Outbid and Out-to-Lunch

Okay, so besides trying to establish myself as an artist I am also interested in assembling my own humble collection of original artwork from artists I admire. I want to support the community of which I want to be a part. This is a new venture and over the last year I have bought 2 original paintings and I was given one by my parents for my 40th birthday last year. It's a start. Yesterday I hoped to add to my fledgling collection when a "daily painter" I have been admiring from afar put a gorgeous little gem up for auction. He is located in Berlin and makes a small (5.9"x5.9") oil painting every day without fail and has been doing so since 2006! Talk about dedication! (I don't think he has kids, hee hee). Anyway, for each painting he posts he has a hidden auction where you email him your bid and the highest bidder at the end of a 24 hour period wins. His paintings all sell without fail by the end of the 24 hour period; day in and day out. I am a huge admirer of his commitment, his skill, his compositions, his choice of subject and use of colour and even his written word- I think he would make a great poet. Anyway, on this particular morning I finally decided to jump in to the bidding war (I say "finally" because I have watched his blog for about a year now and never tried to get any of the many paintings I loved. And the whole notion that I "jumped in" after a year once again makes me realize that I have my own special version of spontaneity). Anyhoo, The bidding always starts at 150 EURO which is about $233.00 CAN, so I decided to go in at 220 EURO or about $341.00 CAN. There was 2 hours left in the process and I figured I was low, but once I found out the other bids I thought I could go up a bit until I reached my maximum which would have been about $500.00-$600.00 CAN. Anyways, I hear nothing back. Finally the two hours have passed so I go to his blog and sure enough the painting is sold. Sigh. No painting for me and I am no more the wiser as to what the bids might have been. I check my emails later on and to my surprise the artist has emailed me back! He seems so kind and just wanted to let me know that the highest bid was... are you sitting down... the highest bid was 850 EURO!!!!!!! That is about $1320.00 CAN! Sweet Jesus!!! I felt like bit of a jackass with my piddly offer, but seriously who could have predicted that? Obviously not me! I was way out-to-lunch with that offer! So I will just tuck that little dream away for awhile... but mark my words... one day I will own an Edward B. Gordon!