MHoes

On the bright side, he may also be getting the first chance to make an offer for a piece that is not (yet) for sale (on the general market), because the (potential) seller does not yet know at what value he/she should price their art.

Just out of curiosity, what exactly is the piece of art you are considering buying, and what is the seller asking for it ? Or is that question 'in bad taste' ?

I'm not sure if this helps, but 'Comic Art Fans' has a searchable archive of past public market sales (auction houses, eBay, etc.) that you can fully access when you become a 'Premium' member. (And a severely limited search scope version when you're not a member). You can search for past public sales for the same artist, and see if there are comparable pieces to what you have, and see what they were sold for. http://www.comicartfans.com/MarketDataSearch.asp

You could choose to become a (paid) 'Comic Art Fans' Premium Member, so you have access to their 'Market Data Sales History' and 'Dealer Market Data', which gives some insight into what pieces sold for at auction houses/eBay, as well as what some dealers had their art priced at when it was sold (although that doesn't necessarily mean the dealers always sold those at the asking prices).

Really ? That's just awefull, truly horrific. As a pet owner, I can truly say that *if* (and I sincerely hope it never happens to me) my house gets caught in a fire, all the original art can burn with it as long as I could save my pets from getting burned alive.

The only one that clearly comes to mind for me here is this. When I got back into comics, after some time of absence, there was the start of 'Image' and 'PITT' by Dale Keown, which I loved. Years later, I saw the original art for PITT #1 on offer. Unfortunately, it was so far above my budget that I had no chance of even offering for it.

While I am certainly no expert on the matter, I would expect that 'professional framers' - just as you have found - ask an amount of roughly $200-$300 USD for a custom frame of that size. I expect the materials you choose to have some influence on that figure, like 'UV-blocking glass' vs regular glass, wood/metal vs plastic frame, 'acid-free' vs regular paper, etc., but perhaps not so much that it would drive the price down enough to what would be an acceptable figure for you.

Personally I'm the exactly other way around. I really didn't like his original Hulk run work. But I love what he did on 'P.I.T.T.', and everything that came after.

Generally speaking, I feel that no one stands still in time: people change over the years. And because of that, if you're an artist, so will your work. I find this neither 'good' or 'bad', its just the way it is. Having said that, and replying to the question, I feel (from the very limited set of artists I have enough knowledge of) that both Marc Silvestri and Jim Lee have become much better artists over the years. And for me it doesn't even necessarily have anything to do with 'style changes', I just feel that over the years they have become much more skilled at performing their art.

I have never considered buying something I didn't love and wanted to own or hang on my wall. The main factor for me is that I consider it too risky: you may never get more for the piece than you paid for it, or ever find just the right person (and pieces) to strike a trading deal. Furthermore, I simply do not have even nearly enough knowledge of the *entire* market (beyond my own specific interests) to recognize a piece that's on sale for (far) less than it's fair market value.

Yes. They play 'Pokemon Go'.

yeah, i lose myself too most of the time. anyway, time to get back to The Art ! honestly, i cant see why anyone wouldn't like boris vallejo's art. i love it. then again, im a 'sword-and-sorcery' 'conan yes!' kinda guy.

here ya go :

this. i *love* this. this one and all other boris vallejo pieces like it. how can you not like this ?