Woodblocks, better

Hello again!  I've been a bad blogger.  The fourth quarter at my office is always crazy, and this year its been even more so.  We also had a death in the family at the beginning of the month and then Christmas to contend with, so I apologize if you've been wondering where I'd gone.

In my last post I mentioned that I'd been picking up old Japanese woodblock prints for the living room.  I finally decided on a small, simple, black moulding, and have two back from the framers so far.

We've got a little traditional/contemporary/Asian thing going on here and I'm really happy with how these look.  The archival rag mats are thicker than usual for just a little bit of dimension, and the stark black and white focuses the eye on the images.  I think they feel a little bit more graphic as well.

Brett and I celebrated our 15th anniversary of the 15th of December, another traditional blog post I missed.  The last few years instead of buying each other gifts we've bought a piece of art, so we we focused the hunt on another woodblock.

eBay has a ton of prints I don't want, but among the crap there are a few jewels.  I watched this print for a while, even though the opening bid of $345 was way too much for me.  Printed in 1861, its titled "Actor Portraying a Dashing Youth."

A few days before our anniversary I was sitting at work when my phone app went off letting me know the auction was about to end.  There was a "Make Offer" option, so I floated a lowball and went on about my day.  Checking my email later, I was shocked (and thrilled) to find my offer was accepted.  Score!   

I thought I'd have it back from the framer and was waiting to post, but the holiday seems to have put them a little behind.  I hope it will be ready this weekend.

I probably shouldn't put anything on the wall until I have the number I want, but I like them so much I probably won't wait.  I've got spackle and paint if I have to move them and need to fix a few errant nail holes.