Featured New game: Yea or Nay?

This pair has been challenging.

Painting A actually appealed more to me when it appeared that the sky was yellow than it does now that I've seen the "more accurate" picture. Not that I "loved" it with the yellow sky, but the second view revealed a less interesting color overall. I already thought the scene rather formulaic and without anything interesting besides the yellowness of the scene - as if painted in a bright dawn/early morning light. Now it has lost its appeal.

Painting B is much more interesting. A watery, misty, almost-spring thaw look at a rundown farm house and its surroundings. The Bucks County comments resonated with me. I don't get the same "leaning to the left" feeling that several have mentioned and had to go back for another look several times to see what I "missed." I still don't get it. The artist painted what was there, admittedly in an impressionist style. A snowy slope in the distance, a shed with a distinctive lean, very old trees that must have seen many years of wind and ice storms to account for their less than symmetrical branch structure. I like it.

 

I think you've shown the winterscape before. Possibly the autumn scene as well. Both artists with a following within their own locale, but pretty much unknown outside it?

I'd say both are competently painted by artists who are accomplished amateurs or low-grade professionals, but Bookatoo has a point: the scenes are cliched and the technique is not exciting.

That said, these are the quality of painting I would consider a find, which is pretty much a comment on the paintings that show up in the thrifts I go to. Most of the stuff I find, and occasionally buy, is not as good as this.

 

Odd/funny - on two points. First. Bakersgma liked the out of focus first shown
A pic. better than the second, clearer version. Going back to both, I agree. A#1 is a very good example of the sun just starting to fill the sky. Lost in A 2.

2nd. For B. When I read comments "leaning to the left" I also returned to check, and did notice the lean for the first time. Now that she says the lean is not noticeable I have also lost that. It is no longer noticeable.

Am I that easy to influence? Probably. But I think it's only by attractive ladies.

I did stop by to see new posts but also to add a comment to my opinion of B.
As said, my attraction was the memories it brought back. If you take another look at the wide "band" of snow that starts on left, continues, undulating, past the cabin and all the way to the right side is, I now think, a right of way for a utility company. A buried natural gas pipeline that originally required a clearing of all trees and most vegetation and is periodically visited to maintain as such. Too symmetrical to be anything else. Sorry, that's further reason to lose any enthusiasm for the subject matter.

And, BTW, I had mentioned the "new" water pump in the kitchen. There is/was an outside well a short walk on a path from the house where we also pumped water. That was where I met my very first rattle snake. I do believe that they use that scary noise to make you hesitate and give them more time to get away. It certainly made me stop VERY short.

 

Here are the paintings with their frames. Do the frames affect how you see these paintings? Are the frames appropriate for the paintings?

Painting A:


Painting B:

 

frames can match or they can compliment
the 1st is a lovely match , elegant , and drawing on the painting tones and hues.

the 2nd, is almost not there, and makes it seem that you're looking out a window over at your neighbors house .

 

A is too elaborate for this one.
B is just about right though I'd knock down the shine on the gold to be more like the similar paint values.

 

Kind of blending Komo and King's thoughts about the frames...

A -- The frame contributes even more to my feeling it's a pretty picture without a sense of depth.

B -- The frame adds to the sense of depth, though the gold band is too prominent for my taste.

 

The prominence of the gold band on the second one is a function of the studio lighting and not quite as jarring in life. It is there and it is shiny gold so the comments remain salient. It always seems that if you throw enough light on the subject to get a good photo of the painting, it tends to over-emphasize any shininess in the frames.

 

I wouldn't have put the first in such a fancy-looking frame, but the dark gold color of the frame does seem to bring out the oranges in the trees in a positive way. I'm still not impressed by the painting, though.

The pickled finish on the second frame is perfect (IMHO) for the colorway of the second painting. Like Pat, I would be happier with less gold and like Komo I like the "window view" sense it gives to the painting - liking the painting even more than I already did.

 

I think the appeal of A would be improved by a frame that itself had more depth and picked up more tones from the painting. This is a *very* quick attempt to do that...

 

Hi,
I was not too happy with the second painting.Since you show it framed, I also like it a lot better.
greg

 

You are well aware that you are dealing with an old guy who has not studied the arts. My very first purchase of a picture was in 1945. it currently hangs over my reading chair and has never been not displayed. All future acquisitions were simply because I identified with the subject, my interpretation of the artists intent and it "connected" with me. Not vise-versa.

