stress of art collecting

aric · 08-17-2016, 07:33 AM

More and more I'm seeing folks step away from this hobby, and one of the number one reasons seems to be stress due to long wait times and lack of communication. Are any of you going thru this now with an artist? Is it really making you consider stopping? How do you handle the stress, and is all forgiven once you get the art?

pavehawk78 · 08-17-2016, 07:49 AM

I've pretty much stepped away from it. I haven't bought a piece in years. My main reasons include what you stated above plus the prices have gone through the roof even for relatively unknown artists. There is one artist I would still like to get pieces from that used to frequent the forum but I can't even get him to return an email while trying to set up a commission. It's just not worth the hassle.

CJ82 · 08-17-2016, 08:28 AM

After my first year as a collector I'm definitely starting to loose appreciation for it. Been straight up ripped off by two artists, am currently struggling to get 3 pieces shipped out, and otherwise find if very difficult to contact/find artists who are currently accepting (outside of 1 or 2 "hubs" that always serve well like Serendipity), it's almost like a chore trying to hunt down available artists. I don't know if there are a lot of cons happening right now or something but it seems like availability has seen a steep decline in recent months.

As far as how to handle stress I guess there is still the hype/enjoyment that comes every now and then when you land a good artist and a good piece. Despite getting a lot of duds I've gotten a lot of gems too, it's been a pretty good ratio so far, but yeah I didn't expect the hobby to be plagued with so many "issues"...

carlito1978 · 08-17-2016, 09:47 AM

I haven't been stressed in a long while due to art. I've been walking away and sticking to my rules and avoiding headaches.

Ghost9 · 08-17-2016, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carlito1978

I haven't been stressed in a long while due to art. I've been walking away and sticking to my rules and avoiding headaches.

Same here. Honestly I don't do a lot of "at home" commissions unless it's from an artist I've known and am friendly with for several years. I mostly do them around conventions, with pick-ups at show. I also do quite a bit of research to avoid "high stress" artists and keep a pretty tight budget.

**JadeGiant** · 08-17-2016, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carlito1978

I haven't been stressed in a long while due to art. I've been walking away and sticking to my rules and avoiding headaches.

Same. It takes most people a while to get to this place. We all want to have a great experience with artists so we give them the benefit of the doubt. After a few bad experiences we tend to get better at seeing them coming, doing more research, setting up commissions with an “out”, etc. It definitely makes things easier and keeps the hobby enjoyable (which all hobbies should be).

Lucky Baru · 08-17-2016, 10:42 AM

The prices of some commissions keep me away from artist that are unknown or not really known. If Marvel and DC are paying artist $25.00 a page why would I:

1) Put down $200.00 or $300.00 for a commission?
2) Pay $200.00 or $300.00 for a published page that I would never be able to sell afterwards for those prices?

Also, with what has come to light in the last 12 months about shill bidding and collusion how does anyone know what the true market price of a page might be? It is a confusing time to be in the hobby.

**JadeGiant** · 08-17-2016, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucky Baru

The prices of some commissions keep me away from artist that are unknown or not really known. If Marvel and DC are paying artist $25.00 a page why would I:

1) Put down $200.00 or $300.00 for a commission?
2) Pay $200.00 or $300.00 for a published page that I would never be able to sell afterwards for those prices?

Also, with what has come to light in the last 12 months about shill bidding and collusion how does anyone know what the true market price of a page might be? It is a confusing time to be in the hobby.

I don't know any artists only getting $25 a page from Marvel/DC. Do you?

carlito1978 · 08-17-2016, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucky Baru

The prices of some commissions keep me away from artist that are unknown or not really known. If Marvel and DC are paying artist $25.00 a page why would I:

for me, as of late, much of the art that has really peaked my interest has come from unknown artists. there are a lot out there doing some very interesting work.

some of my biggest disappointments have come from published artists where the commission price has been high and my expectations for results have been higher.

Wah · 08-17-2016, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carlito1978

for me, as of late, much of the art that has really peaked my interest has come from unknown artists. there are a lot out there doing some very interesting work.

some of my biggest disappointments have come from published artists where the commission price has been high and my expectations for results have been higher.

so so true. at least in my own personal experiences. Hands down my favorite pieces have mostly come from more relatively unknown artists.