Clay Mann art? and other ramblings 0

[awayne83]

Hey guys. First time posting on the boards. Sorry if this didn't deserve its own thread, but couldn't find anything. Is comicsketchart still repping Clay? I emailed them and hit up Clay on twitter to no avail. It also seems like they haven't added anything new of his in ages, though I've seen several of his rebirth covers posted on CAF. So someone is getting their hands on them lol.

This leads to my next sort of question.  I've been into OA for about a year now, really enjoying it, and learned a lot so far. I get the feeling sometimes though, that this is sort of an elite community, and you have to be in the know to be in top of things. Of couse anyone can open their checkbook and bid on an auction, but a lot if the new pieces are gone before even hitting the market it seems. Comments on CAF, giving shout outs to so and so for hooking them up. Is the frustration i feel just the growing pains of this hobby? Is it something everyone goes thru, only to eventually break thru? 

Just venting i guess. But it can get down right depressing trying to find out if an artist you like is digital or traditional, if they even sale their art, who sales it, when it's going to be released etc. Shout out to Cadence and ComiConArt. Paolo and Court have always gotten back to me, whether i purchase stuff or not. Can't say the same for everyone unfortunately. I really do enjoy the overall experience so far, especially the feeling of having that new piece in your hands. 

Edited August 17, 2017 by awayne83
Grammar

[Sooners151]

50 minutes ago, awayne83 said:

This leads to my next sort of question.  I've been into OA for about a year now, really enjoying it, and learned a lot so far. I get the feeling sometimes though, that this is sort of an elite community, and you have to be in the know to be in top of things. Of couse anyone can open their checkbook and bid on an auction, but a lot if the new pieces are gone before even hitting the market it seems. Comments on CAF, giving shout outs to so and so for hooking them up. Is the frustration i feel just the growing pains of this hobby? Is it something everyone goes thru, only to eventually break thru? 

I can relate being pretty new in this hobby.  You mentioned shout outs on CAF, one thing I did is hit up those people on CAF that already had a large collection of pieces from an artist I was interested in.  Look and see who's out there that has a bunch of Clay's work and DM them.  Collectors love talking about their collections, and they may share some tips and insight that get your closer to acquiring the pieces you are after or the contacts you need.  I've actually made a couple good virtual acquaintances that way!  This next tip is a monetary investment, but you may need get on a commission list, or buy a slightly lower end piece (only if you love it) just to get on the artist/reps radar and show you are a serious collector of that person's work.  A commission especially, as the artist has to communicate with you throughout the process and you can talk about buying future art.  

[awayne83]

^Thanks for the advice. I did hit up one guy on CAF about Mann and he asked me what i was looking for and said he could get in touch with people, which was nice. But i don't follow new releases anymore so i prefer to browse pages, not go thru a middle man so to speak, and see what strikes my fancy. Plus, with some artists you  may not know if they are inked or not, and I've been surprised by how much some art can differ from the published product. I have loved some pages and not been too keen on the original work. Yeah but i guess i need to be more outgoing in my approach, but that's always been contradictory to my personality.

Edited August 17, 2017 by awayne83

[BCarter27]

I touched on this awhile back in another thread, but I've observed the A-level pieces tend to get sold right off of social media sometimes as soon as a book is solicited. (I wonder how the reps feel about this. I hope they are getting their cut.)

Definitely drop an email to the rep or artist as new books are announced. Keep in mind, you are going to have to pay extra to jump the line. Otherwise, wait until the B (costume panel), C (light costume), and D (talking heads characters) pages are liquidated on ebay to pay closer to market.

[Pete Marino]

One of the lessons I learned is there is a bit of  work and diligence involved in collecting art.

Finding the artists if they've retired or moved into other forms of work, finding the reps, finding the other fans who have similar taste, this all takes time and effort.  And trust from the artists and the other collectors.  I know I made my fair share of mistakes and bonehead moves through my 1st few years of navigating the OA landscape.

[PhilipB2k17]

I have Clay's e-mail address. I asked him a question about a piece I was interested in a couple of months ago, and he responded. So, let me know if you want it and I'll send it to you via private message.

[PhilipB2k17]

15 hours ago, awayne83 said:

^Thanks for the advice. I did hit up one guy on CAF about Mann and he asked me what i was looking for and said he could get in touch with people, which was nice. But i don't follow new releases anymore so i prefer to browse pages, not go thru a middle man so to speak, and see what strikes my fancy. Plus, with some artists you  may not know if they are inked or not, and I've been surprised by how much some art can differ from the published product. I have loved some pages and not been too keen on the original work. Yeah but i guess i need to be more outgoing in my approach, but that's always been contradictory to my personality.

