Ready-For-Framing Fine Art Gift Notecards Embossed Signature Series

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Ready-For-Framing Fine Art Gift Notecards Embossed Signature Series — quite a mouthful, eh? But that’s exactly what they are, what I’m producing tonight. This is my “Signature Series” Gift Art Prints. They’re ready to frame; just pop one into a 5″x7″ frame and hang it on the wall or place it on a desk or dresser or shelf, and you’ve got instant art! I make an RSVP version as well. The embossing stamp cost me $350 and is good for 10,000 impressions, but I’m not. It’s hard to press that thing through the thick stationery paper, and there’s no motor behind it, just my bicep and carpal stuff putting on the pressure, so there’s a built-in limitation to the number I’ll be releasing.

Technically, the art prints are: READY FOR FRAMING FINE ART PRINT GIFT NOTECARD with embossed signature, on cream textwove stock with choice of matching or kraft paper envelope. This is an “open edition” but is signed with the signature blindstamp embossing to ensure that it comes directly from the artist’s own hand at the artist’s atelier (studio). These prints are also available as full-sized wall art, through Heidelberg Editions International. The ready-to-frame notecards retail for $19.95 — more about this at the ICW this morning, 6:30 on the dot, be prompt — I will be there on the open, so be ready to see and hear!

See You At The Top!!!

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Come & Get It!!!

SUMMER 2014: FINE ART AUCTION LIST #1

This is a VERY informal chat about some of the famous CELEBRITY ARTISTS works on paper and canvas that I’ll be offering at the MemFest Fine Art Charity Auction this coming weekend. Most of the prices realized will in fact be far into the wholesale. I don’t expect any of it to sell at retail or gallery prices, and to raise money for our Ashram, it doesn’t have to. We own these pieces and the full price goes to charity, not a penny lost. However, there is a Government Catch 22 — the tax folks will take the current market value off your donation numbers, unless you make more than $22 Million per year, in which case, everything you do is tax-free.

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MARC CHAGALL — THE TRAP — M355 (Mourlot catalog raisonne #355). Cover for Derriere le Miroir no. 132, Paris, June 1962, format 11 1/32″ x 14 15/16″. Hand-printed on lithographic stone before lettering. 75 copies were printed on Arches, with full wide margins, pencil-numbered & signed by the artist. There were also a few artist’s proofs. Maeght, Publisher.

Estimate: $600-$800.

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My Million-Dollar Loss-Leaders

We’re only a few days away from the MemFest Fine Art Charity Auction, and this event alone is worth the price of admission. You’ll see, and have a chance to buy, museum-grade art, which you should buy on the public’s behalf, then bequeath to your local museum. There may be tax benefits to your estate by so doing, but the social and cultural benefits far outweigh personal wealth. This can be a legacy that you can leave for future generations. Here’s an example:

johnsThis is a very unusual form of Jasper Johns’ zero through nine series; it’s pencil-signed and numbered by the artist. It’s small, personal, and very, very limited in the edition size. JASPER JOHNS — Zero Through Nine (0-9) — color lithograph — Ca. 1978 — Edition 60 — Signed – Numbered – Dated – C 160×124 – S4 – G 781 – Full Margin — Sotheby New York – 05/13/87 – # 833.

Here’s my own auction catalog description of the same piece: U188 JASPER JOHNS G779 0 THROUGH 9 Lithograph in colors on multicolored thread Mariposa paper, 1978, 162mm x 126mm — 6 3/8″ x 4 15/16″ — Full margin with deckled edges all four sides, no tears, no repairs, as issued thus. Pencil-signed JJohns lower right, pencil-numbered by the artist, 43/60 lower left below image area. Blindstamped. Ref: Sotheby’s New York Auction 11/02/99, LOT #1118. Listed in Gordon’s 2000, catalog #22869. Continue reading

Important Art Auction Update!!!

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This is an original signed Picasso copperplate etching. It’s one of many “Blue Chip” art pieces I sacrifice to bring people into an art auction. It makes no money for the charity, does nothing to help the finances, and must be replaced with something equally pricey for the next auction. It is strictly a “Loss Leader”, intended to attract an audience, and I’d frankly be happier without them, and I’ll tell you why:

First of all, nobody but an art dealer would know that these things are even for sale, and very few of them even have an inkling of what they’re worth, where to find them and how to authenticate them beyond doubt — you DON’T want returns.

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