A few questions about original art

[Lobster Johnson]

For those of you that collect original art - what kind of pieces do you look for? Are there any specific artists you collect pieces from? Commission type pieces, interior pages, or covers? Do you have any “grail pages” you’d like to get someday?
My collection is made up of two Tonci Zonjic pages from Get The Lobster!, a Stan Sakai commission-type Usagi drawing (although I was not the person that originally commissioned it), a few sketches from a local artist that was at my local comic shop on Free Comic Book Day, and a convention sketch of The Lobster from Art Baltazar.
I try to get interior pages when I can (most of my favorite artists don’t accept commissions, and covers are too expensive).
How do you keep your art safe and display it? I've been keeping my three bigger pieces (the Usagi one and the Lobster pages) in the transparent bags that they were shipped to me in, but I plan to get a portfolio binder soon. I would use frames, but they can be pricey.
Here's one of my Lobster pages (I'll post pictures of the other one too, but I'm not sure how to make a post have more than one attachment):

[Usagi-chan]

I also have a convention sketch by Art Baltazar, but mine is of Usagi. I've been meaning to upload a picture.

[Lobster Johnson]

Here's my other Lobster page:

[maichan]

This is a good subject to discuss!

I have a very modest collection of original artwork. Most is from Stan, but I do have a few other pieces from other artists.

While I do like interior artwork I prefer stand-alone type of pieces - covers, commissions, single works.

On the art I do have, I try to focus on something I can get 'in person' from the artist. So in general, I don't buy off eBay. I think the biggest thing that holds me back from owning more art is 1) the cost, and 2) not attending comic cons and meeting the artists in person.

In my way of thinking I include the sketches that artists might do in a book. In that sense my first piece was a small sketch by Sergio Aragonés in my copy of the Groo Chronicles. This was done at a signing in 1994.



While it is not a stand alone piece of art, it was my beginning, and unfortunately was my only piece for over 15 years.

It wasn't until sometime around 2011 that I became active on the Dojo, that my collection began to grow. It started with book signings and sketches from Stan. Most of my Stan Sakai/Usagi Yojimbo collection can be seen in my gallery - http://www.usagiyojimbo.com/forum3/view ... f=9&t=5965

The high point was meeting Stan at Long Beach Comic Con in late 2011 and having him do my first quick sketch. I had a plan in mind to have a set of 4 images that I would call my Seasons collection. This one is Winter.





That was followed the next year by another quick sketch from Wondercon in Anaheim.

Spring.


Stan also did a Stan as Usagi sketch.


These first two pieces are framed and now hang in my hallway.



Last year (2014) I made a trade with Stan for a DVD collection and I proudly received this watercolor in exchange.
This piece is now framed in the same manner as the twp quicksketches above.



Then in February of this year (2015) I met Stan again at the Long Beach Comic Expo, where I unexpectedly purchased two original works from his sales portfolio.





And finally are these two remaining sketches from my Seasons collection that Kyle (jabba359) picked up for me from Stan at this year's SDCC.


Summer


Autumn


One of my few other pieces is this work by Ricardo Delgado done at a signing for the Sakai Project (August 2014)


And some small pieces from LBCE 2015 by Katie Cook


And, I just added a sketch from a Hot Wheels designer (Ryu Asada).


I would love to be able to own original art of all my favorite artists.
Maybe one day I will get more. My list of artists would include:
Mike Mignola
Arthur Adams
Frank Millar
Michael Jantze
Guy Davis
Jeff Smith
David Petersen
Adam Hughes
Geof Darrow
Mike Kunkel
Sergio Aragonés
William Stout
Paul Chadwick
Frank Cho
Skottie Young

... and sooooo many more.

Sorry for the long ramble, but it feels good sharing the "what & why" of my hobbies. Most of my friends and peers aren't into the things I am, so it's nice to be able to share my passions with those that do.

[Eltanin]

Great topic!
And nice pages!

I am interested in all kind of pieces and I have a bit of everything: Commission type pieces, interior pages, covers, prelims.... but I consider the interior pages to be the core of my collection, even though they may not be the majority of what I have.
I like comics because it's a sequential art, and I like to have pieces capturing this characteristic. Since the only pieces capturing the sequential aspect of comics are interior pages, this is what I consider my core collection. For the same reason, contrary to most american collectors, I tend to prefer panel pages or half-splashes over full splashes with a single image (the fact that panel pages are cheaper also help ).

