Kayaking Down the River (Acrylic on Canvas Board)

Happy New Year’s Eve, folks!

This was a painted canvas board framed behind glass. Which is something one doesn't often encounter with paintings and as an added bonus the glass made it really difficult to get a decent non-glare photograph. And that's a shame, because while this was fairly kitschily done per the whole perspective ala “Dark Passage” deal, the distant riverbanks and clouds look pretty good in a non-professional kind of way. This is good stuff. It’s real. Someone who has actually hunted and/or fished and/or kayaked in Alaska painted this, I can tell. It’s authentic! And I like that.

A Retrospective (Acrylic on Canvases and Canvas Boards

In the twenty-three months that I have been curating the (Value) Village Art Gallery I have never added this many paintings via one post. But then again, I’ve never happened upon this many paintings by the same person on the same day. It’s a freaking embarrassment of riches! Normally I would critique each one separately, but in this case that would be boring and repetitive. Paintings one, three, four, five, six and eleven were all 4” x 4”. Of the thirteen, most are not that great but the er um “least inspired” painting in this set is FAAAAAR from being the worst we’ve ever seen. And in a small number of cases, there is actually some moderately interesting work taking place. Specifically, I really do kinda like numbers four, five. twelve and thirteen. The rest fall somewhere between “yeah, okay, pfft, whatever” and “Burn This Immediately!” I’ll leave it to you to figure out which ones are which.

Strange Tree and Sky (Acrylic on Canvas)

I think maybe this is by the same dude/dudette that did a similar painting a few days back. I don’t like this one as much. I don’t think much effort went into it. But who knows?
 

Another One of These Things (Acrylic on Canvas)

It’s okay I guess. From previous reviews of this kind of thing you probably already know how I feel. I’m just not that into it. I’m betting that less than 1% of artists nowadays are doing what I think art should be about. But that’s just me and I’m pretty much opposed to the entirety of the 21st Century as well as the 20th century after approximately World War I. So pfft.

Anime/Manga-looking thingies (pencil on canvas)

This is 100% not my bag, baby. It feels…like the kind of artwork that many folks that are into this kind of thing are doing i.e. the same identical-looking crap er um stuff rather. Still, there’s talent here, obviously. I just wish it was being channeled into a more original, organtic and heartfelt direction.
 

Flowers (Acrylic on Canvas)

Another nice one! I like the colors and the general lightness of it all. There’s not much depth, not much detail, and not much shading but it’s good. I like a painter who can get in and out quickly without overthinking things. Good job!

Flower Sloganeering (Acrylic on Canvas)

It’s not a hard and fast “carved in stone”-type rule but I generally prefer to avoid paintings with quotes or sayings on them. This one though, welllll i just really like the flowers! The artist could have done a whole canvas of these flowers and he or she would have made me a happy man. 

But unfortunately, this painting has a quotation from a man who is responsible for some of the greatest horrors of the late 20th to early 21st centuries. Sooooo it must be destroyed immediately!

Strange Forest (Acrylic on Canvas)

I actually think I sorta/maybe/kinda like this a little bit. It’s weird and amateurish and repellant but there's something about it that is moderately engaging. I have no idea why the sky or background is the way it is. And the trees, for all their unconventionality, are surprisingly uniform. But even so, this painting grabs me. Somewhat. If the artist were to keep this style/tone/feel going while continuing to improve on it, he or she might actually be onto something.

Gulley Jimson Approves!

Starry Night Flower (Acrylic on Canvas)

I’m finding what I feel like is waaaay too many paintings lately where I’m unable to tell whether they are phoney mass produced or legit amateur art. This is one of them. This painting is good enough to be mass produced but odd enough to be amateur. Odd = something seems off with the brown center section of the flower. Regardless, I do rather like this and I wish it had been signed. If anyone finds it on Wayfair or Temu or wherever let me know and I’ll remove it. Otherwise, it stays. And “nice work artiste!”

Lightning Bugs (Acrylic on Wooden Frame)

I think these are supposed to be some kind of stylized and futuristic lightning bugs. They’re good; really confidently and competently done. But I’m not sure why it was created, or what it’s trying to say. 

Elephant Ear Plant (Acrylic on Canvas)

I asked my wife “Is there such a thing as an Elephant Ear Plant?” Because that was the assemblage of words that popped into my brain when I started to write this critique. She said yes and when I showed her the photo I took of this painting she gave forth with the following: “that would be a variegated Elephant Ear plant with the multi-colored leaves.”

This painting is okay I guess. It just feels…kinda unfinished. 

On the other hand, it also feels kinda 80s and/or Modern-y/Minimalist-y, which is cool I suppose, right?

