BOUGHT BY THE KING—The above piece of artwork, "Wicked Witch," by Simi Valley-based artist Nelson De La Nuez, was purchased by Michael Jackson two weeks before his death. The painting was one of three that Jackson bought from the artist. Just two weeks before he died, Michael Jackson bought three paintings from Simi artist Nelson De La Nuez. It was the musician's last big purchase, sparked by a chance encounter that De La Nuez, a painter of pop culture, said has changed his life.

De La Nuez met Jackson during a fine art show in Beverly Hills on May 16.

"He just happened to catch my exhibit, and there he was next to me," the 50-year-old artist said. "I was introduced to him by his bodyguard . . . and then the first thing out of his mouth is, 'I want that' and he pointed to the 'Wicked Witch.'"

He said Jackson was transfixed by the piece, which is part of the 70th Anniversary World Tour of "The Wizard of Oz" and features the villain's green profile against a yellow background.

The brief exchange ended once people realized Jackson was there and "all hell broke loose," De La Nuez said. Though he has many celebrity clients, De La Nuez said he never has seen such pandemonium.

"I've never experienced anything so bizarre and so weird where someone comes in and it's like the second coming of Jesus. Everyone knows who you are and everyone wants a piece of you," he said. "I can't imagine living like that."

Though chased out of the exhibit by fans, Jackson returned to see De La Nuez's work again the next day and pointed out two more paintings he wanted: "Donut Queen," a pop surrealist painting, and an homage to the baseball classics titled "Play Ball!"

"I think what captivated him is the fact that the art is different, whimsical, a little bit mysterious, intelligent, and fun and very childlike, and I think these are all the elements he resonated with," De La Nuez said.

The $13,000 purchase was finalized on June 11 when De La Nuez received a bank wire transfer from AEG, the entertainment company that was bankrolling Jackson's 50-show comeback gig in London.

On June 15, De La Nuez delivered the three pieces to Jackson's rented Holmby Hills mansion. Jackson wasn't home that day, but De La Nuez made plans to return the following week to drop off three pieces of free art for Jackson's kids, pick up some CDs he had left to be signed and hopefully have a photo taken with the King of Pop.

These plans never came to fruition—Jackson died 10 days later on June 25 of cardiac arrest.

Like many others, De La Nuez was stunned by the news and disappointed that he would not have the opportunity to build a relationship with Jackson. He said the star had wanted to come to his studio in Simi to view more of his work in person.

Since Monday, when TMZ.com picked up the story about Jackson's final purchase, orders have flooded in from fans all over the world that want to own the same art Jackson bought. De La Nuez said people who had tickets to the comeback concert are packaging their tickets with the art as a keepsake.

As a longtime fan of Jackson's music, De La Nuez said he feels honored that the larger-than-life entertainer liked his work.

"It was very lucky for me to meet him when I did," he said. "I'm honored that one of Michael's last big purchases was my artwork, and I hope for the short time he owned it, it brought a smile to his face."