Featured New game: Yea or Nay?

Fine with me. No problem. But can you wait 3 to 6 months to bill me?. Otherwise the 49 cent postage may exceed the value of my check.

 

Hi,
The stairs are from the elevated subway line and has nothing to do with the roof line, since they are separated. Unless I am missing something.
greg

 

While you guys hash out which line goes where....I'm enjoying the 2nd painting !!

 

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[QUOTE="Bakersgma, I gather your preference for art work is accuracy of representation..[/QUOTE]

No, not really. Otherwise I would have to get rid of my Miro's. (Speaking of whimsical) And I did say - I'll accept that the artist meant it that way, and maybe a part of NYC (out of context) that I never visited. On the other hand, I do get pretty darn picky. Part of the reason is I have too much artwork. More than a few have been stacked in a dark corner. So if I spot something I really like I am liable to take it home and find a spot for it.

Its just that I'm saying to myself, "That looks like ............, but it may not be." Or in the case of the NYC pic. "I don't remember seeing it from that perspective, are those buildings really positioned like that? If so, from where? Not north, not west. South???"......... so my curiosity kicks in. That's why I get sidetracked so darn often. Spending a half hour instead of ten minutes. An earned habit, but then I find I haven't finished a couple of projects.
Or forgot to eat.

 

Well now I see that Don's original comment about the roof line says "lower left" - but there are no stairs lower left. There are however, stairs to the left and just above the man reading the newspaper - lower and rightish if referring to the whole image. Those stairs seem to lead up from ground level to the part of building with the odd roof line - at least that's the one I have been referring to.

 

No worries, OldGuy. Sometimes my curiosity about small details gets the better of me too.

 

I somewhat like A because I went to the Empire State building a lot when I was little. I like the signs and the wall paintings, the guy sitting there with the paper as well.
There are perspective issues that bug me with this and the clouds look too much like an explosion.
~
B I like better though there is something wrong, for me, with the closest wall and curve unless the wall is actually blended in with the bridge like that. Could be why the artist chose it.

 

A: Life among the ruins. On a scale of 1-10, maybe a 6
B: No name. Give it a 3

 

Dead bird, test tubes, some kind of medal. Interesting. A 7 on the scale.

 

Too pedestrian. Reminds me of some of the scenery I paint because it sells. Meh.

 

Bev - that last was a detail from painting 1A - lower right corner.

We were typing at the same time. I was referring to your second commentary to Brad's "No cat" and an attachment.

 

Now they look even more like sofa art. Sorry. Not my cup of tea (said the artist who paints this stuff.)

 

Now THESE I like. They get a 9 each.

 

A: Had never really noticed the slightly askew roof-line before it was mentioned here. I like this work a lot. Definitely has a WPA feel to it and you really get the sense of a gritty urban environment. I do find the composition a bit odd. It is overly-weighted to the right. The large building on the right competes with the Empire State building. I think if the two were separated a bit more and there was maybe something more interesting on the left, it would make for a stronger work. Perhaps the scene really looks like this and the artists was going for a faithful rendition. However, if artists can move mountains, they can certainly move buildings. Someone mentioned that they didn't like the composition of the sky. I think it really adds to the painting and gives it a bit of an art deco feel. It is not realistic but think it makes the work more interesting.

B: Surprised that more of you don't like this work. I find it dynamic and think it has a sense of rhythm to it. You get the sense that the city is just humming along fine. I think it also picks up the beauty in what might otherwise be considered an ugly view. I do like A better than B but think this work holds its own.

 

Brad, I don't dislike B, just think it looks rather flat since there's so little tonal contrast.

 

The A sky reminded me too much of 9-11.
Therfore my at the time.

 

Looks like we are done with comments on this pair. These were both done by the same artist about 20 years apart. Based on the cars in the works, A seems to be late 30s or early 40s and B from the late 50s or early 60s. I purchased these from an estate lot offered individually on ebay. There were other less interesting landscapes that I did not bid on at the time. I think I paid slightly over $15.00 for A and less than $10.00 for B.

The artist is Stephen Lane. It was represented that he was a graphic artist working in NYC. I was never able to find out any other information about him. Both works remain in my collection. Works from the 20th century are my primary collecting interest and I have a particular penchant for works of this type.

 

Yes, more, please!