One of the aspects I used to really appreciate on a number of older online skate sites was their "eBay watch" feature. I'm not even sure anyone is doing these anymore. Maybe things have moved far enough along beyond the initial collecting craze -- when these things were just starting to come out of our adolescent garages and closets -- that there's less value in those kind of watches and searches now? Maybe other collector forums now better fill that function? Certainly from a collector point of view there are plenty of options today, arguably better and certainly more interactive one's, though I do believe eBay still presents the possibility of finding something that hasn't been through the ringer of the usual collector circuits; in that regard it yet presents the possibility of 'the find.'
One of the things I love about skate art is that it seems like you've never seen it all. Somehow, somewhere, a colorway comes to light that you've never seen or had forgotten about, or even an entire board graphic. Never mind that, it can even just be the colors of the plastics, wheels, trucks, etc. and how they combine with the deck -- and even the grip art or the stickers can give a whole new spin on a deck, ripping you in a flash out of the 21st century and right back into the late 20th.
One of the things I love about skate art is that it seems like you've never seen it all. Somehow, somewhere, a colorway comes to light that you've never seen or had forgotten about, or even an entire board graphic. Never mind that, it can even just be the colors of the plastics, wheels, trucks, etc. and how they combine with the deck -- and even the grip art or the stickers can give a whole new spin on a deck, ripping you in a flash out of the 21st century and right back into the late 20th.
At any rate, I wanted to share one board that just sold on eBay that I was really taken with for some of these reasons. I have a particular interest in used completes that look like they were set down in a garage or room in the 1980's and then forgotten about and not picked up again until now -- leaving them in a sort of state that is both frozen in time on the one hand, and yet also looking like they could have just been skated yesterday on the other. I also prefer, as a general rule, the bright colorways that were so indicative of that period. This particular board has a number of these qualities; it's teal blue Rob Roskopp 'Face' deck from Santa Cruz. Check it out:
What does it for me is that this color is absolutely typical for the 80's -- on a graphic is arguably one of the most iconic of the 1980's as well. What's more, the board art really pops. For my part, I believe that the one's that do are the ones the utilize a mixture of complimentary colors and color opposites. In this case, the opposites are found in the teal blue dip contrasted against the light reds and pinks of the mouth and around the eyes. The complimentarity is found between the blue and the dark yellow wheels. Speaking of the wheels, they OJ II's; take a closer look:
Apparently the owner put on some new bearings and also re-gripped the board. Might be a no-no for some, but I'll have to say that the grip tape they chose is perfectly suited to the board, making it look like a period bit of custom grip art:
It also comes with some classic sticker action:
A nice piece of skate history here. I was tempted to bid on it myself but fortunately for the lucky winner of the auction, I didn't.
(FYI it sold for $426.00 USD on 13 bids, which I would say is about right for a complete in this sort of used condition.)
