Card Shark by Michael Godard: Collector's Guide

Card Shark is a limited edition giclee by Las Vegas pop artist Michael Godard, offered in three sizes (17.5" x 22", 28" x 35", and 44" x 55") across four documented editions priced from $595 to $4,995, each on gallery-wrapped canvas, with a certificate of authenticity and free, insured US delivery.

• Artist: Michael Godard, the Las Vegas pop artist known as the "Rockstar of the Art World"
• Medium: limited edition giclee, archival pigment inks on gallery-wrapped canvas
• Subject: Godard's martini-and-olive character seated at the card table, a gambling-themed entry in his nightlife catalog
• Editions: four documented editions: G Edition, Signed and Numbered, Artist's Proof, and Mosaic Mural
• Sizes & price: 17.5" x 22", 28" x 35", and 44" x 55"; $595 to $4,995
• Collecting: numbered, documented with a certificate of authenticity, and shipped free and insured within the US

About Card Shark

Card Shark pairs Godard's familiar martini-and-olive character with a card table scene, painted in the bold, saturated color and theatrical style that has defined his work since the 1990s. In the product notes, Godard sums up the piece with a line as sharp as the subject: "A real card shark is one you don't see coming."

It is a signature entry in Michael Godard's martini and olive catalog, and a favorite of collectors drawn to cocktail and bar wall art and limited edition giclee. If you are ready to start or grow a collection, browse the full range of Michael Godard art for sale.

Editions, sizes & prices of this limited edition giclee

This title is released in four documented editions across three sizes, each printed as a giclee on gallery-wrapped canvas. The 28" x 35" Signed and Numbered Edition of 995 is signed and numbered by hand by Godard; the G Edition of 500, Artist's Proof Edition of 100, and Mosaic Mural Edition of 50 are individually numbered, and the Artist's Proof features a one-color paint embellishment. Prices below are the current live listing prices.

These are the documented runs for this title, with no open-ended or undocumented printing. Each print is a giclee, a fine-art process using archival pigment inks, here on gallery-wrapped canvas.

Casino meets cocktail

Poker and casino scenes make up a large share of Godard's catalog, a natural extension of the Las Vegas nightlife he has lived inside for decades, both as a working musician and later as a painter. Card Shark sits naturally beside his other gaming-themed pieces, like Bullets and Blackjack Pimps, in a game room or home bar.

About Michael Godard

From draftsman and drummer to "Rockstar of the Art World"

Born in 1963 and later based in Las Vegas, Godard studied at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena and at UNLV, and spent years working as a draftsman and commercial illustrator, and drumming in Las Vegas bands, before painting full time. The turning point was a friend's request for a birthday painting about dirty martinis: he answered with personified, animated olive characters full of attitude, and that became the visual language behind the nickname collectors know him by, the "Rockstar of the Art World."

The signature style

His pop art is instantly recognizable, personified olives, grapes, and other characters set against high-contrast backgrounds, rendered with theatrical exaggeration and a satirist's sense of timing. This piece puts that character at the card table, one of the settings that shaped his years in Las Vegas.

Beyond the canvas, and giving back

His book Don't Drink and Draw, with a foreword by friend and collector Ozzy Osbourne, was named an Art Book of the Year in 2006. Since 2006, following the loss of his daughter Paige to brain cancer at 16, the artist has maintained an ongoing charitable relationship with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and related causes. For the complete story, read the full artist biography.

Authenticity, shipping & guarantee

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Frequently asked questions