A look at the Ken Kelly Micronauts paintings

Terraphant oil on canvas 30" x 40"

In Rumel's own words:

"Let me know what information you need about the paintings. The individuals (other than Ken Kelly and Marty Abrams) who actually made this possible are Michael Jaecks and Christi Cole. Years ago Michael e-mailed me and said that someone had the original Membros card art for sale. I think it was either on Ron Pringle's Micronaut site or The Big Red Toy Box. It was selling for around $1,850 and it hadn't sold. I contacted the seller and asked if it was still available. The seller e-mailed me back and told me that she already had an offer for it and that it was basically sold. I then told her that if the deal fell through that I would be willing to purchase it for $1,850. The seller e-mailed me back and told me that if I was willing to pay the full price that she would let me have it.

This when I met Christi Cole and we began to exchange e-mails. As it turns out, she's an art dealer and she works for someone who used to represent Ken Kelly. This person had purchased the paintings from Ken Kelly when he was still a poor and upcoming artist. The only painting he didn't purchase was Antron, so this is the one that Marty Abrams (Mego's president) ended up with. This person then sold the paintings to his assistant Christi Cole. Now let me say that Christi Cole is a terrific lady. After she agreed to sell me the Membros, I asked her if she owned any of the other Micronaut Paintings... she informed me that she owned 7 of the original 8 Ken Kelly pieces, but really didn't want to sell anymore of them (Terraphant is her favorite).

She then e-mailed me back and said that she would sell me a few more. I told her that I would buy as many as she would sell, but only if she was okay with it. She knew how much I wanted them, so she agreed to sell me the entire collection. I don't think she really wanted to sell all of them, but she did me a favor and sold me the entire collection... she even sold them to me for less than what she paid for them! Christi is a true art lover, and I consider her a friend... she didn't offer them to anyone else, only me. She easily could have gone on ebay and sold them for a much higher price, but it was more important for her to keep the set together and wanted to make sure that they went to a good home. Now this was a person who had gave me a great deal on them because she wanted me to have them.

Hornetroid oil on canvas 30" x 40"

Out of respect for Christi, if I ever sell them, I would only sell them as a set. I would also ensure that they went to a good home. I've had an offer as high as $70,000 for the set, but don't want to sell them. If the Smithsonian or the Museum of Art (in D.C) wanted them, I would consider donating them so that everyone could enjoy them. It's kind of a shame that no one else gets to see them... they're probably some of Ken Kelly's best work. Anyway, that's the short version of how I came to acquire them."

Lobros oil on canvas 30" x 34"

Many thanks to Rumel Tomiampos for sharing these beautiful images with us!