Manuel Lepe 1974 Original Gouache 12x8.5 Framed Delightful Original Lepe in Brand New Tru-View Frame Start Price USD 4,100.00 Current Price USD 4,100.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Tuesday, August 26, 2008 End Time Tuesday, September 02, 2008 Location Phoenix,AZ See more about 'Manuel Lepe 1974 Original Gouache 12x8.5 Framed' Description Snappy Auctions Payment - Shipping - Returns - About Us   Manuel Lepe 1974 Original Gouache 12x8.5 Framed Delightful Original Lepe in Brand New Tru-View Frame Up for auction is an original 1974 Manuel Lepe Gouache (on paper), signed and dated, just newly framed, from a non-smoking home.  This beautiful and delightful Lepe gouache measures approximately 12 inches by 8.5 inches, and framed it measures 20 x 16.5.   It had spent most of its life in an old (and somewhat unattractive) frame since being purchased by the original owner in Puerto Vallarta in the mid 1970's.  We had it reframed with acid-free matting, with a full 3" black-matting border separating the gouache from the fluted tropical chocolate-brown wood frame. We also used Tru-View Museum Quality Plexiglass, which looks as clear and "transparent" as museum glass, without the breakage risk.  It looks stunning in person - this is emphatically a case where my photographs don't come close to doing this piece justice.  If you like it in the photos, you're going to fall in love with it in person. The paper substrate is of a cream color, and the turquoise blue of the water, green of the trees, and pink of the birds and angels' faces just bursts off the paper.  As you might know, a gouche is much like a watercolor, except with a much higher ratio of paint pigment to water, so gouaches seem "thicker" and more pronounced than watercolors.  In fact, if you view the piece through a 10x jewelers loupe, as I did with the piece out of its frame, you can actually see the layering of paint on the paper, and areas where it was thick enough that it didn't soak into the paper like watercolors would.  One question I'd like to address in advance, that some people may ask about, is whether this is a lithograph or print.   This is absolutely not a print - I spent 8 years in the forest products industry, and hundreds of hours in printing plants, and this piece did not come off a printing press.  Additionally, the paper is painted right to its edges - Lepe's signature and dating run right to the edge of the paper, with just a little bit covered by the matting.  A lithograph would require much more border paper around the printed ink - they don't "bleed" right to the edge like this.   This is a watercolor/gouache on paper, handpainted by Manuel Lepe in 1974, and we welcome any questions you may have.  We want all of our customers to buy with confidence. The condition is excellent for its age - it has no tears or rips, just some minor surface "wave" and texturing from the type of thick paper he used.   There's a bit of tiny wrinkling in the paper substrate at the far right, next to the matting, again just because of the age of the piece and the type of paper used.   When you receive it, take a moment to view it under magnification and you'll see what I mean - you can appreciate the fiber lay and "rawness" of the paper he used if you view it under magnification. If you've found this auction, you already know how rare original Lepe pieces are.  Because he died prematurely at the young age of 41, his total portfolio is smaller than one would expect, and his originals rarely show up in galleries, much less on ebay.  The last Lepe original sold on ebay for $9000 (I can forward the item number if you'd like to see it).  That was a canvas, and a slightly larger piece, so our Buy It Now price is a very reasonable fraction of that.  And considerate and reasonable inquiries & offers will gladly be considered.    Thank you for visiting! Photo Note:  Please forgive the reflections captured in the photos.  I took many of the photos at an off-angle to minimize glare and reflections, but it will look far better in person that I could ever capture in pictures. Shipping will be a flat rate of $24.99 for UPS Ground with full tracking and insurance in the Continental US, so bid with confidence.  Alaska and Hawaii bidders please contact us for a quote.  Questions are always welcome, and thanks for looking! Important Auction Terms: Payment:  Paypal, Money Orders, Cashier's Checks, Direct Bank Wire Transfer and Personal Checks all accepted.  Payment is due within 5 days.  Unless we hear from you, as of day 6 you are in default and we reserve the right to sell the item to the next highest bidder, and an unpaid item strike will be issued against your ebay account. If paying by Money Order or Cashier's Check, it MUST be made out to 2nd Half LLC.  Money Orders or Cashier's Checks made out to any other name (our ebay id, for example), will be returned to the sender for a replacement, and will dramatically delay shipment of your item. Shipping: Please read all of the following - placing a bid on this auction represents your acceptance of each of these terms: We only ship to the United States and Puerto Rico - no international shipping, no exceptions. All US shipping is done via FedEx Ground - we must have a street address, as FedEx cannot ship to POBoxes.  