Tiny Flower Planet (Acrylic and Plastic on Canvas)

I'm really not sure what this is or why it exists. It appears (?) to be art that is trying to be seen saying something when the artist had nothing worth saying at the time it was painted: art imitating art imitating art. As artists, we've all been there at one time or another. So I am legitimately sympathetic. But: this is a demonstrably, objectively bad painting. Sorry.

 

Night Woods (Acrylic on Canvas)

This is maybe by the artist immediately preceding? Not sure. 

This is not a great painting but with a little bit more effort on the artist's part it could have been better. How's that for an obvious statement? What I mean is, this is yet another amateur painting with too much black, blue and white in it, and too little time/effort spent on the basic stuff such as the grass in the foreground and the trees in the background (trees like these I call "fur trees" since they look more furry than they do branchy/leafy.) Still, with all that said, I kiiiinda like parts of this. My point is that it's the artist's fault that I don't like more of it, and it didn't have to be this way. Try harder next time, Rembrandt...

Strange Swampy Pond? (Acrylic on Canvas)

This is by one of our Usual Suspects I think, from waaay back in the day. I could be wrong though.

I must be going soft. This much black, blue and purple in one place would normally earn a mean-spirited, snarky, unkind review from me. But in this case...well...while this painting is definitely not good, it's not so "not good" that I can't stand the sight of it. In this particular instance, there is...something...about this painting that is marginally appealing. Attractive even.

(Postscript: I figured it out: the appeal, for me, is the semi-DayGlo-ish pink, blue, green and yellow . I'm a sucker for Day-Glo...)

 

Mountain Landscape (Acrylic on Canvas)

Another one by the previous artist I think. I like this one too. The subject is one that is often overdone in a lot of the art around here, but the colors and composition are appealing. It's moody, but not in a forced or phoney way. 

Don't get me wrong: this is certainly no masterpiece (the trees in the foreground are pretty slapdash) but from an amateur artist in training this isn't bad.

Nice job, bud/budette: keep at it!

Mountain Landscape (Acrylic on Canvas$

I kiiinda sorrrrta maaaaybe like this a lot. I think? The color choices are brighter than we typically see very often here (I've often wondered if some of our artists are either colorblind, or perhaps moles/voles) and the colors themselves are unusual: I like the water and the greenery on the banks in the foreground. As I do the sky. And the mountains.

Make no mistake: this is far from being a great painting, but it has some real charm and shows a good amount of beginner talent. For all it's "very-much-amateur" feel, it is quite appealing IMO. 

Good work, my friend!

Plants (Acrylic on Canvas)

I had to spin this around a couple of times to make sure I had it facing rightside up. I'm reasonably confident that I got it right. Not sure what these plants are but they sure look weird. Not a great painting but it's certainly not the worst we've seen either.

Sunset and Geese (Acrylic on Some Kind of Board)

Another one by the previous artist I think. I like this one too, possibly even a bit more actually. 

Artist: sign your work next time!

Mountian and Eagle (Acrylic on Some Kind of Board)

This is a really distinctive painting. It's not great but it is fun and in my opinion rather appealing. The color pallet and "undetailed" character feels so odd. Could this have been a pre-made "coloring book"-type image that was then painted upon? Maybe. Or is it some kind of gimmick on the part of the artist? If so, it's one that I like, for what it is.

Fish (Acrylic on Canvas)

This artist has been painting at least since the 1980s I think. She is talented but probably also a bit eccentric (and that's okay!) because the back of this canvas reads like a Dr Bronner soap wrapper. I looked her up online and she's the perpetrator of some pretty nice art, often in an ocean/sea millieu. I've said here in the past that I'm not a fan of fish (or birds!) but this work is pretty okay.

Uprise! (Acrylic on Canvas)

Not a fan of the subject but I like the skill. There's some obvious cartoony/graffitti-y talent here.

Abstract (Oil on Canvas)

I have never inducted an Abstract painting into the "Value Village Art Gallery Favorite" category. But: I am sorely tempted to do so in this case.

