Jesus on Black Velvet Painting, a missed opportunity

Jesus on black velvet painting

I was checking out an antiques store in New Paltz, New York last fall, when I saw this painting of Jesus on black velvet. It instantly grabbed my attention, as something so bad that it was good. I was completely enamored of this painting, both for the total cheese factor, and the mystifying question of … Read more

Bicentennial Style, making a comeback?

Bicentennial wallpaper from 1976

There was a story in the NY Times recently about Millennials who are embracing Bicentennial style, which I found kind of funny considering that the general birth date range for Millenials is usually considered between 1981 and 1996, so they didn’t even experience the Bicentennial firsthand. Coming from my perspective as a Gen X’er, this … Read more

An unidentified bronze sculpture at Asbury Park

Sculpture in a pickup truck at Asbury Park NJ

I was visiting Asbury Park today, just wanting to enjoy the boardwalk and the ocean, despite being too cold to spend any time sitting on the beach. As I was approaching the boardwalk and the Convention Center area, I noticed this pickup truck parked in front of me. The guy was busy unwrapping and unloading … Read more

Art: where does it all go and what happens to it?

artist studio storage racks

It was a busy weekend of viewing art. First up was Art Fair 14C, taking place in Jersey City, which I visited on Saturday. The show had 80 exhibition booths, with exhibitors including art galleries, arts organizations and individual artists. I saw some really great art, some mediocre art, and some which didn’t interest me … Read more

A slightly surrealist seascape painting at an antiques store

Thrift store seascape painting

I could go into any number of antiques stores and find weird, strange, and bad paintings, but every once in a while I’ll see something really good, which then begs the question: what’s the story behind this painting and the artist? I happened upon this painting in an antiques store just north of Poughkeepsie (which … Read more