Comissioned Works for the People?
Has the internet finally made it possible for individuals to commission interesting art? Is art finally making its way to the common man? I’ve recently developed an addiction to these little internet based thematic commissions.
By sending off a name or descriptor, and a few bucks, you can now buy a semi-custom, postcard sized illustrations, by folks with some real skills. I can’t even draw a smiley face or a straight line without a projector. The coolest part is the scale. I own a lot of art, I own more art than I know what to do with. I have nowhere to put art, anymore. But these guys are barely bigger than trading cards, and all you need is a nice little cigar box to store them, when you don’t have them hanging on the wall. I can find room for a cigar box, somewhere…
Thus far, I’ve accumulated a Baba Yaga (above) and a Ham the Chimp, Retired Simian Astronaut, courtesy of Adam Koford, and a She-Cthulhus of the SS, courtesy of Len Peralta. I’m eagerly awaiting the delivery of Giant Baja California Land Urchin, also by Len Peralta. Each one of these little guys only set me back $20 - you can’t beat that. Both Adam and Len have been doing a series of thematic commissions, accepting 100-200 requests per theme. Another artist, Joe Alterio, has taken a different route, charging $25 for an illustration of a robot or monster, described only with three descriptors (like robot - chicken-legs, rainbow, hippy), which will go to him and his wife’s SF AIDS Marathon charity fund. Joe’s been flooded with requests, and it will take 6-8 weeks to fill them all, but he’s still taking them until the 22nd.
Looking at all of the illustrations, seeing the amount of hard work and fun that goes into the whole process has been exciting, all by itself. Even though it does have the potential to bleed one’s wallet, I’m hoping more talented folks join this bandwagon, so I can collect more works.