I like it. A lot. I like the colors and I like the brush/pallet strokes and I especially like that it feels, to me, to be very 1960s MCM-y.

I suppose (?) that maaaaybe one could make the case for this being Impressionist. My "impression" is that of a ship in a storm at sea. But there's nothing definite whatsoever and I'm going purely Rorschach here. So let's stick with the initial Abstract label, shall we?

Good work, artiste!

Bear (Acrylic on Canvas)

It's kind of...abrupt...isn't it? It's not exactly bad. Aaaaaalthough I can't tell if the stuff semi-obscuring the bear is supposed to be fog/smoke, or if it is where the artist used turpentine to initiate (but not complete) a do-over per the canvas. This is by the previous artist (see "Seaside Cliff") and here too the result feels a little overworked. Even so, I like the tree branches. They feel unnatural but I like the look of them for some reason. The bear though, all "front and center" and seemingly aware of the Fourth Wall, is a little unsettling/offputting.

Seaside Cliff (Oil on Canvas)

This isn't great but it is better than eh probably 90% of the stuff displayed here. The clouds are very nice per having an accurate "ocean clouds" look to them. My problem with the painting is that, apart from the clouds, it feels...overworked? And a bit unnatural, stilted, stiff. Those small islands in particular! Regardless, there is obvious talent here and I sincerely hope that the artist continued painting. This canvas was done in 1992 so we have the potential for over thirty years of progress and improvement.

Landscape (Pen and Ink on Paper)

Really nice. Until it showed up, I worried that I was going to suffer the art-world equivalent of "getting skunked" today. 

Good job, artiste...

Mermaid (Acrylic on Canvas)

If a Bratz doll could paint, I think this is probably the type of thing it would come up with...

Rabbits (Acrylic on Canvas)

I guess (?) it more or less looks like what it was intended to look like. So that's something. The flora seems a little slapdash though, as if a poorly-executed Bob Ross gimmick was being attempted. I dunno.  

Upon consideration, I've decided that the rabbit on the right is probably eating berries of some kind. But at first glance I thought it was juggling, and that the rabbit on the left was its audience!

As I've said before, there's a reason some paintings wind up at Value Village...

Blue and Green (Acrylic on Canvas)

It's practically impossible to say anything about this since there's almost nothing there. Purely decorative: it's marginally better than a solid blue or solid green canvas.

Mountain River Waterfall Hiking (Watercolor on Paper)

Why do folks put stuff like this behind glass? All it does is make it hard to see the actual work for all the glare. It also makes it muy difficil to take a photograph. Oh well. This is a well-done watercolor but it's not exactly a masterpiece. Is that how one spells "masterpiece"? It looks weird. Anyway, it's good but not remarkably good is the point I'm trying to make. The little hiker dude looks a bit stick-figure-y, I think. The rest is nice though: far nicer than I could manage and don't take my critical pose too seriously: I can't go around gushing about every painting that's isn't demonstrably awful. Yes, this is certainly in the top 10% of the 400+ paintings we have here, no doubt about it. But: it's in the lower end of than 10%

Ahh what the hell: don't listen to me. Good job W.K Bae(whatever-the-rest-of-your-name-is-under-that-price-tag)!

Cityscape Looking Up (Oil on Canvas)

(Value Village Art Gallery Favorite)

See previous exhibit. Believe it or not, I actually don't know much about art. But as the saying goes, "I know what I like." And this I like! We've got some real talent here, for sure. I think (?) this painting may have been done by the same artist as the painting preceding this one. But: going against my theory is the fact that this one is signed (initialed, rather) while the other one is not. I feel there is a similarity of style, confidence and brush stroke, but I could be wrong. Like I said, I'm no expert. Nor would I want to be. Most experts, in my experience, are kinda assholes. That's anecdotal of course, but it's my "truth" / "lived experience" so you have to accept it. Otherwise your non-acceptance wiLL TrIgGeR mEeEeEeEeee.

Seriously though. I love this painting and I'd love to get the bird's eye lowdown on this caper. So: to the artist - if you ever see this, reach out to me and tell me about yourself.

