DU Auction: Bid On An Original Work Of Art

[EarlG]

We are pleased to announce that DUer Rabrrrrrr has very generously offered a piece of his personal artwork for auction to support the DU fund drive. If you are interested in owning one of these great original paintings, read on.
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RULES OF THE AUCTION

• Bidding starts at $200

• Bidding must be in increments of at least $10.

• The highest bidder will get to choose one of the three paintings shown below.

• To submit a public bid, simply post your bid in this thread. You don't need to indicate which painting you want.

• To bid anonymously, send a private message to me (EarlG), or send an email to [email protected]. When I receive a private bid, I will update the thread with the bid (but not the name of the bidder) at my earliest opportunity.

• There will be only one auction winner, and only one painting will be given away.

• The auction ends at 9PM ET (6PM PT) on Saturday. All bids received before that time - public and private - will be counted.

• Rabrrrrrr will pay for shipping if the highest bidder lives within the US; if the highest bidder is outside the US they'll have to pay for shipping themselves.

• Once the highest bidder has been determined, payment to Democratic Underground will be arranged and the painting will be shipped. DO NOT BID BY DONATING TO DU - bid ONLY by posting in this thread, or submitting a private message or email to EarlG.

• SERIOUS BIDS ONLY, PLEASE.
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THE PAINTINGS

The painting will be offered unframed. All three paintings are watercolor and gouache on paper, and are originals.

Painting No. 257: 4/2/2003, 28"x40"



Painting No. 268: 4/16/2003, 28"x40"



Painting No. 272: 4/30/2003, 28"x40"



If you would like to know more about Rabrrrrrr's artwork, just send him a private message.

[GOPisEvil]

1. I just want to vouch for the beauty of Rabrrrrrr Art! I own one!

I wish I could afford to bid at this time. :-(

I encourage all of you that are able to bid to do so. You won't be disappointed in your Rabrrrrrr Original!

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. I was tempted to offer the sister painting to yours,

to see if you'd go for it...but decided not to. :-)

And thanks for the plug!

[GOPisEvil]

7. Heh...must...save...pennies...

:-)

[Darth_Kitten]

27. Very generous offer!!!!

Thanks, Rabrrr!!! :D I wish I could bid. :( Very nice art!!!

[flamingyouth]

2. Wow, Rabrrrrrr, that is so nice of you!

Thank you for offering these great paintings for DU!
:yourock:

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. You're welcome!

Now - bid! Often! Against yourself! Are you gonna let yourself win? I hope not! Come on!

[flamingyouth]

5. I'm quite intrigued by the top one

Very intrigued indeed. :D

[ScreamingMeemie]

6. HA!

:7

[flamingyouth]

9. When my husband gets home

I'm going to tell him how nice it would look in our bedroom. I happen to know he hasn't gotten me anything for our anniversary yet. :D

[Rabrrrrrr]

8. Some more info on the paintings

The top one, 257, was totally from my mind - no model, human or otherwise, was used in that painting. You can't see it in the photo, but I layered on the background wash with wide brushes, and then came later with a smaller brush to make the highlight strokes, and those strokes all follow curves and lines that the wide washing brushes laid down. It's a cool effect in person - gives the painting a sense of constant movement, but over a static background - a juxtaposition I use in a lot of my paintings, including the middle one.

The middle one, 268, you may have noticed, is currently in my sig line. This is an actual nude, and I painted it with a model. I also quite enjoy wide open areas, with the subject matter tucked into the bottom or off to the side.

The bottom one, 272, you may know as the flag for my nation "Free Creative Peoples" at Jennifer States. It was inspired by Magnolia trees in full bloom. I painted it with thickly mixed paint, dribbling it onto the paper which I laid on the ground. then I tilted the paper so that the lines of paint were formed. It was VERY fun to paint that one.

[Lisa0825]

13. All three are beautiful......

but I especially like the nude.... really lovely.

I wish I had the money to bid. Do you sell prints?

[Rabrrrrrr]

14. No, I do not sell prints

part of the deal with collectors is that once they own a painting, they're the only ones who will have it - so they're truly one of a kinds. I might at some point move into prints, or even be forced into it, but I'm not a big believer in prints. I prefer originals.

I have been considering offering them on items at cafepress. I don't think that would cheapen the value of the artwork, and would get it down into the $10-30 range. And some of my paintings I think would make nice mugs and mousepads. :-)

Thanks for the compliment!

[Lithos]

10. Interesting!

I like the colors of the top and bottom one and the layout of the second one.

Wish I had the spare change at the moment.

Good luck with the auction!

