Out with the old, in with the new!

For the longest time, I bought comic art and convention sketches and commissioned commissions and never considered selling anything. Never even considered it. Then slowly the pieces accumulated, and I mean accumulated. I made my much-talked-about decision to have a collection, and not an accumulation, and I culled the herd. Once commerce enters the equation feelings change. Pieces previously viewed for aesthetic reasons alone were viewed with new eyes and the herd thinned and many did not make it through the night. Some are mourned still. The Sienkiewicz painting of a woman swimmer, one arm slightly longer than the other. The Corben Hellboy page. The John Buscema/Sienkiewicz page with a full figure Silver Surfer on it that I traded for something I cherish to this day. The Tony Harris What If cover. The Tony Harris Chronos 9 cover. The 2 Tony Harris Jack Galaxy pinup pieces that I traded to...TONY HARRIS...because he wanted them back and who can resist an artist who wants their own art back. Anyway, he don't have to worry...Tony can have anything he wants that I have, all he has to do is ask.

Anyway.

Batman Grendel I (Hunter Rose) art /story by Matt Wagner

At one point many moons ago I decided to focus on 3 things: Starman, Dr. Strange and Grendel. The remnants of Grendel remain, although perhaps not for much longer as I shall discuss below, but Starman and Dr. Strange have indeed come to dominate my collection in the sheer number of pieces (over a hundred pages and fifty drawings of Starman and related characters and over one hundred drawings and fifty pages of Dr. Strange and related characters) and probably in total amount of money spent. Convention sketches of Dr. Strange dominated my art budget for many years. And selling things has become a part of how I collect my art. For a certain price every item I own is available. The best and my favorite pieces would require crazy money, as it were, but some number would suffice. I have sold over 200 pieces in the last decade and have spent all that I reaped and more on acquiring new pieces. Many of the pieces I have sold have lost me money. many more than I would like to admit. But that too is okay. Many pieces break about even in the cosmic "even Steven" of comic art collecting and some sell well. I started 5-10 years too late to really get in and acquire the pieces that bring big dollars now and never kept anything giant in all that time.

The Superman/Madman Hullabaloo by Mike Allred

But I have come to see that this course requires further correction and refinement. Blind ambition has again proven reckless, and I must cull the herd again and refocus and refine my ambitions. The higher one climbs the more sights one can see, and more so are the heights and ambitions that one can aspire to reach. But old ways and habits must be shed in order to develop new ways and routines. And in the spirit of that shedding I have put a very large chuck of my colleciton up for sale. 60+ pieces were/are on ebay, some others are in an thread asking for offers, and those and more are in a similar link in my CAF gallery. My ebay link is at the top of this page on the right. I have 3 pieces on the way into my collection and have already shipped out 6 or so in the last week. 5 pieces end tonight - July 6 - and 17 more end tomorrow. then the rest end in the next week or so. I may put 15 more up, but they may just be relisted things for the most part. I really haven't decided.

STARMAN 73 painted cover by ANDREW ROBINSON

So look for some wonderful new art in the coming weeks. And look for me at the Roger Waters concert tomorrow night at Yankee Stadium, I will be wearing a piece of comic art on my chest! I made a shirt of a Bill Sienkiewicz portrait of Roger Waters that I purchased from Bill. It came out fantastic! I will try to post some pictures later next week.

Oh, these pictures in this post? Those are all pieces in the "taking offers" thread. Anyone want to make an offer?

4 issue 2 page 2 STEVE MCNIVEN, MARK MORALES

Take care everyone!
S