Birch Trees! (Oil on Canvas)

I'm going to let you in on a little secret: unless it's totally obvious to me per the style/talent exhibited (or lack of it, in most cases) or the plebian, mundane, soul-sucking subject matter (Northern Lights, Birch trees, snowy mountains, gnomes etc) sometimes I don't actually know if a painting is done in acrylic or oil. My rule of thumb is, if I'm not sure and the painting hurts my eyes/spirit/soul, I call it acrylic. Do you see where I'm going with this? Well allow me to retort:

I kinda like this painting! Even though it is of freaking overdone tiresome boring trite irksome Birch trees, I kinda like it. This artist knows his/her stuff. What's funny though is that my gut tells me the artist phoned this thing in. Look at the fence: confident, casual, masterful brush strokes. Great, right? But then there are those weirdo tree shadows: not so great. The grass? Exceedingly feeble. But then the oddball "Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" angle/perspective helps to make up for it. The tree trunks are uninspired but then the leaves kinda look nice. I don't know what to make of this, actually. It's good despite the birch trees though, not because of them. Honestly? I think I'm just crushing on that freaking fence, man.

Overall, despite it's flaws, I like this painting and I find myself wondering if this same artist didn't also do the muuuuuch better painting shortly to follow ("Cityscape Looking Up") because it too shows beaucoup talent and old-school legit real "cut off an ear" / "Tie Down Your Easel!" artist brushstrokes I would kill to be able to do. 

Artiste:I salute you!

Lake Landscape (Oil on Canvas)

(Value Village Art Gallery Favorite)

It's a little stiff and inorganic (the tree and snow-covered hills/mountains feel unnatural) but I like the foreground and the overall effect of everything all together. In other words, while I don't like some of the things in this painting, I like how and where they are placed. This is a real painting painted by a real painter and I LOVE IT: no acrylic gnomes or birch trees or Northern Lights. Just art, real art. Ahhhhh...

Still Life (Pastel on Parchment)

These look warped because they were just loose floppy pieces of parchment I was holding with one hand as I took pics of them with my phone. They aren't bad. Which hereabouts is high praise indeed. But I actually mean it. These are decent, painterly/drawerly Still Lifes of a kind not usually seen very often nowadays. This person is no Rembrandt but he or she is no slouch either. There's no irony, gimmicks or Social Statements here, just Real Art.

Good work, my friend.

Tropical Idyll (Weird Gritty Paint on Strangely-Shaped Canvas)

This almost seemed a bit like Impasto, but the paint was too even. So I guess the paint was just kinda gritty, or the canvas itself was kinda rough-textured. The frame of this canvas is old, like OLD old, and the top edge was quite warped. I think (?) this is/was Caribbean local amateur art intended for the tourist trade, done sometimes in the 60s. Which would categorize this as Comercial Art which is not allowed at the (V)VAG according to the by-laws of the most recent "(Value) Village Art Gallery Non Profit Trust" Committee meeting. But: I also don't know, for a fact, that's what this is. There was no price tag or identification on the back, which would usually (though not always) be present in a case such as Commercial Regional Tourist Market-type Art. Sooooo until I know for sure, this thing stays. Mainly because it's so freaking weird.

Hydrangeas (Acrylic on Canvas)

(Value Village Art Gallery Favorite)

If not for the cantaloupe-looking bowl/vase and the somewhat uninteresting background, this would have been a "Value Village Art Gallery Favorite" - and it still might become one, once I've had a few days to think about it. Despite being from 2002 I consider this to be a lovely and legitimately old-school-style throwback to what real artists once did and are still supposed to do: spend time and effort painting paintings that mean something and that actually look like the things being painted by the painter. With paint. Good job, Artiste! I hope you are still painting and have not been compromised by this accursed, repugnant and thoroughly demoralizing 21st Century we are in.

Mountain Lake (Acrylic on Canvas Board)

 (Value Village Art Gallery Favorite)

I like it. It's colors are unconventional in an honest, non-cloying, non-ironic, and not "trying too hard" way. It's charming and shows really talent and real potential for further talent down the road. Good job!!!

