I never intended for this to happen, but it did. It all began innocently enough, or so I that in the summer of 2002. By that time, the collecting bug had already bitten me. I'd retired once from collecting after a big purchase for a few months, but I missed the thrill of the hunt. With the AOTC mania in full swing, I noticed with interest a new company. Gentle Giant Ltd. Intrigued by the use of the new scanning technology, I was curious and excited to see what their products would look like. Daunted by the price tag of these new mini-busts, I opted only to order Padme that year. Although I wanted the Yoda and Darth Vader mini-busts, I told myself at the time that I had already spent way too much money on my collection that year and would have to pass.

Fast forward two years later. After two moves in a one year period, many of my action figures had gone to charity to entertain some happy child there when he found a Star Wars action figure. Sometime in the fall of 2004, I discovered that Master Replicas made mini scale versions of the lightsabers, and it was all over. I soon found that I stopped going to Toys R Us or Target for the hunt. I was now looking at places like Suncoast and Media Play. I had switched over to collecting higher end items.

The thing is, I told myself, I spent the same amount as before, just on fewer items. It made it easier to manage my collection. What I didn't realize was that this focus on higher end items would spill over to other areas of my life as well. I also collect Disneyana items, and it wasn't as big that big a leap to high end Disney items as well because I had already learned from collecting high end Star Wars items that the old adage is true. You get what you pay for. And so it was that I also began collecting Disneyana items and Disney artwork. And so it is, that my growing Disney artwork collection influenced my Star Wars collecting as well. Collecting one high end line can be tricky enough. Even attempting to collect two high end lines is another matter altogether.

To my way of thinking, if I had artwork from my favorite Disney movie, Sleeping Beauty, it only made sense to have artwork from my all time favorite movie series. And so with the 30th anniversary of Star Wars this year, I decided that I wanted to acquire some 30th anniversary artwork. And what better place to get some nice 30th anniversary artwork than StarWarsShop.com. I would have acquired the pieces at CIV, but I couldn't make it, so I had to rely on the internet, which has become my main source for Star Wars collecting. With timely assistance from our very own MO2YP who alerted me that Jason Palmer was selling prints and the sketchbook online, I was able to acquire the wonderful Jason Palmer print of Padme from CIV. Interestingly enough, I have since learned of other collectors who really want to acquire that print, but they're left hoping that some of the leftover from Europe make it to StarWarsShop.com. Because of the wonderful community on these blogs, I count myself fortunate to have this piece. That became the second piece of Star Wars art that I purchased after picking up the Russell Walks print of Padme from CIII.

Russel Walks Padme print from CIII

Jason Palmer Padme print from CIV

And then I played the waiting game, which is not as much fun as hungry, hungry hippos, but is a game that we must play as collectors. When the CIV prints went up on the shop, I was quite happy. One type that I wanted was a print that spanned all the films in the saga, featuring most, if not all of the characters. One of the prints that I'd had my eye on was the Tsuneo Sanda print. I loved the color on it, and I loved how he had the major players in both the prequel and the classic trilogy front and center. As an added bonus, it even had the major ships, especially from the classic trilogy on the poster.

I continued to browse the artwork when I came across the Tommy Lee Edwards print. On this print, I loved how the Skywalkers were depicted so large and prominent. I also loved the Skywalker 30 years at the bottom of the print. It was a great touch and captured just what I was looking for in a print. Now having ordered both these prints, I was happy. Next up came yet another waiting game, this one exacerbated by the continual pushing back of the release dates. After much consternation, both prints finally arrived, safe, sound, and absolutely stunning. That very day, I took them to the frame shop for the hardest part. Picking and choosing a matte and frame.

I have a love/hate relationship with matting and framing artwork. First off, I can't do it, so it's going to cost more to pay a professional to do it. Second, it can be an adventure trying to come up with a combination that I think will look good and not break the bank. Artwork can be expensive enough as is. I have at times tried doing a mockup on my own computer before going to the frame shop. While this is helpful and gives me an idea of what I want to do, it's also tricky because there's no guarantee that the framer will have the specific matte color that I'm looking for. In this case, because of a one week sale and limited time, I didn't even do a mockup. I just went straight to the framers. First up was the Sanda print. I ended up deciding on a dark blue textured matte with a gold frame to play off the dark blue and gold throughout the print. I am pleased with how this turned out.

Tsueno Sanda print from CIV

The Edwards print is another story, and it's a good one. Simply put, this is why I recommend a matte and frame when possible. The framer recommended a red and black double matte to play off the red int the print. It turned out spectacular, even more to because of the size of this print. With the matte and frame it's very close to 27x40, the size of a movie poster. The double matte looks incredibly sharp and I love how the colors play off of Darth Vader without detracting from the picture. I like how the Sanda print turned out. I am ecstatic with how the Edwards print turned out. It took my breath away.

Tommy Lee Edwards Skywalker 30 Years print from CIV

And so it is collecting high end Star Wars items leads to collecting Disney artwork, collecting Disney artwork leads to collecting Star Wars artwork, and collecting Star Wars artwork leads to my wallet suffering(the rest of me quite enjoys it though). And with rumors coming that prints from Celebration Europe are on their way to Star Wars Shop, if the price is right, there may be more artwork coming. Now comes the most difficult and scariest part of all: Finding room to display it.