That doesn't mean I don't like covers, splashes or pin-ups. I do love them, and it's easier to find a nice single image than a nice panel page that will satisfy me (because in the first case, I only need to like one image, while in the latter, I need to like all of the panels), and interiors can sometimes seem "incomplete" since the story usually started before the beginning of the page and will finish after its last panel too.

I also like to ask commissions from artists. There is some charm in the idea that a drawing has been made specifically for me (yes, it's my ego speaking ). Whenever an artist accept to do a commission for me, I feel like a kid at christmas, waiting to open the gifts (or in this case, to discover what the commission looks like).

Besides a sketch which was done by Stan Sakai a few years ago, I don't have any Usagi piece. But that should be fixed.... soon.


As I mentioned in an other topic, I keep most of my art in portfolio binders, with a few framed pieces.

As for the grails I'd like to have, and might actually have one day (whatever distant in the future that day may be):
-A published Usagi cover by Stan Sakai
-An Uncle Scrooge Don Rosa page
-A Watchmen page
-A Jim Lee page
-An Eisner page
And plenty others

As for the grails I'd like to have, but will likely not manage to due to the prices, and will remain dreams forever:
-An Astérix page (it's only 200K for a nice one)
-An Hergé panel (the last double page was sold for 1.6 million euros. So it's unlikely I'll ever get a full page. Maybe a single panel? )
-An Uncle Scrooge Carl Barks page.
-A smurf Peyo page
-A Peanuts strip
-A Calvin and Hobbes strip
And plenty others.

Sorry for the long ramble, but it feels good sharing the "what & why" of my hobbies. Most of my friends and peers aren't into the things I am, so it's nice to be able to share my passions with those that do.

I hear you. Most of my friends don't even react to my art on the wall, and last time I mentioned a painting was an original and not a copy, the only reaction was "Oh, okay.".

[Lobster Johnson]

Great topic!
And nice pages!

I am interested in all kind of pieces and I have a bit of everything: Commission type pieces, interior pages, covers, prelims.... but I consider the interior pages to be the core of my collection, even though they may not be the majority of what I have.
I like comics because it's a sequential art, and I like to have pieces capturing this characteristic. Since the only pieces capturing the sequential aspect of comics are interior pages, this is what I consider my core collection. For the same reason, contrary to most american collectors, I tend to prefer panel pages or half-splashes over full splashes with a single image (the fact that panel pages are cheaper also help ).

I agree with you on that point. A big part of comics is the storytelling from panel to panel, so panel pages make great additions to art collections. Not that I don't love splash-page or commission type pieces (although I don't actually own any splash pages). I have been saving for a half-splash page for a while, though, so hopefully I'll get that soon.

As for the grails I'd like to have, and might actually have one day (whatever distant in the future that day may be):
-A published Usagi cover by Stan Sakai
-An Uncle Scrooge Don Rosa page
-A Watchmen page
-A Jim Lee page
-An Eisner page
-A Peanuts strip
And plenty others

As for the grails I'd like to have, but will likely not manage to due to the prices, and will remain dreams forever:
-An Astérix page (it's only 200K for a nice one)
-An Hergé panel (the last double page was sold for 1.6 million euros. So it's unlikely I'll ever get a full page. Maybe a single panel? )
-An Uncle Scrooge Carl Barks page.
-A smurf Peyo page
And plenty others.

I would love to have an original Peanuts comic. They can be really pricey though! There are a few great Peanuts books put together by Chip Kidd, I think, that have tons of pictures of the original art.

[Eltanin]

I would love to have an original Peanuts comic. They can be really pricey though! There are a few great Peanuts books put together by Chip Kidd, I think, that have tons of pictures of the original art.

Yeah, I just went to check peanuts prices. Didn't realise they were so high.
So I moved it to the "unlikely to ever get" list, and also added Calvin and Hobbes.

[Usagi-chan]

Calvin and Hobbes original art would be awesome to get! That would be super expensive, though.

[Mayhem]

Bill Watterson rarely let anything go afaik, which is why anything out there is so expensive.

