House on a Hill (Oil on Canvas)

 (Value Village Art Gallery Favorite)

Allow me to explain something. In all seriousness, there are probably only maybe 50 or so “Favorites” in our entire gallery, which now holds something like 750 works of art. So don’t let the fact that we’ve lucked into / stumbled upon three or four in one week fool you into thinking that we bestow the VVAGF honor capriciously: far from it, actually. We’ve just had a very good week, is all.

My in-house Art Authenticator/Appraiser is of the opinion that the pink/purple flora we are seeing is possibly Fireweed, and that the building is maaaybe one of the historic landmarks in the Russian Orthodox settlement at Ninilchik. Maybe? Regardless, this is real art by a real Alaska-y person and it was found at VV so it meets the requirements for inclusion in our illustrious gallery. 

Mountain Landscape (Oil on Canvas)

 (Value Village Art Gallery Favorite)

Another VVAGF! What is this, like, three in one week? Four? I can’t remember. 

Anyway, the price tag on this painting was $299.99 which at VV is a huge sum! Very nice though. I had to consult with my in-house Art Authenticator/Appraiser on this one, and she is of the opinion that it is legit Alaskan Art done by a real human being-type person many moons ago. We’d like to know more but the problem is that, in our online searches for an artist named EJ Pollock, we keep running across some hack named Jackson Pollock, whose alleged “art” most often looks like a house painter’s tarp. Pfft. Oh well.

“Yard Dog in Seattle” (Oil on Canvas)

 (Value Village Art Gallery Favorite)

Ahhhh Art! ART! This is what I like to see! Real Art by a real artist: no snowmen, no Northern Lights, no Yodas or Ponkemons or Trolls involved: just Real Art!

Well done, my friend :)

Alaska Landscape (Oil on Canvas)

(Value Village Art Gallery Favorite)

This thing was pretty huge. Pretty nice. Old too: 1970! I wonder how it wound up at VV. And who held onto it for 50+ years. And why that person (or his/her surviving relatives?) decided to get rid of it. Regardless, I like this and it shows at least a degree of talent. Nothing mind-blowing per se but definitely some Real Art by a Real Person: not some post-Internet / Social Media / Smart Phone pod person.

Two Thumbs Up 👍 👍 

Moose Cow and Calf (Pencil on Parchment)

Really nicely done. 

I personally am not a fan of pencil or charcoal sketching but this is a great example of it for sure.

Western Scene (Acrylic on Canvas)

“Needs Work!”

Isn’t that what teachers used to put on some badly-done homework assignments? Seems like I saw that a lot as a kid. Anyway, this really isn’t that terrible. “Things in Silhouette” is usually a bad sign around here, but other than that (and the fact that the silhouettes themselves are kinda wonky, and the birds are low effort) this isn’t absolutely horrible. 

More Flowers in the Dark (Acrylic on Canvas)

Paintings of flowers in the dark, without any sunlight, is something I will never understand.

These flowers? They’re not great, but they’re not bad. But the blackness all around them. Whew…

Abstract (Acrylic on Canvas)

I have no time or patience for this kind of thing today, sorry. It looks like a drop cloth in need of retirement. Pfft.

“North Polet” (Acrylic on Canvas)

Ho Hum…

Horizon (Acrylic on Canvas)

Slightly less uninteresting than the previous one. The colors here are more appealing as well. 

Birds and Sky (Acrylic on Canvas)

Thoroughly Average. Meh.