Flowers (Acrylic on Canvas)

I could have sworn I installed this one a couple of weeks ago but I guess I skipped over it by mistake. So here it is. It is…a little strange. But: it has the benefit of being somewhat original in its strangeness. I’m not a fan of canvas left with too much white but in this specific case it kinda works.

It’s okay!

Flowery Spokey Wheely Thingy (Colored Pen and Pencil on Parchment?)

I’m pretty sure this was done by the same artist responsible for the “Maybe a Geisha” artwork below. But I wasn’t 100% sure so I installed them separately. This one is less interesting but it’s still kind of nice. 

Better than a lot of the stuff here, that’s for sure…

Geisha? (Colored Pencil on Parchment?)

It’s weird but I like it. It’s unapologetic and it has Character. We respect that kind of thing around here.

Take it or leave it.

Mare and Foal (Acrylic on Canvas)

Real Art. By a real, imperfect, “doing his or her best”-type person. I love this kind of thing. Real effort. I like it. Someone else must’ve liked it too because they held onto it for 50+ years.

G. Bodeman: I know you’re probably not still alive, but the (Value) Village Art Gallery salutes you 🫡 

Black Sheepdog? (Acrylic on Parchment?)

This looked very phony (printed, lithographed etc?) when I first spotted it but on closer examination I determined that it was a real painting of someone’s real dog. Someone paid to have this done. Not sure why it has wound up at VV. Kinda sad, really. This looks like a very good dog :)

OH! By the way: 🎂🎂 🎂 Happy 900th Painting To Be Installed At The Value Village Art Gallery 🎂🎂🎂

Expressionist Retrospective (various: Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas)

Imagine my surprise while I was perusing the shelves of VV today and I happened upon this herd (riot? mob? catenative assemblage?) of canvases. Fourteen of them. All in plastic (sorry about the picture quality by the way: but there was no way I was gonna unwrap, photograph and rewrap fourteen paintings on Senior Day at VV.) 

I have no idea why somebody generously gifted (bombarded? accosted? assaulted?) VV with these things. Snark aside, in all honesty they aren’t bad. Granted, the duck one is kinda awful but I like the landscape, the motel ones and the boat one a lot! I guess the real question is…are these paintings actual human being / artistic person created works of art? I googled the artist and his work is under the monicker of “Corbellic Art”: it appears to be legit. But who really knows anymore. Pfft. It all seems pretty umm assembly line, rote, whatever. I could see someone hustling and doing…20 or 30 of these a day maybe. But: that doesn’t mean they aren’t still Art. Nor does it mean they aren’t any good. I’d take most of these over ehhh sixty percent of the stuff we usually see here.

If anyone cares to further research this stuff and if you can prove they’re machine-generated or otherwise AI/inorganic/CGI folderol, I’ll remove them.

Until then? They stay!

Absolutely Insanely Huge Paintings (Acrylic on Wooden Panels)

(Value Village Art Gallery Favorite)

HOLY SMOKES!!!

HOLYYYY SMOKES!!!

These things are ginormous; easily 7ft tall or more. And they are double-sided: three painted objects done front and back = six painted scenes/subjects.They are on what appeared to be wooden panels, seemingly solid and heavy as hell but not as heavy as one would expect 7ft+ tall solid wood slabs to be? So maybe they are hollow. Who the heck knows?

I have no freaking idea what purpose these things were intended to serve. They can’t be wall paintings because they’re double-sided. They might work as room dividers or privacy screens except they don’t have any legs and they aren’t attached to one another by hinges so there’s nothing to keep them from tipping over. If they were set scenery for a play of some kind, again, there’s nothing at the base of any of them that would make them stand up properly.

But enough of that. These are just some really really beautifully done paintings. VV has them priced at $299.00 (each!!!) so they won’t be going anywhere very soon. I don’t know what anyone would even do with them. This is a very unusual clump of outsized art to happen upon at VV and I’m going to research the artist online ASAP. 

I’ll report back here later!

Triptych Mountain Range (Acrylic on Canvas Board)

Really really basic, average, and not very interesting. 

Sorry: I call ‘em as I see ‘em... 

AND ANOTHER THING: there’s way too much blue and grey (see previous reviews/rants/screeds concerning the overuse of blue, purple, pink, grey, black, “left-unpainted canvas” and silhouettes in amateur art.)

Pasture Landscape (Acrylic on Canvas)

Someone was making real effort to paint something worth painting. Is it great? Nope. Is it good? Eh not really. But it’s Real. And that’s what matters! There is potential here.

Keep painting, my friend.

Beach Scene (Acrylic on Canvas)

This is…really not that bad.

