Ariel's Vocalise - Reprise

I've been wanting to post my latest acquisitions for some time, but in purchase order. The piece I bought immediately after this has a major problem which I've had to address rather slowly. It's nearly ready for me to put the last words to the story (COVID lockdown is preventing me from taking the last step), but until then I may as well start:

I bought this from a seller who had recently advertised it on eBay. We haggled for price, and he tried to push some of his other pieces, in which I had little interest.

I chose this piece as it differentiates from the other cels in the shot by her eye lids, which are shifting in order to blink. While this frame doesn't ruin the look on her face, subsequent frames (three frames in total to complete her blink) aren't particularly desirable. Additionally, the slight close of her lids softens her expression from the otherwise wide-eyed surprise she shows when her voice returns to her, making this frame distinct among its peers.

I love this scene, as it builds up dramatically to the final climax. As a child, I found the concept of Ariel losing then regaining her voice captivating; the magical energy that visually depicts her voice was, I feel, a clever design choice (a sensible departure from the original, where she had her tongue cut out). In the process of writing this post, I've learned that singing using vowels instead of words, such as in this case, with Ariel's "Ah-Ah-AH!", is called a Vocalise(n).

This piece was previously sold through Hertiage Auctions in 2015 for about $1500. They also have a better photo of it:

I'd love to take some photos of my own (I have refined my technique significantly), but this is presently in the US with ArtInsights, who have matted it. I can't import it just yet, as COVID has disrupted all postal chains, and there is no way in Hell I'm putting this into the mail when I can't even get books in a timely manner (or in one case, at all!). If the global situation takes too much longer, I might just ask Leslie to complete the framing.

Obviously, some tampering has taken place since it was sold through HA, as they list it as framed with "a letter of authenticity". As you'll see in the next acquisition post, I have a lot to learn about which questions I should be asking before I make a purchase!

This piece cost $1614, including shipping within continental US. The purchase date is 12 April 2018. Seal (naturally), unframed (but matted by ArtInsights), and I don't think it came with a COA.

Cel Photos

After attempting to discover a better way to get images of the pieces in my collection, I've decided to just take photos of them. The problem, as previously mentioned, is that with a flash part of the cel is obscured and without, the image is too dim.

I don't have access to a lot of secure places to try to get the best ambient lighting I can, so what I have done is taken two pictures: one with a flash and one without. Some cels were taken in a different location, which is why there is some lighting inconsistency.

I will have a separate post for each piece, so that I can explain each better.

Introduction

It's time I started writing on this thing. And like any good story, the best place is to start at the beginning!

This is my first blog (well, I started this one simultaneously with my video games blog: http://vidgamedev.blogspot.com/)so hopefully it will get better as I explore the potentials of having these spaces to write in.

This particular blog is about my passion for collecting production cels from my all-time favourite movie: Disney's The Little Mermaid (1989).

My interest started in early 2010 and I bought my first cel in April of that same year. Since then my collection has grown quite a bit (at the time of writing, I own 9 different cel setups).

I owe most of my collection growth and mentoring on the subject to Lesile Combemale, owner of ArtInsights Animation and Film Art Gallery (http://www.artinsights.com). Through her, not only have I purchased more than half of my collection, but I have also learnt a lot of valuable and interesting information about animation (production and collecting). I'll write a separate post about her and her wonderful gallery soon.

As for the cels themselves, I will start making individual posts for each piece as soon as I figure out the best way to capture them digitally. Photography doesn't work: without the flash it's too dim; with the flash the light reflection ruins the shot. The best way I have heard of is scanning, though I'm not sure of the best way to do this (if you think a flatbed scanner will do it, you're on your own with that!). I will advise when I figure it out!

For now, the background is "Ariel" by the late John Alvin, though I may have to change this due to copyright issues. I do like it's effect though, and will leave it up until I can find something adequate to replace it.

.