"Hot Spring" by Kent Williams

Here is a piece I am absolutely psyched to own. I’ve been admiring the amazing work of Kent Williams for a number of years and had been wanting one of his fantastic pieces. I was doing a casual search for Soey Milk on eBay and ended up stumbling upon a seller that had some of her work. I decided to check his other listings and couldn’t believe what I saw.

Kent had shared this piece “Hot Spring” on his Instagram back in late May and later said it was going to be available at San Diego Comic Con. I had loved the piece and wished I could be at SDCC to purchase it. Needless to say I was stunned someone would be parting with it so soon. Honestly I can’t say I know the market for Kent’s work. I've seen some asking prices on here and a few prices for his fine art but that doesn't really tell a whole lot. The galleries he exhibits at are the “price on request” type which has always lead me to believe they are out of my price range so I just admired the art from afar. At first I thought about letting the piece go without bidding since I have a few irons in the fire but I knew if I did I would immediately regret it later. That and hard telling when another piece I loved as much as this one would turn up.

Surprisingly the piece ended up selling with just my bid. After it arrived I emailed Kent to let him know I now owned it so he could change the information on his site since it was now in a different location. Out of curiosity I asked him what he had sold the piece for and after telling him what I paid found out I had paid less than he sold it for which was already at a discounted price since they already had a history together. Of course that didn't matter to me but it definitely made me that much happier that I decided to purchase it rather than pass. When I purchase a piece it ends up locked away for the foreseeable future so it doesn’t really matter to me.

I knew if I ever did get a piece by him I would want one featuring the lovely Soey, another phenomenal artist who is also his girlfriend and muse. This one perfectly fits the bill. The pose of Soey stretching as she bathes in the hot spring is sublime. What immediately draws me in is her facial expression and the way she’s holding her arms behind her head. As you explore the piece you can’t help but notice Kent’s outstanding line work. Each line is precise and dynamic as it flows. The details are just gorgeous from the beads of water on her skin to the way he handled the refractions and shadow in the water. It is truly a remarkable piece by this master illustrator. A piece I am simply dumbfounded I was able to acquire for my collection.

Size 14x17