In Clay Mann's case, from what I know, he does pretty tight pencils that are very close to the final inked version.

[Andahaion]

18 hours ago, awayne83 said:

I get the feeling sometimes though, that this is sort of an elite community, and you have to be in the know to be in top of things.

Just going from my own experience as a new art collector, I've felt the same way.  Didn't take long to come to that conclusion either, but I'm sure we're not the only ones who experienced it coming in.  I recently posted some thoughts about coming into the OA market and a few board members reached out, which felt good.  It definitely helps to have friends in this sphere, even if they're virtual friends.  If you ever want to chat, or vent, please feel welcome to send me PM.  Happy to help in whatever limited ways I could offer.  

[awayne83]

1 hour ago, PhilipB2k17 said:

I have Clay's e-mail address. I asked him a question about a piece I was interested in a couple of months ago, and he responded. So, let me know if you want it and I'll send it to you via private message.

That would be awesome.  Thank you so much!

[awayne83]

38 minutes ago, Andahaion said:

Just going from my own experience as a new art collector, I've felt the same way.  Didn't take long to come to that conclusion either, but I'm sure we're not the only ones who experienced it coming in.  I recently posted some thoughts about coming into the OA market and a few board members reached out, which felt good.  It definitely helps to have friends in this sphere, even if they're virtual friends.  If you ever want to chat, or vent, please feel welcome to send me PM.  Happy to help in whatever limited ways I could offer.  

That's very kind of you. I'm sure this community is full of great people. I also don't really have any around (physically) that has an interest in the hobby. I also have a pretty decent sized hard cover library of sorts, but the art takes a big chunk of those funds nowadays.

[awayne83]

Just a follow up, i did manage to get in touch with Clay. Thanks for that Phillip! If anyone else is interested, he is still with comicsketch art and is active on Instagram (I'm old school, so this was an afterthought). I have twitter, and most other creators link to Insta from there, but not him apparently. Requests for art can be made via DM to him or his dealer. Thanks for thr help and kind words ladies and gents.

[eewwnuk]

Clay usually brings a portfolio of his art at show's that he attends.  you can usually find something nice and reasonably priced with him.  

 

as for the notion of the comic art community being an 'elite community', I don't think that is the case.  what you have on this board isn't necessarily a representation of the broader art collecting community.  there are people out there that collect all sort of different art with all sort of different price points.  I would suggest as others have mentioned shooting those that have similar collecting interests a note and if you are going to a show asking if they are up for a bite or something.   I haven't found it to be terribly difficult to make friends in this community either in person or virtually. 

[ignimbrite]

This is an honest question about Clay Mann's current are (please don't see it as a veiled complaint because it isn't).

 

Is his current work priced to 'not sell' https://www.essentialsequential.com/Clay-Mann_c_1714.html? This is something I have heard about Amanda Conner where her [prices seem to be higher than they should be (although I admit I am not sure who decides what they should be other than the market).

[▫️]

10 hours ago, ignimbrite said:

This is an honest question about Clay Mann's current are (please don't see it as a veiled complaint because it isn't).

 

Is his current work priced to 'not sell' https://www.essentialsequential.com/Clay-Mann_c_1714.html? This is something I have heard about Amanda Conner where her [prices seem to be higher than they should be (although I admit I am not sure who decides what they should be other than the market).

I was going to reply to the OP with a link to Essential Sequential. Mann’s art does move there, I’ve missed a few good pieces that popped up but recently picked up a nice one.

[Rick2you2]

On 8/16/2017 at 4:15 PM, awayne83 said:

I get the feeling sometimes though, that this is sort of an elite community, and you have to be in the know to be in top of things.

I wouldn't call it "elite", but there are some who have been in it a very long time and know a heck of a lot about a small slice of our human existence. If you express a real interest in learning, it's very welcoming actually. This also tends to be a pretty polite board, and it is a relatively small community. Don't miss shows where you can learn a lot more.

I, for one, would love to know when artists only go digital and if on all of their work or not. It would save me time mourning the gaps in my collection. 

[ignimbrite]

9 hours ago, Oddball said:

I was going to reply to the OP with a link to Essential Sequential. Mann’s art does move there, I’ve missed a few good pieces that popped up but recently picked up a nice one.

Oh, didn't realize it moved so well as I am rather new to looking for his stuff.

Thanks for the feedback.