Then about two months ago Leslie Combemale from ArtInsights contacted me and showed me this cel, which I still wanted. I had a bit more money, but not quite enough, so Leslie made a deal with me and I paid $1000 up front and the rest ($695) within a month.
Anyway, the cel:
A beautiful, emotional expression on her face and a full body! Also, the lighting of the scene gives her a greeny-blue tail instead of an outright green tail, which I like!
The quirky thing about this cel setup is that the cels do not actually go together (i.e. Not a key setup). If you break down the cels into their original frames you get three separate images:
1. Flotsam and Jetsam
2. Ariel
3. Bubbles
As you can see, Ariel and the eels aren't supposed to have quite as much crossover. Of course, in such a mismatched setup, Ariel gets full priority and is placed on top of Flotsam and Jetsam, despite them actually being on top of her during the film. As for the bubbles, they were made by her tail. I'm thinking I may shift the bubble layer back behind Ariel so that they don't occupy her face.
Being mismatched, I'm not sure how this affects the value. $1695 is far better than $2300, which is how much this cel was offered by Animation Sensations (a.k.a Georgetown Frame Shoppe). Incidentally, they still have it on their site marked as "SOLD", as if they were the ones who sold it. Don't believe it!
This piece cost $US1695. Photographic background. Unframed. The authentication seal is in the bottom-right corner.