Smiling Mollusk (Acrylic on Canvas Board)

https://youtu.be/3nZmVy3g3CE?si=udIGE73oiZHuhJEB

This may (?) be by the “Goldfish from Mars” person but I’m not 100% sure. Just as I’m not 100% sure of what the hell this thing is. My initial thought was that it’s one of those things that lives in giant conch shells. Which would make this…a conch? Or a mollusk or something maybe? I’m not sure. But: it is highly original and as it does not involve Birch trees, or Northern Lights, or SNOW, I can tell you with 100% honesty that I like it! 

Artist: I’m not sure what your deal is, but keep at it. “Let your Freak Flag Fly!!!”

Goldfish from Mars (Acrylic on Canvas Board)

It’s weird but I like it. I’d like it more if there had been some consistency in the background coloring. Still, this is inscrutable but well-executed and done in a very distinctive style. Two thumbs up!

Siamese Dog/s (Acrylic on Canvas)

My wife was at Value Village with me today and I had to get her input on this one, as to whether or not it was printed onto the canvas ie mass-produced, or not? The canvas felt…plastic-y to me. Her initial opinion was that it was printed. But I pointed out A) the globby paint in places versus the underuse of paint in others,  2) the paint on the back and sides of the canvas, and £) the general high weirdness of the execution/composition. We decided it’s one-of-a-kind, not mass-produced. I mean LOOK at it. What sane person would want thousands of these things flooding Targets, Walmarts and K-Marts all over the country?!?

I’m kidding, of course. I actually DO like this and I sincerely mean it. It’s just…odd is all. It almost feels Medieval with the pattern of squares and the blanket. Do you know what I mean? 

The dogs are a bit jacked up though, for sure. Did you ever see The Thing (1982)?

Sad Orange Dude (Acrylic on Canvas)

We are now current: this and the paintings to follow were found on December 8th.

I…LIKE IT!!! 

Is it somewhat derivative? Unoriginal? Easy? Probably. But it’s GOOD. I feeeeel this painting. It speaks to me. And: it has an old and classy vibe to it. We need more art like this, even if it’s arguably repetitive. Some good things are worth repeating, right?

Litov: you are THE man. Or THE woman, depending.

Seashore and Quotation (sand, glue, spray foam shells and paint on canvas)

Last of the “from December 5th” ones.

This is one of those instances where, while one instantly knows what something is supposed to be even though it’s not done very well, one element could disappear and the whole thing would collapse in on itself. Without the shells, or the phrase “waves of the sea”, this really wouldn’t look very much like a seashore I don’t think. 

I know, I know, I’m being a jerk. But still. It’s just not that great, is it? Clearly someone else agreed, since it wound up at Value Village. 

Anyway, I don’t like potentially hurting anyone’s feelings so to whomever did this: “I’m sure a lot of time and effort went into it and it definitely shows potential. Stay positive and keep trying!”

Mango Harvest (Acrylic on Canvas)

Another one from December 5th.

I don’t know if these are actually mangos. I just had to call ‘em something and my first guess (watermelons) could have opened up a can of worms I’d rather leave out of the (V)VAG entirely.

This, I think/hope, is probably real, amateur-generated non-mass-market-type art. It is so weirdly framed (there’s a wooden frame around the metal frame) that I feel sure some organic non-professional did this. This is really nice and I almost bought it but it didn’t fit in with the vibe of our home. But the colors, the composition, man…now I’m kinda regretting not buying it. Sigh.

To the artist: great work, pal… 

Plant and Glowing Orb (Acrylic on Canvas)

Another one from December 5th.

It’s…a little weird. The branches aren’t very branch-like or organic-looking, but as I’ve stated in the past my branches suck too so I try to be semi-sympathetic here. The berries or buds feel contrived. And I don’t know what that Thing in the Sky is. The moon? The sun? There are stars out but I’ve never seen a moon with a blue ring around it so I dunno. This is probably a three on my One to Ten scale but there is potential here. 

Artist: create art from your GUT next time. Channel/Invoke Gulley Jimson and try painting some misshapen Proletarian feet perhaps.

Horse (Acrylic on Canvas Board)

This should’ve been posted on December 5th. Which is my ex-wife’s birthday. 

But to the review: way too much green: even the horse has a greenish tinge to it. It’s not bad though. 

Again, compared to what we usually see around here, this is practically Frederic Remington level stuff.

House and Barbed Wire (Acrylic on Canvas Board)

This was supposed to have been posted back in November (on the 29th) but I’ve been slacking a bit. Also, there were three other entries that same day but A) they were more like woodwork wall hanging art and 2) they were too awful for me to be very enthusiastic about. Actually my enthusiasm overall has been lagging of late, probably due to the season. Anyway, I’m catching up now.

This is a nice one, certainly in the Top Ten of the paintings we’ve seen during the past two or three months. Some might wonder if this is me damning with faint praise. No! This is no masterpiece but it shows talent and effort. We love that shit around here :)