First let me say I have no problem with the spirit of entrepreneurism exhibited by Heron Cay. They are more than entitled to try to make profits any way they see fit.
However.....I simply don't like giclee prints of highwaymen art. Especially at high listing prices.
And listed as "One of a kind", as it stands this morning on eBay, is certainly a misleading headline, especially when it is later identified as # 12 of 30.
Here's the copy/paste : 1 of a Kind Florida Highwaymen GICLEE COLLABORATION Painting Mount Dora FL
Even though the original painting doesn't appeal to my sense of "looks good", I found it to be somewhat interesting because of the manner of production, all these guys in a team effort, and signed by all of them.
I like that, and I like the idea that these originals are raffled off and cost the buyer whatever he or she invested in tickets in a game of chance.
Interestingly enough, I was asked to appraise the last collaboration produced and won the previous year. Or maybe it was this one, I don't recall the details. I simply declined to put a number on it.
I did, however, explain in my email to the person who requested it, how I might go about figuring its value if I had a gun to my head.
My "Do it yourself" guide. Like Home Depot.
See if you think the following makes sense.
Since all the artists are currently aggressively painting and marketing their new work, it's not so tough to start with the size, then find out what each artist prices that particular size for his work.
One would then assume each artist contributed equally, although that may not exactly be the case. Not being in attendance and manning a stop watch, it was impossible to estimate the amount of time and effort expended on an individual basis.
In the case of this particular original (remember, NOT this giclee), eight artists worked on it.
I quote the listing:
"The painting was begun by Roy McLendon... and then completed by the remaining 7 artists, as they added THEIR 'Touch': Next Al Black, then on to Willie Daniels, James Gibson, Issac Knight, R. L. Lewis, John Maynor, and Charles Walker: And of course, then signed by all 8 of the Highwaymen Artists."
Now, I would personally eliminate the highest priced artst and the lowest priced as well, in an attempt to be fair.
Charles Walker is easy to eliminate because he usually paints enormous sizes, for one thing, and prices them to the moon for another. As the lowest priced artist, I would choose Al Black. I mean no disrespect to either one, I'm simply stating that the elimination would even things out a bit.
Then I would add up the six prices and divide by six to get an average. I would then double that value as a "novelty factor".
I will take this opportunity to state that I will not appraise the newer work by any of these artists, as I generally don't deal in them.