As for what I collect, I think my CAF page speaks for itself heh. http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDeta ... GCat=43641

What am I still looking for? An early (first few issues) page or two of volume 1 TMNT. Anything commission or non published TMNT from 1986 or earlier. Anything Mouse Guard pre 2009. Not much really

[jabba359]

*My original art from Stan already has a thread (http://usagiyojimbo.com/forum3/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=7048), so I'm posting my non-Stan Sakai original art here.

My first commission was at San Diego Comic Con in 2014. I picked up an Usagi, Gen and Spot watercolor from Stan and got a Nikola Tesla commission from one of my favorite artists, Christopher Uminga. Since then I've picked up quite a few things.

Nikola Tesla by Christopher Uminga. I first found out about Christopher from the Usagi-themed Baltimore Comic Con yearbook, where he had a piece. I loved his style, so when I saw he was taking commissions at San Diego Comic Con (my first convention), I knew I had to get him to do my very first commission.


I also picked up a blank Rocket Raccoon cover and Jeff Smith did a quick sketch for me.


Jason, a Norwegian artist was supposed to have some originals at SDCC '14, but the art dealer forgot to bring them to the show, so they let me pick a piece once they were uploaded to the website before they listed them to the public. I ended up choosing this Night of the Vampire Hunter piece.


At Stan Lee's Comikaze that same year, I was getting my Sakai Project book signed by Megan Levens and noticed that she had a cool black and white Buffy the Vampire Slayer piece in her portfolio for sale. I've wanted a Buffy for a while and liked what she did, so asked for a color commission. After getting it, she told me that she was actually going to be drawing three upcoming issues of the Buffy comic book (published early this year). This commission actually made it into the back of the Buffy TPB that just came out the other month.


Also at Comikaze, I met Megan Hutchison, who also did a piece in the Sakai Project. She had a great supernatural vibe to her work, so I had a Mulder and Scully done. I have to admit, this is my least favorite commission I've gotten, but at least it was fairly inexpensive.


Around the same time, one of my favorite artists, Rob Duenas, was running a Kickstarter campaign and I had contributed. I happened to be home and looked at my email and noticed that he had just added two commission spots and the email had just gone out. I immediately looked and saw one spot was already taken and, without hesitation, changed my pledge to get the other spot. It was a commission for a single character, but I asked if I could get slightly less complex piece of Princess Mononoke with a wolf (and maybe a Kodoma). Being a big fan of Miyazaki, he said that he was going to go all out and I got not only one wolf, but the second one with a bunch of Kodomas as well. We've since become fairly good friends. What's cool is that he includes all three major steps of the process: the line work (inked), the copic colored piece, and then a print with the digitally colored background.

[jabba359]

(apologies for the variety of picture sizes)

I kicked off 2015 with a commission from Savy Lim. I believe a couple Dojo members own some of his Usagi-themed originals. One of my favorite movies of 2014 was Guardians of the Galaxy, and I really enjoyed Rocket Raccoon and Groot. So I commissioned an inked piece. Besides getting the inked piece, Savy also gave me the original pencils (sorry for the bad scan) and, since he digitally colored it to turn into a print, tossed in a print as well.


Wil Panganiban was yet another contributor to The Sakai Project. I originally met him at a Frank and Sons signing in 2014, where he gave me a free copy of his collection of Frank & Steinway comic strips. The book was great and I decided to get an original from him. I managed to catch up with him at Anaheim Wondercon, where he gave me too good of a deal so I ended up with two originals, one of Frank as well as one of Frank & Steinway from a Christmas story arc.


While at Wondercon, I also got my first two commission covers done (the Jeff Smith Rocket Raccoon from the year before was just a quick sketch, so not really a commission). I had brought a couple blank covers and as I browsed the artists alley, found a few people who were doing great work and would fit the characters.
Princess Leia #1 by Ryan Odagawa


Avengers World #1 by Evan James Limberger (Captain America) and Josef Sison (Wolverine)


The following month (May), Jonathan Marks posted that he was taking commissions. His piece in The Sakai Project was one of my favorites and I was also a big fan of his animal illustrations, which I saw at the Frank and Sons as well. He does great leathery/scaly animal textures, so knew he'd be perfect for Gen. When he was done, we met up at a local comic book shop and I was blown away by the finished piece. He also brought along his portfolio and let me check out the original Wolverine art he had done for Marvel. As it happened, that issue was on the shelf and it was cool browsing the original art as I flipped though the comic.