If your paypal payment does not include a street address, your item will not ship. Every package we ship is fully insured - the cost you see in the auction includes insurance and tracking We reserve the right to require a signature for delivery of any item, for your protection and ours We don't believe in overcharging our customers with crazy handling fees - the cost you see in the auction is just enough to cover shipping and the cost of the box.  If you are still not comfortable with the cost, please do not bid. We wish shipping cost less, but with oil at $100 per barrel, we're just charging you what FedEx is charging us. Please keep in mind that we're in Arizona.  If you live in California, your item will get there in 2 days, lightning fast. But if you live on the East Coast, please expect 4-5 business day shipping as the item must go cross country. We always ship same business day (next on weekends) - as soon as you pay, out the door it goes! "Can I Buy It Now?"  -  If you see a Buy It Now option, you may use it to make the purchase.  If there is no Buy It Now option available, then consider it a pure auction, wherever it ends it ends, highest bidder wins.  We will not answer emails asking us to end the auction early, or to name our "lowest selling price". Combined Shipping: Snappy Auctions insures every shipment, no matter the size or cost, for full purchase value at no extra cost to our customers. In order to provide this service however, our insurance requires that each individual item purchased by a customer must be trackable, and shipped individually. However, we do reserve the right to make combined shipping available on a case by case basis, depending on buyer's history and feedback record. Returns:  Your satisfaction is very important to us, and we want you to be happy.  We will be happy to accept the return of a purchased item whenever there is a mistake on our part, but we draw the line where satisfaction meets sheer lunacy.  We do not accept returns for "buyer's remorse", or in cases where the buyer clearly didn't pay attention to the photos and text and didn't understand what they were buying.  Return shipping costs are the buyer's responsibility, and will not be refunded except in cases where we've made an egregious error. We're nice people:  Yes, really, we are!  And as our feedback record attests, we take care of our customers.  But we prefer not to deal with abusive, irresponsible, or inconsiderate ebayers.  We won't be bullied, and we aren't afraid of negative feedback.  Likewise, we will cancel and block any bidders with questionable feedback records, or who leave verbally offensive feedback for others.  Life is just too short to deal with mean people. We hope you agree!     Seller Information   Payment Information PayPal, Money Orders, Personal Checks We are happy to accept credit card payments through PayPal. We will also accept money orders. We will accept personal checks, but check must clear before we will ship the item. Payment is required within 5 days of the close of the auction. If you have extenuating circumstances on sending payment, you must email us immediately to notify us of the expected date of receipt of payment.       Shipping Information We pride ourselves on the quality of items sold. We pack and ship our items professionally to ensure each item you buy from us arrives safely and in the listed condition. Our items are shipped via FedEx Ground Insured (USPS in some cases). Please check the shipping calculator in the body of this auction to obtain an accurate shipping cost associated with this item based on your zip code. If the listing does not include a shipping calculator, it will clearly state the flat rate amount or indicate it is for Local Pickup. All shipping prices include a standard handling fee that includes the cost of all packaging materials. Items are typically shipped within 3 business days of receipt of payment. You will be notified by email when your item has been shipped. SELLER CODE SAF2ALL We are unable to ship to PO boxes, so please provide a standard mailing address with your payment. If you pay by PayPal, and your shipping address is different than your confirmed address in PayPal, you must email us directly to let us know of the requested change. We will email you back to accept it, otherwise your item will be sent to your confirmed PayPal address. Local pickups are subject to sales tax and a $5.00 handling fee per item.       Returns We pay the highest attention in ensuring that listings are accurate and reflect the quality and condition of the item. We will accept a return if an item is clearly misrepresented in the listings. Descriptions and pictures are taken immediately before the item is listed and are accurate at that time. If you receive an item and there are any questions on the representation of the item, you must email with problems within 3 days of delivery.       About Us We are dedicated to making selling items on eBay easy for you or your business. We handle item warehousing, evaluation of items, photography, writing attractive listings, posting listings on eBay, answering inquiries on items, collecting payments, and shipping items once they are sold. Please contact us if we can be of service to you or your organization. We have locations around the country.     Place a Bid!