Yes, I've come up with that one first. I think. It's such an obvious reference that I can't believe someone else hasn't quipped it yet. I'd ask for a fee, but I would be afraid I'd have to pay if I didn't think it up first. And, if I was FOX News, this would have a theme song and a catchy graphic.
The Michael Golden commission controversy I spoke of here has oozed it's way into and even bigger mess. Not only did I have to go on Byrne Robotics, but I also had to go on the Comics Journal boards to follow the story. Ick.
Most notable is this page from the Journal Boards where Golden's agent tries to defend her client. I'll let you read that and come back. He post is towards the bottom of the page with another a couple of posts after.
I love fresh spin! Especially when it doesn't work!
I especially like the last one where she sis-boom-bah's Golden's career resurgence, say the offending, mistake-laden sketch Golden did for the fan will go up in value.
Another funny is the fact she says the guy got a discount. That sketch wasn't even worth $500, let alone more than that.
And this blog lists even more high-quality Golden sketches that fetched $100+.
Golden's responded to the whole thing, by the way, and I'm almost more than inclined to believe that Gerry Turnbull is making way more out of this than is warranted. That the sketch is fully inked is perhaps a decent justification for the pricetag, I suppose, but then again, I've got a fully inked Ted Kord from Tom Derenick that is not only better looking, but cost a fraction of Golden's sketch.
ReplyDeleteSo on that end, I don't think the delay is really that unreasonable. On the other hand, it's unprofessional of Golden and of his agent, Renee, to not detail this sort of thing in an agreement before money changes hands. And regardless of any pressure being put on him by Turnbull, I think the mocking text (mocking misspelled text, which is really the most unprofessional aspect of it) crosses a line, though of course Golden claims otherwise.
Long story short, don't spend big bank on commissions from people you don't know.
Just some points to follow up on your comment, Jeff.
ReplyDelete1. I have read Michael Golden's response (it's here) and let me just say that he sounds like a man who thinks the crappy sketch was worth $500. You think that he might want to put out the fires with something else than kerosene. Not that he is 100% in the wrong here, but why comment at all if what you are going to say was already said by your agent and it didn't sway anybody.
2. Did Turnbull blow things out of proportion? Well he aired it on the internet didn't he? That is a easy peesy way to blow anything out of proportion. Just add post to message board and viola! Internet broken in half.
3. Art is in the eye of the beholder. So prices paid for art should be in the eye of the beholder. Which doesn't apply in this case if you consider that he paid for the artwork before he saw it, but does if you consider that he was familiar with his prior work and liked it.
4. SIDEBAR: I have to have Tom do that Sandman piece we talked about for my wife. Before his becomes too expensive.
5. That said, the piece Golden did for Turnbull is not worth $500. I think this comes close to going beyond just being my opinion to being a stone cold fact. I have dabbled with artistry (which means I can draw, only not well, at all) and I know the sketch couldn't have taken him more than an hour, soup to nuts. You have that big flowing cape covering up anything that would require detail. That, my friend, is a cheat. Capes=easy, human anatomy, perspective, clothing folds, costume accuracy, and shading=hard
6. The delay is not unreasonable (and Turnbull should have realized that the "month and a half" was nowhere near realistic). That being said. Not only was Golden and Renee wrong for not dealing with this before the money changed hands, they were wrong for (if Turnbull's posts claiming to be Renee's e-mails are the truth) keeping stringing him along for all those months. If she was honest with him anywhere along that line, there would be a possibility of this not getting so out of hand.
7. Turnbull and his cronies are not alone in being unsatisfied with Michael Golden sketches. There are others. (Not saying this to refute you or anything. I'm just sayin')
8. Insulting your clients is never a good idea. Kinda makes people not want to be your client. Besides, it shows arrogance. Not an attractive quality.
9. This whole thing has the train wreck quality of the Jerry Springer show. I don't want to be obsessed about this, but I can't not be.
I had my own long wait story for a commissioned piece of art. A few years back I paid Michael Kaluta the princely sum of $75 for a sketch of the Shadow and the Rocketeer. I wound up having to wait almost three years to get it.
ReplyDeleteKaluta admited to me in response to a followup email I sent a few months after the original commissioning that he was swamped with professional work and was also having a bit of trouble figuring out a fun composition for what I wanted.
We kept in loose contact over the couple of years it took for him to get to the piece done, and it was always good a conversation starter when I saw him at the bi-annual Chiller Theatre cons he was always at.
It may have taken him some time to get it done, but Kaluta was always upfront about keeping me in the loop as to his progress, a real class act. I think that's the lessone Golden is in desperate need of learning.
You can see the finished results for yourself and judge for yourself if it was worth the wait.
In a related note- I've got the Flash tv series DVD running in the background and there was just a throwaway reference to a former Central City police chief by the name of Julius Schwartz.