h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Last year I put up a gallery of photos of paintings from a local gallery for salonistas to evaluate and comment on, and I believe we had a good time doing so.

On Friday I did a photo shoot at the studio of a private instructor, in which I photographed selected paintings of her students, and I thought this might make an interesting body of work for our second juried show. Of all the artists in this second gallery, only the teacher could be considered professional, and she is entirely self-taught, so it's possible that there is not a single ounce of formal art education in this whole gallery! Therefore there is a sense in which this art is "pure"; these students have painted from real life, from snapshots, from magazines, or from paintings whose style they want to emulate.

The students range widely in age and in the amount of time they've spent painting.

Your mission is to be the judges. We have to winnow these 22 paintings down to 12, and after that we'll select winners. But in addition to picking out the ones you think deserve to go in the final show, I'd like you to exercise your opinions, and answer the following questions:

1. Which two paintings were done by the instructor?

2. Which painting do you like best and why? Saying "because I like it" isn't enough; maybe you see a story in the painting, maybe you respond to the colors, or maybe you appreciate the technical accomplishment. There are no wrong answers.

3. Which painting do you like the least and why? Same sort of answer as the first, please.

4. Do you have any feelings, pro or con, about any other paintings in this gallery? Please name them and say why.

5. Finally, list which 12 paintings you think should be included in the Grand Opening.

The entrants' gallery is here: http://www.asterlil.com/h2g2/juryshow/index.htm

And, incidentally, I have the instructor's permission to do this.

okay these are those that maybe better luck next time
22 -21-20-19-12-9-8-5-4-3

I think I discounted these as they seem to be to lifeless and flat.
painting i like the least windowbox
Since the artist has failed to direct the eye to the subject in question, the eye is instead taken to the large boarded up window to the right, the colors chosen for the flowers not vibrent enough the bottom third of the work shows a lot of promise but the top part seems to indicate maybe a lack of ethusiasim from the artist.

1-2-6-10-17 ,All impressed for there sublety in colour 1 -17 especialy,

best painting well 14 , also one that i think was done by the instuctor,
along with the way the colors have been used to zero your eyes in to the middle of the painting the use of lighter/softer colours right at the back the movement that is shown in the stream that draws you back your eye is allthough trying to look at the backdrop the stream seems to be running towards you.
no 6 i also think was done by the instructor , the trees are very realistic and show signs of a accomplished artist

no 10 has captured the dying flowers very well and if 14 was not done by instuctor feel this one could have been. also on looking back no 17
deserves praise in the capture of the reflections ,allthough a bit of artistic liscence has been taken in the space on the sand the way it has been portrayed as a whole is very good the reflection and colors used in the mountains complimenting the stillness of the lake

Ok, when it comes art, I'm a bit of a snob, I think until you can master figurative work until a high standard you've got no business trying to do anything else. Once you can paint a bowel of fruit so realistically you want to eat it, you can make a video of it rotting.

I do hope that my answers aren't bitchy. But I was raised by artists.. and there are few people as bitchy as proffessional artists.


1. Bluebonnets.

Technically I like this painting, it's one o the few in the display that's used tone correctly. I also think it's composed nicely and the way the tree stands out is pretty skilled.

It feels idealised and slightly chocolate box-twee, but that might have been the aim the artist was looking for.


2. Horned Toads.

I like this. Technically it's one of the best paintings, and it's a good realistic illustration of, well toads.

The branch with the toad on doesn't entirely look like it's in the same place as the rest of the painting.

On reflection it's the lighting; you can't work out where the light source is, there's shadow in the distance, but the branch doesn't cast a shadow.

3. Doorway


Nice, and evockative, but very well, er, painted. I get the feeling the artist has only painted small scale indoor still lives. If you look at a small area it's very well painted, but if you look at the big thing it's not convincing.

The perspective is wrong, you can't tell what direction the wall on the left is going in. Again where is the light coming from? There isn't one shadow in the whole piece?

And one word. Tone. I get the feeling that the artist hasn't actually thought of it.

4. Church in Snow

Technically it's nicely painted. The tone has had attention paid to it, the light is well portrayed (ish). The way the snow has settled on the church is unrealistic. Snow doesn't settle evenly on both sides of a roof. Again the perspective of the church tower is wrong. (Has this art class *been* formally taught perspective?)


I'm sorry I hate the subject matter, but then again I know at least four families who were kept off welfare by the ability of the parents to 'do greetings cards',it's a useful skill. But it just reminds me of T******s K******e

5. Blue Rapsody.

*Attempts to blunt criticalness*

This is actually quite a nice abstract painting. It looks some trees on a snowy ridge, or the impression you get of them.

There are a good choice of colours that feel althought they've been thought about.

The title is a little trite, and some of the painting feels slopy rather than careful and considered. But that might be my personal predjudice.

6. Bird in the Aspen Tree

Nice painting.Technically good. The light sorce has been considered and some attention paid to it, if it's not entirely accuarate. There appears to be two equal light sources? Tone doesn't seem to have been considered, as the flowers in the forground are in the same tone at the bark of the tree.

