Northern Lights (Acrylic on Canvas)

Really not that good. At all.

There are way too many Northern Lights paintings in this here gallery I think. Also: too many paintings of Birch Trees and Mountain Landscapes.

Artists: paint something else!

Tropical Scene (Acrylic on Canvas)

Black paint. Things in Silhouette.

Yawn.

Fish (Acrylic on Canvas)

I like it. It’s honest. The octopus is smiling, as is the blue fish. Not sure if those yellowish things are supposed to be eels, seahorses or nematodes but they’re okay too. The overall effect here is one of being under da sea. Under de ocean.

Keep up the good work, lil’ dude/dudette 👍

Random Swirls of Color / Flowers (Acrylic on Canvas)

Both of these showed up on the same day. So, judging by the color pallet, I think we can assume they are by the same artist. These paintings are fairly average and (to be honest) not so interesting. The first one is better than the second I think.

Nature Scene (Watercolor on Parchment)

This is pretty fantastic, talent/skill-wise, no doubt about that. But the subject is kind of a boring one. 

If there was ever a painting I was going to describe as “quiet” or “sedate”, this would be the one. Nice, but not my cup of tea.

Cabin in the Woods (Acrylic on Canvas)

I think (?) I like this. The Sepia-type colors are an intriguing choice and not one that I can recall ever having seen here before.

1984 eh? That was a great year. Taco Bell was cheap, jobs were plentiful and the cost of living was low. There was no Social Media. People read books. It was a Good Time to be alive.

Landscape (Acrylic on Canvas)

A little dark, isn't it. I can’t tell if those are shooting stars in the sky, or smudges.

Not so great.

Stylized Landscape (Acrylic on Canvas)

I could’ve sworn there were two of these but I can’t find the other pic. No problem though: the other one was about as average as this one.

Flowers (Acrylic on Canvas)

If those pencil or ballpoint pen-looking scribbles weren’t at the bottom and in the center of that one flower I would have given this a favorable review. But now? Pfft…

Random Splotches of Color (Acrylic on Canvas)

Ho hum… 

Flower Pattern (Acrylic on Canvas)

 Thoroughly average…

Mountain Scene (Acrylic on Canvas)

Those clouds are pretty awful. If not for them, I would say that this is one of the best “Mountain Scene” / “Mountain Landscape” paintings we’ve installed here in quite a while. The lack of snow and/or Northern Lights is a welcome change.

Nice work, squiggly-signatured artist.

Glum Lemon-Water Dude (Acrylic on Canvas)

I actually like this. Despite how sparse and meager it is, I honestly think there’s some talent (or at least potential talent) on display. Good job, anonymous artistic-type individual 👍

Frozen Lake Hockey (Acrylic on Canvas)

I had planned on making this yet another one of my usual snarky reviews.

But then I started looking at this kid and decided the artist did a pretty good job on him. 

And while the trees are, admittedly, not so great, and the frozen lake is mostly just a shade or two of white and blue, the overall effect is…pretty good. 

It causes us to ask questions. Why is this kid by himself? Where’s his net? Why is he just standing there? What is he thinking? How did he get there? Where’s his mom? Is someone coming to pick him up? Has he eaten? It sure looks cold: I wonder if he’s cold? I bet he’s cold.

Stuff like that…

Smiling Dog (Acrylic on Canvas)

(Value Village Art Gallery Favorite)

This, right here, is why I do what I do, and is the reason that the Value Village Art Gallery exists.

Is it “good” from a skill/talent standpoint? No. Oh heck no. Definitely not.

Does it SPEAK to us? Does it have Heart and Soul and LIFE? Yes. Without question.

“But is it Art?” (as the saying goes?) Absolutely! yes Yes YES i say! Resoundingly so!

We need more Art like this! 👍

Flowers? (Acrylic on Canvas)

From a technique standpoint, it’s good.

From a heart and soul standpoint, it’s on autopilot: it says nothing, means nothing, evokes nothing. A Spirograph picture would be about as important.

Stax Love (Something on Canvas)

So I can’t tell if this is black paint, charcoal, or black pen. And I honestly did this this was a kind of Stax logo reference until I realized it was the finger/heart/love sigh the kids do nowadays.

Lame.

Just kidding. These are some fairly decent fingers, for sure. Fingers and hands can be tricky!

Halloween Landscape (Acrylic on Canvas)

In hindsight I realize that I didn’t examine this one closely enough. It’s is actually really good. I wish I’d bought it. The pumpkins, the ghost dog. I’m not sure what’s going on with that sky (?) but while it doesn’t improve the painting it doesn’t ruin it either (although the “salmon and white dots” area comes close.

I like it!

Mountain Landcape (Acrylic on Canvas)

All these Mountain Landscapes are getting to be a little tiresome. It’s exhausting. 

This one had the potential for being slightly interesting. Unfortunately, it missed the mark. 

The only things I can say that I barely like are the river (if that is, in fact, a river) and the places where the light green hills and the black hills meet near what appears (?) to be a glacier.

Landscape (?) (Acrylic on Canvas)

Unarguably bad…

(Postscript: I almost forgot to mention that this thing was absurdly huge. It was easily 3ft tall. Ridiculous.)