Roy Lichtenstein’s famous “Ohhh…Alright…” comic strip painting took in whopping $42.6 million in a recent auction at Christie’s and Southeby’s. The Lichtenstein piece trumped Andy Warhol’s black and white coke bottle painting that went for $35 million earlier in the week.
Holy Jumpin’ Jim Jeffords…man, am I in the wrong business
Oh, man, I love those drawings, pautrcrlaily the baseball ones! HA! They’re almost like fashion illustrations, with enlarged hands and long limbs to really exaggerate each pose, and clearly show the direction of movement. Showing clear line of action really separates the great illustrators from those merely trying to copy parts and shapes of what they see, without comprehending the intent of the whole. I keep meaning to write about the different artists represented in the Masters of American Comics exhibit I saw a while ago, particualry E.C. Segar who did the original “Popeye” strips. Man, it is amazing how much action and movement he crammed into those strips – and the simple, graphic appeal belied incredibly sophisticated choreography and handling of weight, mass, speed, and direction in his drawn figures. It really seemed to me like this guy had done a lot of homework and had actually watched a lot of fights carefully – the way the figures moved always felt real and believable, no matter how crazy and imaginative the story got.