it.

 

[Lucky Baru]

I buy all the time. Have been doing so since the mid-1990's. I'm not rich so nobody takes notice of my purchases as they are not flashy. However, I have put together a pretty nice collection this way. Sometimes you get lucky and the trash of today's collectors becomes the sought out page of tomorrow's collector. Sometimes that doesn't happen.

 

This sounds like what voudou has described in his own collecting. And, as he has pointed out, he's done very well financially this way. Whether that was your intent or not, congrats on buying at the right time, and more importantly, having a nice collection to enjoy.

 

I'd been aware of art for a while before I dove in headfirst in late 2005. It's been non-stop ever since. My major wants are thankfully, for the most part, taken care of, so it's mostly commissions for me now. A relatively cheap way to scratch the itch.

 

It works. Most of my collection has been purchased for under $300.00 a page. Sure every now and then I buy something that cost more.

 

 

[AKA Rick]

I don't collect art pages like you guys do. I try to get sketches when I am at cons. I filled up one book and am working on another. the amount of $$$ spent was minimal but having a piece of art that was drawn in front of me as I could see each stroke is awe inspiring and more meaningful than buying a page.

 

I agree with your approach in that whenever I buy an unpublished piece that's a commission, I'd usually pass. Buying other people's commissions has less appeal to me when you see them on eBay or offered up anywhere. For me, the whole appeal of collecting commissions is the experience of direct engagement and the feeling "this piece was done for me" which is a wonderful memory to cherish, whether it's a quick free doodle or elaborate piece paid for.

[theflashunc]

I'm at about a piece per year, on average. Some years are more fruitful than others.