Investing in 4000AD

Hi team,

In 2021, I’d either paint right over the top of works or give them away.

My first sale was to my uncle for $206. I said $29, but he thought that was unfair. Now those same works travel around the world for a minimum of $4,200 USD.

To me, that’s a problem. Collectors have been taking long positions on ownership — and I respect that. I personally have a collection of trading cards I truly believe are worth moon beans.

But here’s the point: if the art doesn't last 1000+ years, you're buying a time-share. So, as of June 1st, each piece leaving my studio will be created using materials that will see the turn of the millennia — and framed in a sealed microclimate to ensure it.

Egg tempera is already one of the most stable and enduring painting mediums — examples from the 14th century still retain their color and clarity today. Its durability comes from the chemical cross-linking that occurs as the egg yolk binder cures, forming a hard, water-insoluble film. However, even tempera is vulnerable over time to environmental factors like oxygen, UV radiation, and fluctuations in humidity.

To address this, I'm developing a sealed display system — referred to here as an ecosphere — which creates a stable microclimate around the painting. The system is designed to minimize the primary agents of degradation through physical and atmospheric control.

The core components include:

• Airtight framing using materials that do not off-gas or react with the artwork (archival-grade wood, seals, and museum glass).

• Non-reflective, 99% UV-protected glazing to prevent photodegradation of pigments and binders.

• A nitrogen-rich interior atmosphere, introduced by purging ambient air (which contains ~21% oxygen) through a dual-valve system. Nitrogen is introduced from the top of the frame while oxygen is displaced and vented out the bottom, often through controlled cork or valve ports.

Nitrogen is inert, dry, and free of reactive compounds, making it ideal for preserving organic materials. In this environment, oxidation processes are halted or greatly slowed, and microbial life (which relies on oxygen) cannot thrive. This effectively arrests the typical long-term breakdown seen in exposed paintings.

The goal of this system is not novelty — it's stability. By removing variables like UV light, oxygen, and moisture fluctuations, the painting remains in a chemically quiet state. This brings its longevity well beyond what oil, acrylic, or ink-based systems can offer. Oils oxidize over time, becoming brittle and yellowed. Acrylics can soften or craze depending on humidity and temperature. Ink pigments often fade unless kept in darkness.

By contrast, a cured tempera film in a sealed, low-oxygen, UV-shielded ecosphere is placed in a kind of stasis — not frozen in time, but protected from the agents that would age it.