One year after getting my first commission, it was time for San Diego Comic Con again. My Tesla piece from the year before is still one of my favorites, so when Christopher Uminga said he was taking commissions again (only head shots though), I knew I wanted to get another. Sticking with the scientist theme, I asked for Albert Einstein.


Christopher Uminga's partner in crime is Christie Zullo, who I purchased my first prints from the previous year and was also a contributor to the Baltimore Comic Con Usagi yearbook. This time, I knew I wanted an original from her. She was only taking commissions at the show, so when I got there I gave her two character options: Edward Scissorhands or Indiana Jones. She said she had done Edward before, but not Indy, and she's a big Indiana Jones fan. So that's who I went with.


Ever since seeing his work, I've wanted a Mark Brooks original. He only took two commissions for SDCC this year, but offered to do quick sketches on the last day if he had time. Luckily, he ended up having time so I got this Faun from Pan's Labyrinth done. I'd still like to get a full on commission from him one of these days, but this was pretty cool.


Rob Duenas (who did my Princess Mononoke) offered to do a sketchcard for the trivia giveaway. I gave him a card and he painted one, but wasn't happy with how the paper I gave him took the watercolors. So he did another one with his own paper (which was part of the September giveaway) and I kept the "bad" one.

[Lobster Johnson]

Cool pieces, Jabba.

I would love to get a commission sometime, but most of my favorite artists are too busy for them. I also don’t make it to many conventions, so I haven’t commissioned any pieces at conventions either (besides the Art Baltazar sketch).

I hope you can get a good Usagi piece soon, Eltanin. There are some great ones for sale on Stan’s website. I also hope you can find what you’re looking for, Mayhem.

I love Calvin and Hobbes, and to own original art from it would be incredible (especially one of the Tracer Bullet stories - those are some of my favorites). Unfortunately, that is also on my list of art I’ll likely never get (I haven’t seen the prices for Calvin and Hobbes art, but I’d imagine they’re pretty high).

Does anyone else occasionally take their art out of the frame to admire it? I don't do it very often, but I tried it the other day. It has an interesting effect - you can really see the individual brush strokes and whatnot.

[jabba359]

Does anyone else occasionally take their art out of the frame to admire it? I don't do it very often, but I tried it the other day. It has an interesting effect - you can really see the individual brush strokes and whatnot.

I only have a couple framed pieces. Most of them live in an Itoya art portfolio, so they're easy to remove.

[Eltanin]

Jabba, it seems there is something wrong with the hosting of your pictures. Several of them seem to be cropped, and the Leia doesn't appear at all.
But nice collection indeed.

Maichan, I think I already said it, but I absolutely love your 4 seasons commissions, they make a nice set together. I wish I could have similar ideas for having themed set of commissions, but my mind is not good at this.

I hope you can get a good Usagi piece soon, Eltanin.

Thank you, but don't worry about that. My sentence was not a wish, it was a hint at something to come soon.
Another hint: My name is not Simone.

I love Calvin and Hobbes, and to own original art from it would be incredible (especially one of the Tracer Bullet stories - those are some of my favorites). Unfortunately, that is also on my list of art I’ll likely never get (I haven’t seen the prices for Calvin and Hobbes art, but I’d imagine they’re pretty high).

Between 50K and 200K, roughly. Scott Williams, the inker who works regularly with Jim Lee (and plenty others) has a very nice one:
http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiec ... &GSub=8288

Does anyone else occasionally take their art out of the frame to admire it? I don't do it very often, but I tried it the other day. It has an interesting effect - you can really see the individual brush strokes and whatnot.

I tried to open one of my frames recently, but it's sealed, and I didn't dare risk to damage it. But yes, it is very interesting to look closely at the details of the pieces. I often look at those in my portfolio.

[Gaffey]

And some small pieces from LBCE 2015 by Katie Cook

Is this your dog? I love her little paintings.

I only have a couple framed pieces. Most of them live in an Itoya art portfolio, so they're easy to remove.

I also keep mine in Itoya Profolios.

Thank you, but don't worry about that. My sentence was not a wish, it was a hint at something to come soon.
Another hint: My name is not Simone.

Is this yours? I hope so.

http://stansakai.com/usagi-website-is-i ... and-italy/

When I first saw it I immediately went to the Gallery to see if it was for sale. I should have read the entire blog post first.