VAN SCIVER, ethan

I was going to start off with a funny story about the “adventure” this deal turned out to be, but Ari is a cool guy, so I’ll be nice and not pick on him today! LOL!

Anyway, as most of you know, aside from my tried and true boys Steve Mannion and Wade Furlong, I’m not real big on getting commissions done. At least not getting them done for ME! It just makes so much more sense to let other people order them, see how they turn out, and then try to buy them from the owner. Sure I pay a little more, but at least they absorb all the risk and I get to see what I’m buying BEFORE I pay for it. Since art is such a visual medium, I’ve never understood the practice of buying something sight unseen. It’s such a big gamble for so much money, especially in these tough economical times.

Well, here is another case of a commission piece done for someone else that became available recently. Always liked seeing this one in Ari’s gallery. I think I even left a comment on it once. The timing of it was certainly interesting. In light of the recent CAF brouhaha regarding EVS, and given the fact that Ethan is no longer doing commissions, I guess the timing was both good and bad. But certainly more good for me! LOL!

Okay, I have a confession to make! The first time I saw Ethan’s early work (I think it was probably an issue of Cyberfrog), I pretty much just laughed and made fun of it. Of course I couldn’t have been more wrong about the guy, and I happily admit it. Especially since he’s turned out to be almost like the second coming of Brian Bolland. Of all the people to stylistically emulate, Ethan couldn’t have picked a better art legend to take a page from. Just one look at Batman’s face on this piece, and you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Anyway, the shipping issues and ebay aside, my thanks to the aforementioned Mr. Shapiro. One of CAF’s shining beacons and all around good guy! Check out his fabulous Batman themed gallery (plus lots of cool non-Bat art) and say hello while you’re there.