How much would you pay for an original drawing of Tom Hanks?
The blog I Draw Tom Hanks does exactly what the title says, but with a unique spin. Each drawing is up for grabs and priced at $9000. (No, that's not a typo.)
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While the drawings certainly have their charm, the price seems a bit steep -- especially considering the artist can never seem to get Mr. Hanks' name right. The actor is referred to as "Tum Henckz," "Tob Hangsh," and "Tam Hinkley," but never by his actual name. The intentional flubbing extends to Hanks' films and family members, as well. The confusion only makes the drawings more endearing, which is probably why they're priced so high.
Mashable chatted with artist Nic Michaels via email for some more information on this potentially lucrative, and definitely entertaining, art endeavor.
Mashable: What made you decide to exclusively draw Tom Hanks?
Nic Michaels: I just drew him once when I was bored. His face is kind of hard to draw, plus I'm not very good at drawing, so it came out looking like a weird mutant version of Tom Hanks.
I put it up on Instagram with the caption, "anybody got Tom Hanks's home phone? He sorta owes me nine grand for this portrait." Some friends liked it and started requesting different Tom Hanks characters. So I did some more and basically just kept making the same joke.
How do you think Tom Hanks would feel about your drawings?
I just hope if Tom Hanks ever finds out about this, he's not too creeped out by it. I mean, ideally I hope he gets a real kick out of them and maybe buys one or maybe comes over for a cookout or just wants to hang out and play some board games or something.
But I would settle for him just seeing them and not being creeped out.
What is your favorite Tom Hanks movie?
Probably Big.
Has anyone contacted you about paying $9000 for a drawing?
Lots of people have contacted me about buying drawings, but not for $9,000.
Would you accept any price lower than $9000 for a drawing?
I've been telling people I will never accept any price lower than $9,000 because I'm pretending to be an artist and have integrity and junk like that, but I would like to be able to share my work.
Plus I've gotta pay rent soon. I'm entertaining offers at [email protected] if anyone's interested.
Check out the images below, and see if you'd be interested in taking out car-sized loan for one of these beauties.
UPDATE: Or if you'd rather, Michaels has now opened an Etsy shop for, as he puts it on his blog, "cheapskates who aren’t willing to pay $9000 for great art."
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