My Dawg Mike by Courtney Jolliff

This is an original portrait painting executed on a vertical, rectangular piece of repurposed corrugated cardboard, featuring a stylized depiction of a man known as 'Mike.' The artwork is rendered in a folk-art or neo-expressionist style characterized by bold, heavy black outlines and a simplified color palette. The subject is shown from the waist up, wearing a light blue collared shirt against a muted purple-grey background. His facial features are emphasized through thick contouring, highlighting a dark beard, mustache, and expressive eyes. The skin tones are applied with visible brushstrokes in shades of tan and yellow, especially around the bridge of the nose and forehead. The physical substrate shows significant signs of wear consistent with found materials, including irregular, hand-cut edges, visible corrugation along the sides, and some peeling or creasing of the top paper layer on the left margin. Created circa 2023-2024 for the 'Service' exhibition in Detroit, Michigan, this piece holds deep narrative value, representing an individual who supported the artist during a period of homelessness following a 2022 house fire. The raw, unrefined nature of the materials serves as a poignant metaphor for the resilience and lived experiences of both the artist and the sitter. The craftsmanship is intentional in its raw aesthetic, utilizing the texture of the cardboard to add depth to the flat color fields. While no signature is visible in this front-facing view, its provenance is linked to Courtney Jolliff's debut show.

I have examined the digital representation of 'My Dawg Mike' by Courtney Jolliff. The work is a compelling example of Contemporary Folk Art, characterized by its use of repurposed corrugated cardboard and neo-expressionist portraiture. The condition appears consistent with the artist's intentional 'raw' aesthetic; the irregular edges and surface peeling are inherent to the medium and contribute to its narrative power rather than detracting from its value. The provenance as part of the 'Service' exhibition in Detroit provides a crucial socio-political context, elevating the piece from a simple portrait to a document of community and resilience following the artist's 2022 displacement. As Jolliff is an emerging artist with a debut show, the market is currently in the primary stage. Comparables for emerging Detroit urban-folk artists typically range from $300 to $900 for works on non-traditional substrates. The rarity of this piece is enhanced by its specific backstory involving the fire, which creates a highly collectible narrative for local patrons and social-justice-focused collectors. The bold linework and emotional accessibility of the 'Mike' figure suggest strong secondary market potential if the artist's career continues its upward trajectory. Note: This appraisal is based on a visual digital assessment. Full authentication requires physical inspection to verify the stability of the cardboard substrate and the presence of a signature or artist's mark on the verso. To finalize this valuation for insurance purposes, I would require a gallery invoice or catalog link from the 'Service' show to confirm the chain of custody. No scientific testing was performed on the pigments or adhesive materials.