“‘Twas the painting of a menagerie that caught Karl Balluch’s eye. Wee Bartholomew perched in a well-sculpted tree as his mother and father stood in the flesh below. His cherub-like sister glared at an evil serpent that had plucked a round delicacy from the foliage. Crisp lines encapsulated the rich hues — blues, greens, yellows — that lay within. Balluch was one of many who visited the Metro Convention Centre yesterday for Simpsons Mania, an art show dedicated to the hugely popular, long-running animated series. Throughout the afternoon, hundreds queued outside a small gallery of about 300 late-20th Century (pre-Y2K era) pieces ranging from less than $200 to more than $3,000. Balluch, 32, parted with $275 for “The Garden of Springfield,” after a simple appraisal: “It gets the realm of all of the Simpsons — in the (buff).” Read More >>>