At first glance one might think it’s pretty low-effort and haphazard. But there is something about this that hints at actual talent in my opinion. No stink of the lamp here: the artist got in, got out and viola! Art!

I like it.

Trees, Girl, Lightning Bugs (Acrylic on Canvas)

More autopilot “Paint Night” jive. Sorry, but this type of thing is simply a waste of paint. 

“Tedious. Verrrrry tedious.”

June 2025:

 https://valuevillageartgallery.blogspot.com/2025/06/trees-stars-fireflies-maybe-acrylic-on.html?m=1

Mountain Landscape (Watercolor on Parchment)

Framed and behind glass: pardon my reflection (if there is one.)

Watercolor, as a medium, is kinda weird. It has been my experience that even bad subjects wind up looking pretty good if done in watercolor. This painting is a case in point: while it is not actively bad, it is rather hum-drum and simple. The trees for example, and more importantly the foreground: very dull and uninspired. But: the watercolor somehow manages to elevate and improve it all, just a bit. 

It’s…kind of not bad I think (?) 🤷‍♂️

Impressionist Stegosaurus (Acrylic on Canvas)

This almost didn’t make it into our gallery. But: since our Board of Directors have chosen to allow “Paint by Numbers” paintings, then prefab Stegosaurii such as this one should be allowed as well. 

Besides: a) I’m pretty sure a little kid probably did this, and we here at the (Value) Village Art Gallery strongly encourage all kids to ruin their lives by eventually becoming adult artists, b) the artist’s absurdly kid-like choice of colors kicks all sorts of ass, and c) dinosaurs are cool.

Rock on, my young homie: rock on…

Sunset Landscape (Some Kind of Thick Paint on Canvas Board?)

It looks like this was perhaps completed using an Adhesive Spreader (like when bathroom tiles are being stuck to a wall?)

As gimmicks go, this one is pretty original. And I like the color choices. Kinda neat :)

Marbleized Canvas (Latex Paint on Canvas)

Yet again (see review for installation below this one): I’m of the opinion that we need less of these things in the world, not more. However: this is a well-done example of the technique being used and I like the colors. 

Marbleized Canvas (Latex Paint on Canvas?)

Yeah yeah, I know: I keep saying I’m not gonna install any more of these things but I keep doing it. I am not a fan of this technique but as these things go, this one isn’t bad. It’s definitely a better choice of colors than we usually see with these types of things.

Not bad.

Sea Turtle (Acrylic on Canvas)

 Ehhh…it’s okay I guess.

A Galaxy or Something Maybe? (Acrylic on Canvas)

Lots of black, blue and purple. And it’s not super interesting. But honestly, it isn’t bad. Pretty sure this is better than most amateur artists couple manage. Certainly better than I could do. For such a boring subject, it’s pretty good.

Collage (Acrylic and Photos on Canvas)

Collage is definitely not my cup of tea. But this one is reasonably well executed at least. And colorful. Not bad at all…

Flowers (Acrylic on Canvas)

An Oldie but a Goodie.

Despite there being a) purple and 2) lots of unpainted (white) canvas left remaining, which is a clear violation of two of the Six Rules of Bad Amateur Painting, DESPITE ALL THIS, yes, we seem to have a rather nice painting on our hands. It’s a little umm basic, but still. These are some very decent-looking flowers!

Well done, Franki-who-was-painting-almost-forty-years-ago :)
 

Gnome (Acrylic on Wood)

We haven’t seen a gnome in good long while.

It was nice while it lasted…

Fat Wolf or Fox and Northern Lights (Acrylic on Canvas)

Too much blue, too much black, too much unpainted canvas and…a silhouette! Four of our six “Bad Amateur Painting” rules violated on one painting. Doh!

Flowers (Crayon, Tempera and Colored Pencil on Paper)

 A child probably did this. It is MAGNIFICENT!!! A+++++

(Ha! Were you expecting me to crush some little kid’s dreams? What kind of monster do you think I am…”

Mountain Landscape (Acrylic on Canvas)

Thoroughly average. But our baseline is pretty low.

If a kid did this: follow your dreams, my young friend 🙂

If a grownup did it: reconsider the path you are on…

Silhouette Cat (Acrylic on Canvas)

Pretty umm not that great. Plus it violates four of my rules about bad amateur painting: using black, blue, purple and silhouettes. Feh!

 

Fat Smoking Star (Acrylic on Canvas)

Really weird. Bordering on repugnant. No idea what the hell this is supposed to be about. But it’s a painting and this is an Art Gallery so 🤷‍♂️

 

Mountain Scenes (Acrylic on Canvas)

Same artist, same(ish) subjects, different paintings. Real Art and real effort expended. We support this kind of thing 100%

Good job, anonymous artistic-type person.