People Get Ready: Art Opening Tomorrow Evening

I just finished printing and signing my first three sets of Art Cards for sale as stocking stuffers at tomorrow's art opening, The Many Faces of Ed Newman. Each set has 25 different original paintings and drawings in a full range of styles. Individual cards are the 2.5"x 3.5" (the same size as baseball cards and other collectible cards) and come in a hard plastic 3"x 4" card holder for extra protection. The images are printed via the giclee process with acid free ink on watercolor paper.

The Art Cards make great stocking stuffers, and can only increase in value. For example, a Roman Imperial Bust of the Deified Antinous sold for 23 million dollars this week at Sotheby's. Just think how much these Art Card originals will be worth in 1900 years. While the value of U.S. currency continues to decline, Art might become the one thing of value (after gold) in one hundred years.

Actually, it only makes sense that artists would start making trading cards. Artists love making things, and they love sharing their work. Why not create a form that makes both of these motivations easy to follow through on?

Most boys my age collected baseball cards as kids. But the cards that really thrilled me was the Civil War Cards set. This was really dramatic stuff. The second or third card showed a cannon blowing up, vivid yellow and red, with a body getting thrown back. Other cards showed hand-to-hand combat, and men impaled on spikes. It was gruesome stuff, now that I think of it, though not all depicted such dreadful scenes. One card featured General Lee and another General Grant. And the scene at Appomattox Courthouse was a peaceful one, ending the war.

The movie Mars Attacks was based on a similar concept, a set of cards along a story line that included violence, horror and a final resolution.

Here's somethin' cool. A company called Kaywa has a code generator that enabled you to create code so people can find your website using their iPhones. Of course it is probably just as easy to send your friends an email and invite them to your Art Opening or piano recital or whatever shindig you've got going.

Of course you could theoretically send people to your invitation the old-fashioned way with a hotlink.

I even used the really old timey method of printing posters and plastering them about town on bulletin boards and other flat surfaces.

For what it's worth, the Art Cards will be on sale for $5 and $10 apiece. Prints (reproductions) will be $5 plus shipping (no handling) and the Originals will be ten. Three of the pieces are here on this page. All are signed and numbered. If you would like a complete set of 25, I can accept payment by PayPal or whatever other method you deem suitable. Special price of $100 plus shipping.

In the meantime, have a great day. Be creative in whatever you do.