The Hunch Trail<sup>TM</sup>

The Hunch Trail^TM

Uncovering Secrets in Famous Artworks

About Me

I'm the author of Nicky's Secret: A Christmas Story, a children's picture book that is filled with details hidden in famous works of art. Most of these are details that have remained secret for hundreds of years. And nobody else in the world knows about the vast majority of the details hidden in the book, at least at the date of writing this (which is about six months after its publication).

Furthermore, if you either own or are considering buying a painting or sculpture, I offer an art discovery service to uncover hidden details that the artist might have hidden – in plain sight – in the work of art. This service is available to residents in most countries, including the USA, EU, UK, Canada, Australia & New Zealand.

The entire book can be read for free in low-resolution, or watch a video of the entire book being read aloud. You can also view other videos related to the book or read this fact sheet on the book.

You can also buy the mass-market paperback edition of Nicky's Secret: A Christmas Story available worldwide on Amazon. It is available on Amazon and several other booksellers.

In a small number of countries, you can buy the hardback edition, which has far superior paper, binding and print quality that you will be able to enjoy for years as a proper keepsake.

Effects of Uncovered Details on Artwork Valuations

The hidden details uncovered by an analysis can have a material effect on the valuation of the artwork. In some cases, the details uncovered can even provide evidence pertaining to the authenticity of piece of art and/or evidence for the attribution of a work of art to a specific artist. This evidence can occasionally be decisive.

Requesting a Quote

To request a quote for the analysis of a piece of art, you will first have to pay a Quotation Fee (presently US$99). This is intended to limit requests for quotation to genuine clients only.

1. Complete this checkout form on Stripe, in which you will provide your email address and contact phone number, along with payment of the Quotation Fee, which should be displayed in your local currency. The link opens in a new window.

2. Within 48 hours of your payment, one of our team members will contact you to arrange submission of digital images of your artwork, as well as to discuss the details of the piece to provide an accurate quotation for the analysis of your specific artwork. Your identity and the identity of the artwork will be kept confidential unless you state otherwise.

Assurances

NOTE: The art discovery service does not guarantee that the artist intentionally included any of the hidden details we might uncover. We scan for hidden forms that the artist is likely to have intentionally included. Nobody can be certain of an artist's true intent. Interesting forms can appear in art and in life by pure chance. Harnessing pareidolia without delusion is an important part of this service.

Fee Estimation

While any given piece of art will require a custom quotation, to give you a general idea of the fees involved, below are estimated service fees and turnaround times for 8 review passes applied to artworks with various detail levels. Pricing varies with the number of review passes required. For example, if you have a very expensive artwork or a critical investment purchase, you will likely desire a far greater number of review passes to get a reasonable certainty of identifying the more overt hidden details.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you find interesting details in an artwork I have submitted and plan to purchase, will you try to buy it yourself?

Absolutely not. Under no circumstances will we ever front-run purchases that you are considering making, for which you have paid a Quotation Fee. Your dated receipt for the Quotation Fee will serve as proof of your prior claim in this regard. Once you have paid the Quotation Fee, The Hunch Trail will pursue no transactions in relation to your artwork, and will not disclose your name or the name of the artwork to any third parties unless you instruct us differently. Your dated receipt for the Quotation Fee will serve as proof of your prior interest in the artwork. This is one of the reasons we do not even begin any discussions with prospective clients until the Quotation Fee is paid, at which point the name of the artwork is submitted to us.

Do you have a particular genre you specialise in or prefer to work with?

Religious art is our preferred genre, and it is where we do our best work. It is the subject matter I find most engaging and where I am most likely to correctly identify intentional acts of concealment by artists.

Do I need to be from a particular country to make use of this service?

This service is available to residents of most countries, including the United States of America, European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia & New Zealand.

What payment methods are available?

You will require a valid credit card to pay the Quotation Fee, and afterwards, you need to be able to make a telegraphic transfer / international bank transfer to our Australian bank account to pay for the discovery service itself.

How do I send you the artwork for analysis?

As part of the payment flow for the Quotation Fee, you will be prompted to enter your email address and phone number. After payment, we will contact you via your supplied email address to arrange for you to send us digital photo/s of the piece of art you wish to have analysed. In the case of sculptures, multiple photos will be required from different angles.