Palm Fronds? (acrylic on canvas)

My wife said the first painting is supposed to be pine needles but I’m not so sure. Given the quality of most of the VVAG art we highlight here I’d say the fact that they’re blue would indicate that they must be palm fronds.

Regarding the second painting: I think the artist was definitely heading in the right direction.

Rustic Landscape (Oil on Canvas)

(Value Village Art Gallery Favorite) 

I feel like I’m going to regret not buying this one. The style reminds me of something I can’t put my finger on. Yes, the building’s angles are jacked up but they’re  jacked up in a somewhat appealing way. I like it.

Moonlit Lake (acrylic on canvas)

I’m not going to say anything too terribly mean here. It’s not good, and it’s probably the result of a Paint Night suggested topic, but it’s goofy in an appealing kind of way.

Abstract Something-or-other” (acrylic on canvas board)

I like it! I just wish it didn’t have that stupid stylized signature jacking it up. Maybe a little kid did this though. If so, it’s fine little dude. Rock on!

Sigh (whatever on whatever)

You have my promise I’ll never hang one of these “Live Laugh Love” philosophical abortions in the Value Village Art Gallery ever again. I’ve only included this one so I could make the following joke:

“They sure don’t come out onto this canvas though…”

Eiffel Tower (acrylic on canvas)

When I go to Value Village, I often find previous VVAG acquisitions still on the shelves for weeks and weeks on end. This, amazingly, will not be one. Some lady actually bought it while my wife and I were leaving. C’est la vie.
 

Sailboat (acrylic on canvas)

I think I would have liked this one more if the artist had held off with the gimmicky and inexplicable upward ice cream drip-looking water trails. The painting isn’t from the 1960s/1970s but it has that feel. Paintings of sailboats were kinda big in the sixties. Along with overly-skinny Don Quixote-looking dudes on sickly-looking horses carrying droopy lances. I miss them.

Still Life (acrylic on canvas)

This one is so Not Bad (though not exactly good) that I’m not entirely sure it wasn’t mass-produced i.e. not amateur art. No signature, the canvas frame is nicer/sturdier than we usually see but it’s also much older than what we’re used to seeing. I’m thinking maaaaaybe 1970s? It’s a hard call. Until I know for sure, it stays.

Night Gallery Whale

Something about this reminds me of some of the old Night Gallery paintings. Remember them? I’m not sure if this is finished or not. It is supposed to look like this? Is it some kind of gimmick? Who can tell. There’s something wrong with the whale as well. His head’s gone all funny-like. Crikey!

The One and Only

Here we have one of the most original recent additions to the Value Village Art Gallery. It’s so unusual I’m not going to make any wisecracks. We are lucky to have it.

Tropical Snow

I like the shape of the branches and the foliage on them. They just don’t look like they should have snow-capped mountains, an icy lake, and a fence-like line of trees behind them.

Snowman (acrylic on canvas)

The trees look reasonably like trees. That’s about it. I tried doing trees just yesterday and afterwards they got wiped away with a paper towel. Now they’re a sky. They are in a better place.

Starfish (acrylic on canvas)

Every once in a while I’ll walk past a painting like this thinking it’s something from wayfair.com (ugh) or pier one imports but then I’ll get to looking a bit more closely and realize “hey, an actual person did this!” This is one of those times. It’s not bad. It’s not good. It just is.

Purple Hot Dogs on Sticks (acrylic on canvas)

“Recidivism. Repeat offender! Not a pretty name, is it?”

I honestly can’t think of what these darned things are called. The first name that came to mind was Pussy Willows but I googled that and here’s some advice: whatever you do, don’t google “Pussy Willow” in 2023. And certainly not while you’re on your work computer. It’s just not safe. Not that it’s probably safe to google “Purple Hot Dog” either.

Fox (acrylic on canvas)

https://youtu.be/jofNR_WkoCE

Pine Cones

I had to google “pine cone diagram” to find out what to call the only thing in this painting that I really liked.

“Nice CONE SCALES.”

 

Train Station (?) (acrylic on canvas)

(Value Village Art Gallery Favorite)

Here’s another one that someone liked enough to frame. I called it “Train Station” but I really don’t have the slightest idea what it is. Storage room? Boiler room? Airplane Hangar? I don’t have a clue. I think if I had a better, clearer idea of what has been painted, I might like it more. Even so, I like this a LOT. There’s skill combined with an appreciation of the everyday. The word Americana comes to mind.

Peas, Tomato, Spaghetti Squash (acrylic on canvas)

Yes I know this is actually grapes and an apple. But what is that speckled yellow thing towards the back? A pear? Then why the spots? A banana with acromegaly? My vote is pear, but come on man…

Flowers and Bow (acrylic on canvas)

Ugly grey bow, terrible stems. Nice(ish) flowers that are actually kind of charming. Someone cared enough about this to frame it. No signature. Probably for the best.

Whale and Stars (acrylic on wood)

There’s a lot to unpack here. It’s a whale. Spewing stars into the sky through its spiracle. Per the stars, I think (?) the artist even managed to work in the Big Dipper up in there. The whale is smiling. The waves look like the teeth of a saw blade. 

I think that about covers it.