The appraisal for insurance completed in 1998 included 52 pieces, mostly purchased, a few inherited and perhaps 15 gifts. Median value $1,000, with none over $10,000 and a few under $100. But those are all "insurance value."

I immediately identified with Aquitaine's "Girl with Candle." After closely scrutinizing decided not to even try to pry from her. Hopeless cause, anyway.

OK ENUFF! Brad does not need anymore excuses to put me out to pasture.

But I will give him my reaction to his frames, because the impact was huge.

A. What I would have expected for that common scene - NOT because I don't appreciate the subject or the artist - but because that style does nothing for me.

NOW FOR B.

HOW MUCH $$$$ ??? ​

I'm considering it. There would be no hesitation if it didn't have that dam bare strip of land traversing the entire width.
That frame is -to me - the ultimate compliment.



BTW. I reject your first quote. But if you raise it I will not even respond.

 

No thought of this at all. This thread is about how people respond to art. I think most people are like you. Whether or not they choose something for their home is often based on how they emotionally respond to a work. As I said in the OP, I am hoping this provides some insight into why people appreciate certain works and dislike others. As I said, there is no right or wrong and I sincerely hope I never come across as judging someone's taste in this thread. That said, I am also entitled to an opinion and may be coming from a different place than some of the others. I hope my perspective is also helpful.

We are in the same boat. I grew up in a home without any art of any kind on the walls. My field of formal study was in the hard sciences originally, and later in social sciences. As an adult, I may have displayed some art but really never thought much about it. It wasn't until I was in my 40s that I really began to think about art as a compliment to the arts and crafts furnishings I had collected.

Once the cat was out of the bag, I never looked back. Collecting art has become a passion and a compliment to my business. I have been a voracious student for the past 15-20 years but am self-directed. In the process, I have amassed and dealt in a fair amount of original art works. I hope this has provided an opportunity for others to examine their relationship to art through this thread.

 

Brad, please re-read the quotes you chose. Both of those, particularly the first, is to me an indication of my respect of your superior knowledge on the subject. That's one of my major problems - my odd ball sense of humor. It does OK in small gatherings where it often gets a ton of laughs. In text it often causes consternation.
At my age I live with it. Too late to change.

Your curiosity, and your method of attempting to satisfy it, is, I hope working. I can only try to help by offering my basic and simple opinions.

Very honestly, if that "cabin in the snow" did not have that valley with the cleared strip I would be pestering you for a reasonable price. I shall, however regard that as selfish and not disrupt your current experiment with hopefully very helpful results. Sorry for the interruption. And I mean that. Honestly.

Whenever you are satisfied with this quest, please remind me of that picture.

Though I might need a visual reminder by then.

 

Brad, I hope you'll do more... I'm finding it interesting...

 

YAY! I'm enjoying it so thank you!

 

I don't believe in frames. I paint ever inch of canvasses and hope people hang 'em on a nail. Of course, my street-art style fits that tactic well (most people agree) but I feel the same about finer or more traditional works, too. Only if there is a protective need, like for prints, then I would of course use glass and a minimalist frame. It seems to me that adding a frame to a painting is like buying a singer's CD and then going home and laying on extra harmonies or sound effects. I wonder how framing ever got started. Protection, I guess. I still don't like it. Now you all know what a complete savage I really am!!!
Thanks for letting us all have a soapbox, Brad. You're awesome!

 

I wasn't sure where you were coming from and thought I should address it. It also gave me an opportunity to let people know where I am coming from. Not a problem

I am glad that some people are finding value in this exercise. While I like helping people with their items and research helps me learn, having some kind of discourse is much more valuable to me. I sometimes see a reluctance to go much beyond banter here. There is certainly no problem with banter but I tend to want to be more serious .... If some fun can be had in the process, all the better.

 

Well said, Brad.

 

It seems the frames are causing more of an emotional response than the artworks! Framing is such a personal choice that really can define a work and help it blend in to one's decor. There is a reason why most works of art are presented without frames in auction catalogs. The way a painting is framed can define whether a work is liked or not. Many can't seem to get beyond how a particular work is framed. I think this is why some artists make their own frames (or at least choose them) or sell exclusively unframed. There is definitely a trend toward painted edges as Gila does or gallery wrapping.