Photo by Runs With Scissors.

Last week, one of Banksy’s illegal works was turned into a small fortune as the London building owner sold the painting on eBay, wall included, for £208,100.00 (over $400,000 USD). While it remains to be seen whether the winning bidder actually pays, it’s easy to see how all those dollar signs prompted others to put their graffiti covered property up for sale. This week, there are two vans painted painted by well known New York graffiti writers and street artists on the auction block.

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While vintage spray paint cans are constantly bought and sold by collectors across the internet, it’s rare to see a collection of 342 cans of vintage Rust-Oleum go on the auction block. We talked with Ebay seller, Slyle133 about collecting spray paint cans from decades before premium brands were born.

Why collect cans of spray paint?

Ever since I was young, I have had been bit by the “collecting bug.” I went from saving old magazines to collecting baseball cards, then to records and eventually spray paint. It was a natural progression of things which reflected what I was getting into at the time. Even now I find myself starting various odd collections. It’s not always what you collect, but the general hunt for things to collect. We tend to call it “diggin’.”

How’d you get started collecting cans of spray paint?

For me it goes back to a time when the fancy European paint was not yet available in the States. In the 70’s and 80’s, Krylon had discontinued colors such as Icy Grape, Hot Raspberry, and Jungle Green. At that time, the early 90’s, muted pastels were the popular decorator colors which paint companies favored. In order to obtain specific colors in a wider range, one would traditionally have to travel beyond your local Sears, K-Mart, Bradlees, etc. I found myself focusing on local independent stores seeking Krylon’s discontinued colors and also found various “odd” (meaning smaller companies) brands. I started finding colors and brands not available at mainstream chain stores.

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We’ve fallen behind in reporting on the MadeULookNYC wholecar graffiti drama, but we’ll fix that. To recap, 10 subway cars were painted with the name “Made U Look” in late December, and shortly thereafter a website selling t-shirts of the hit appeared (albeit under the name MadeULookNYC). Finally, because of the website’s shady business we speculated that the NYPD might be behind it. Although graffiti writers criminals in general do some stupid things (like DRO caught breaking into a store while videos in his car of his crew painting), selling t-shirts via Paypal seems too dumb.

Now, to silence critics and cash in, MULNYC is auctioning live video footage of their feat on Ebay. Though we’re curious about the legitimacy of the video and the auction is only at $25, we’ll probably hold off and invest our money in the amazing Britney Spears hair art for sale. That seller has 99.3% positive feedback, and MadeULookNYC has none, to say the least.

Link: MadeULookNYC Video on Ebay