Huckleberry Sawyer (Acrylic on Canvas Board)

Yes, they are kitschy and corny: they almost have a Holly Hobby look to them. But they're still better than probably 40% of the paintings seen here. Which, if you're any good at math, means that there are approximately 225 paintings that are demonstrably worse than these. 

Just enjoy these paintings for what they are. Live in the Now. There's a story here: the Art and the Artist are intrinsically, inexorably linked; bound to one another. Somewhere, someWHEN, there is/was an artist who made these harmless, inoffensive, slightly cheesy paintings. A bit of himself/herself is right there, in these paintings, looking back at you as you look at them.

Grok!

Colorful Mushrooms (Acrylic on Canvas)

 (Value Village Art Gallery Favorite)

This one made my day. It is whimsical without being treacle-y or cloying. It's colorful. It is artistically competent. It's freaking CHARMING, is what it is. I already regret not buying it.

Album Cover (Acrylic on Canvas Board)

When I first saw this I was like "what the heck?" but eventually I realized it looks a little familiar: after giving it some thought, I am pretty sure this is taken from an album cover I've seen. I could probably google "album cover girl wall ass water hose" and figure it out, but why bother?

Artistic-Merit-wise, this is slightly above what I consider to be average around here. Because the average is a high 2 to a low 3. Which would make this ehhh maybe a middle-to-high 4? My "lowered bar" criteria is generally "does it look like what it's supposed to be?" In this case, I'm thinking it probably does. 

Deer and Rabbit (Acrylic and Sharpie? on Wood Plank)

I am NOT going to make fun. Seriously. These are not very good but they ARE rather charming, and they have an "Outsider Art" feel. Also, it amuses me to no end that the artist ran out of room for "THUMPER" and just decided to shoehorn/dangle a lower-case "e" up in there. Going by the info on the back of these painted wooden planks, they were being sold by the artist, who might even be a little kid. Not sure though.

Regardless: Artist? Keep it up :)

"Mountain Stream" (Acrylic on Canvas Board)

This "cut-away canvas within a canvas" deal doesn't do much for me. And as I said of another one of these (by a different artist) recently, it feels kind of gimmicky/kitschy to me. But: the painting itself is not that bad. Trying hard and painting plausibly-real shit (as opposed to gnomes, pokemons and yodas) will almost always get an artist a reasonably positive review around here. 

This was painted in 1983. I wonder if the artist kept going. Or if she is even with us anymore. A lot can happen in 42 years. And boy don't I know it? Dang...

Blue Forest (Acrylic on Canvas)

We have multiple shades of gray. Some black. And then...powder blue?!? Holy Buckets!!! 

 

Gazebo (Acrylic on Masonite?)

Pretty good, but: is it a little bit uninteresting maybe? It's so...nondescript. It doesn't stand out at all for me at least. What I really like about this is those treetops with the blue sky behind them. Niiiice.

Addendum: this is a far better painting than I could paint myself. There's just something about it that feels not so engaging/arresting/striking. I'd love to see something else by this artist. Something less lush, cramped and claustrophobic. 

 

Mountain Landscape (Acrylic on Canvas)

It's reallllly not that great. But it is not horrendously bad per se, and it is a far cry from being the worst we've seen here. I do kinda like the sky, and the pinkish mountains are so weird they're kind of appealing. The foot of those same mountains, and the lavender/lilac-y valley or river or whatever are so brief that they feel stylized, almost Modernist or even Brutalist-looking. All of which is probably accidental. Regardless, I maintain that this isn't god-awful bad. I just wish the moon wasn't so jacked up.

Abstract (Acrylic on Canvas)

Too much "Amateur Blue", too much "Amateur Black" and waaaay too much "Nothing Going On": uninteresting, unimaginative and unmemorable. 

Artist: paint a bowl of fruit next time. Using real colors. Report back here afterwards.

Abstracts (Acrylic on Canvas)

We haven't seen any of these "marbled paint effect" dealios around here in quite a while. I'm not generally a fan of this sort of thing but these are reasonably well executed at least. Pfft.

Still Life (Charcoal on Paper)

I was about to just say "ho hum" and leave it at that. But then I thought to myself "Ehhh is that a SWASTIKA in the cloth draped over there towards the right?!?"

Gott in Himmel!!!

No Flipping Idea (Colored Pencil on Paper?)

 Sushi maybe? Not a clue....

Military Airplanes (Watercolor on Canvas)

Not the actor. You can look this guy up on Google or wherever for more information: a prolific Maine artist that passed away in his seventies.

Better than I could do, for sure. The (Value) Village Art Gallery salutes you, Bill 🫡 

Butterfly (Acrylic on Canvas)

There's something a bit "off" with the butterfly's wings here but overall I like this painting. The colors are interesting: I almost think I'd like this one more without the butterfly.

Not bad at all.

Artist: you have my permission to continue painting 🧐

Forest Scene (Acrylic on Canvas)

Back to "more of the same" unfortunately: either there are a bunch of amateur artists hereabouts painting the same tired nonsense in a remarkably similar way, or there's one dude/dudette inadvertantly flooding the Fairbanks Area with so-so paintings due to their respective owners donating them to / forcing them upon / inflicting them upon Value Village. The only thing this painting has going for it is the colors are marginally appealing. In an "I'm an unimaginative artist" kind of way.

 

Beagles (Acrylic on Canvas)

It's not perfect but it's good for sure: more importantly, this work has HEART and the (Value) Village Art Gallery supports that 100%. Real art, real effort, and no nonsense: good job!

Flowers (Acrylic on Canvas)

If a person/amateur/artist painting flowers puts forth a reasonable amount of effort on them, I will almost always give them a decent review. Despite the abundance of "Amateur Blue" here, I like this painting. The stems are unconventional but interesting. Keep at it, pal!

Ocean View (Acrylic on Canvas)

They say you should never turn your back on the ocean. 

In this case, I would have to strongly disagree.

Moonlit Treeline (Acrylic on Canvas)

I feel like I've seen this very same painting here before. Is it possible someone bought it and then later got rid of it right back at good 'ol Value Village? I'm having a tremendous amount of Deja Vu at the moment. Whew.

Anyway, it's just...not that great. Not necessarily bad as in awful bad, just...not good. It simply is. I feel sure this is a Paint Night Suggested Topic.
 

Addendum: not a duplicate: we just have a lot of paintings that are of moonlit treelines. Imagine that!

Flowers in Mason Jar (Acrylic on Canvas)

(Value Village Art Gallery Favorite)

I won't go so far as to say that I love this, but I do like it very much. There's clearly a Van Gogh homage/vibe going on here, and for once "Starry Night" isn't being beaten to death. I find myself totally charmed by it. Well done!

Cons? Eh, I could do without the butterfly. The flowers feel a little hurried. And having "Ball" on the jar is a bit much for my taste: it detracts from the overall timeless feel. A vase would've been a better fit here, I think. Otherwise, this is pretty cool. This is legit a fun, engaging painting. Good job, dude/dudette. Look me up and we'll talk.

 

Polka Dot Whale (Acrylic on Canvas)

I know, it's actually a whale shark. Whatever. 

Yes, it looks like what it's supposed to be, but this stuff is freaking exhausting. So many people are doing the same type of stuff. I have far more respect for flowers in a Ball jar than I do for stuff like this.

Case in Point. Otherwise known as Deja Vu: https://valuevillageartgallery.blogspot.com/2023/03/night-galley-whale.html?m=1