L-

[mmm]

11. I bid 200 dollars!

Let's get this show on the road :)

[nwstrn]

15. $210 n/t

[YouMustBeKiddingMe]

12. Impressive work

I can't bid but I'll give you a kick. I would be bidding on the middle one if I could.

[WilliamPitt]

16. $250 for #3

[Liberal Christian]

17. kick

[mwdem]

22. $300 for number 3

n/t

[VelmaD]

18. Gawd I wish I had any money

Number 2 is lovely and I would love to be able to bid on it. But alas I am a poor State employee. :cry:

[Rabrrrrrr]

19. Thanks!

maybe you and GOPisEvil and/or other Austin DUers could timeshare a piece? :-)

[VelmaD]

20. I'm kinda hoping for a big-bucks sugar-daddy...

to bid on one for me. ;-)

GOPisEvil is a State employee too - you can't get blood from a turnip. :-)

[Rabrrrrrr]

21. But if you all formed a collective,

sort of an art collective co-operative....

:-)

Or, just find yourself a sugar daddy! Then you have jewels, cars, and cedar bathtubs that hold 400 gallons of water...

[Skittles]

33. you are such a freaking tart Velma

:7

[LastKnight]

23. no bid... but i must say... very nice

i like em. if i had money id probably bid on em... broke teenager though... so... perhaps someday

-LK

[VermontDem2004]

24. Nevermind

[terrya]

25. Painting #1. I'd love to have it, Rabrrrrrr. But I just can't afford it.

It's beautiful. Lovely composition.

You are a gifted artist, Rabrrrrrr.

And I hope that someone does buy #1. And enjoys it as much as I would.

Terry

[Skinner]

26. To clarify...

We are only holding one auction, not three. You don't need to tell us which painting you want; you only need to tell us the amount of your bid. The highest bidder at the end of the auction then chooses which painting he/she wants.

If you want to say which painting you want when you bid, that's fine. But I don't want people to get the impression that there are three separate auctions for three separate paintings. Because that is not the case.

[Kamika]

28. What's the name of the last painting?

Just curious

[Rabrrrrrr]

29. the name is: Painting No. 272

I don't use descriptive or "official" names as I feel it clouds the viewers perceptions of the painting and doesn't allow them to approach the painting with an empty mind. Except one painting I did in which I DO want the viewer to think of something specific; and I think at some point I will be doing more socially/politically oriented paintings, in which case I will probably use descriptive names.

[AmericanErrorist]

30. GROVELBOT.....

SHOW-TIME!!!!!!

[DU GrovelBot]

31. ## Support Democratic Underground! ##

RUN C:\GROVELBOT.EXE
 
This week is our first quarter 2004 fund drive.
Please take a moment to donate to DU. Thank you
for your support.
 
- An automated message from the DU GrovelBot

Click here to donate.

[Noon_Blue_Apples]

32. Do you take Canadian $ at par?

If not I'm sadly out of the running

[bubblesby2002]

34. Unfortunately I cannot afford to buy anything right now.

But I love No. 268. Ever since you started to use it in your posts I have coveted that painting. The composition is wonderful.

[Jesus H. Christ]

35. Hey Rabrrrrr...

Natural talent or years of training?

I wish I could do that.

[Rabrrrrrr]

36. perhaps it's natural talent that's been trained for years

:-)

I bet you could do it - I was surprised when I started painting. Not that it's pathetically easy, but thatI had skill. Especially after so many elementary and junior high art teachers told me I had "no talent" because I couldn't draw "realistically". Well, hose on them. maybe if they'd spent their time teaching, not critiqueing...

anyway, some bitterness there. Sorry for that tirade.

But I do think most people could paint, and definitely, even if it isn't very good, it's relaxing, meditative, and creative, and makes the mind stronger, the heart fuller, and the soul warmer. Even if just a hobby.

[joeybee12]

37. Great stuff, Rabrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

I don't recall the first one on your web site, though!

Thanks for being so generous.

[woofless]

38. Thanks Rabrrrrrr...........you rock!

We are both unemployed here and I am saving my pennies for DU and my choice for pres. I really like the nude and would be proud to own it, alas. Great work and a wonderful donation to a very worthy cause.

Woof

[Kahuna]

39. They're beautiful.

I wish I could bid. :cry:

[Insider]

40. $350, if i'm seeing things correctly

and i really want #257 BTW

(if it doesn't go in this auction, can we talk?)

[nwstrn]

41. $360 N/T

[Elad]

42. The auction is now closed

Thanks to everyone who bid! The highest bidder will be announced shortly.