Artist: two things: 1) go watch "The Horse's Mouth" and "Lust for Life" and 2) ALWAYS SIGN YOUR WORK!!!

"Whole Lotta Painting Goin' On" (Acrylic on Canvas)

SEVENTEEN PAINTINGS AT ONCE!

Regulars here (HA! "Regulars": what are those?!?) might recall from previous comments on my part that I do not generally like to include multiple i.e. extremely large numbers of paintings by any one person. So far there have been two intentional and enthusiastic exceptions to that rule on my part due to the quality and/or HEART displayed by the artistes in question. Previously, the record was sixteen (fifteen at once and then a forgotten sixteenth added the following day.) Well TODAY my friends that record has been beaten. Seventeen! Count 'em! SEVENTEEN PAINTINGS by the same person have been found at VV on the same day. Whew! Now, let's be honest: some of these paintings are not so great. BUT: I would stipulate that the majority of them exceed in quality probably 70% of the objets d'art displayed on these here premises. This person PAINTS, my friends. 

My favorites? Numbers eight, nine, and eleven. Oh and number fifteen (despite the fish. It's a nice fish. I just don't like fish. Or birds.)

My least favorites? Doesn't matter. But half of my least favorite ones have specific things in them that I do like. In other words, even some of the ones I don't like aren't "across-the-board" awful in the way some paintings, by other artists, manage to be.

The other half? Yeah, they're not so great. It's okay though. There's plenty of stuff here for any aspiring artist to be reasonably proud of.

And to clarify: I included number eleven mainly because, for once, we have a decent-quality "Van Gogh sky swirls" homage/rip-off on our hands. I tried doing them myself one time and it was waaaaay harder than I expected it to be. Mine looked rather like swirls of talentlessness superimposed upon an apocalypse-colored sky. The canvas in question is probably in a landfill. If mankind is lucky.

Not a Moose (Acrylic on Canvas)

(Still the slacking-off April stuff: this should've been April 28th. Almost current though.)

Otherwise known as a walrus. The first of its kind here at the good 'ol (V)VAG. For once I'm not a fan of the bright colors seen here. But c'est la vie. 

It looks like a walrus, so...good job, artist!

Creek (Acrylic or maybe Oil on Canvas)

 

(Still the slacking-off April stuff: this should've been April 28th. Almost current though!)

It's better than most of the stuff we see here, for sure. But it's still kinda uninspired and...blah? And the creek looks weird. Not creek-like. Not natural. 

I feel like the artist is capable of much better than this. Keep at it, pal...

Arctic Landscape (Acrylic on Canvas)

(Still the slacking-off April stuff: this should've been April 27th.)

Ehhh it's...pretty not good. Another trite and incrutable Northern Lights number (holy smoke where are the colors?!?)

Not much else can be said here. Pfft.

Addendum: I keep coming back to this painting for some reason and I've decided that I genuinely like the compostion here: this is a great point of view from which to see what we're meant to see. It's just that what we're seeing wasn't done very well. This had the potential to be a very good-looking mountain and big sky landscape. I would have left the Northern Lights out though.

Snowy Landscape (Acrylic on Canvas)

(Still the slacking-off April stuff: this should've been April 27th.)

Not gonna mince words here: it's definitely not great. What's even happening here? Did the snowmen/snowpeople walk or something? Are they snowbears? Is this some kind of "in joke" thing?

Sorry artist, this painting simply isn't very good. At all. But keep practicing. You'll get there.

Under the Sea (Watercolor on Parchment)

(Still the slacking-off April stuff: this should've been April 27th.)

It's a little dull, subject-wise and composition-wise. But ability-wise it's not...completely awful. Nice kelp.

Ka-POW (Acrylic on Canvas)

(Still the slacking-off April stuff: this should've been April 27th. See previous installation for more information.)

Not a fan of the actual legit Roy Lichtenstein, let alone a knockoff. But for what it is, it's well done. If April hasn't been such a slow month, this wouldn't have made the cut. But it was and it did. Cazart!