If the bird was meant to be the main point of the painting it does get rather lost.

7. Chapel of the Holy Cross

Technically this is excellent. I like the subject matter as well, modern churches seem to be under represented in art. I get a real feel of the place to.

Light is accurate (This was I think set in the midday sun) the sky at the top of the painting seems a little dark for midday sun, but I've never been to that part of the world.

Perspective is nice, and tone has been attended too.

8. Autumn Lane

Like the colours, not too keen on the technical aspects of the painting. At least there is some perspective, shame about the rest of it, light and tone etc are all wrong.

9 Church.

Technically fairly good. Though the bushes on the mountain are a little too illustrative - there's some element here of drawing what you think you see as opposed to what you actually do see.

The tone is good, again no shadows? Is this a land of constant noon?

And again - pespective, I just want to sit down with this artist and teach them how perspective actually works, then they could procedure work of a far higher quality.

10. Yellow Bird

Like LTP says, one of the best. It's composed nicely, drawing attention to the bird, the flowers are well portrayed. Tone has been attended to.

11. Snowy Blue Lake.

Nice. The back ground is very good, the tone is well captured, (and the tone of lakes is always sooo difficult to do right). Perspective is good, and you can see where the light is coming from.

Only one bugbear- the branch in the forground doen't look realistic I can't work out why, I think it's because it doesn't quite match the tone of the rest of the lake.

12. The Hunt.

This is technically a drawing by a child, so I can't judge it by the standards I would expect from an adult. It may be a good drawing by that child, but it is still a drawing by a child.It may well be a drawing by an adult trying to draw like a child.

I like the horses, you can see that some of them are raring to go, and some of them are reluctant.

13 Las Trampas Church

I like this one. I get the feeling it's by the artist who did 'Holy Cross Church. Techincally it's very good, though the perspective is less than ideal,and I think the forground needs work.

14. Creek Fall

The colours are unconvincing. Too, bright, too brash, tone and pespective are good though.

15 Squirrel

Leaving aside the twee subject matter. This is good. Not sure where the light is coming from and some of the tree needs work and doesn't look right.

16. Peppin Fire.

Again I like it. Some of the forground needs work, and is too illustrative. But I like the choice of colours. One of the best.

17. Reflections.

The colours are wrong, and the tone is wrong. Refreshing grasp of perspective though.

18 Orca

Techincally good. Though if you are going to copy from a photograph you might as well get the horizon straight. And the whale doesn't look like it's got a tale.

19. La Tome Church.

Another one with a refreshing grasp of perspective. Technically very nicely done. Not entirely sure about the composition but that's personal preference.

20. Pheasents.

Nice I like it. Good use of tone, technically good, you can see where the light is coming from. Shame that the post doesn't cast a shadow, because it doesn't look like it's a midday scene.

21. Tulie Church

Good use of colour, and accurate tones, the light is well portrayed. What a shame the artist didn't know how to use perspective accurately.

22. Window Box.

Very evokative of the mood, let down by the exposed brick revealing a lack of attention to tone.


I can't paint at all, So I'm just being overtly critical.

Finally.

Like best. 20 pheasents.

Like least 'Church in the Snow' It's a rather twee Christmas Card

Best 12

20 19 18 16 15 13 10 7 6 2

*is appreciating the comments* I'll hold back with my own thoughts until more people have contributed, but I had to say, excellent remarks so far! Even if I don't agree with every critique, it's good critiquing.

I might not be the best person to ask with my lack of art education,
but this is what I came up with.

13, Las Trampas Church. I love the background, the sky is dark and brooding.

5, Blue Rhapsody. The feel of a sandstone cliff face reminds me of the desert.

7, Chapel of the Holy Cross. The church blending in to the sandstone
speaks of a communion between the clerical world and the land at our
feet. I also like the desert scape.

2, Horned Toads. The little critters look like they are just begining
to stir in the morning. While somewhat unrealistic, again the
reminder of the desert life speaks to my native home.

17, Reflections. The stark cliffs barely supporting the plants on
them are my favourite part of this piece. Sandstone is my favourite
rock formation after all.

19, La Tomé Church. The southwestern architecture reminds me of an
old western flick. I keep waiting for The Man with No Name to stroll
on to the scene.

6, Bird in Aspen Tree. The Aspen is like a defautl tree for me. They
are everywhere in Utah, so I sort of like them (for trees, not that
fond of any plant). The detail captured is astounding. The irises in
the forground make this less of an attractive piece to me however
because I am deathly allergic to them.

8, Autumn Lane. The feel of autum is certainly there. Almost a sense
of briskness in the air when paying close attention to it.

22, Window Box. As above, I like the southwestern feel to this. Not
in the turqiouse and pastel sense of a roadside jewellery vendor, but
in the adobe and wood construction.

21, Tulie Church. Again it's the style of building that I like in
this piece. The lines seem off to me for some reason, however. The
perspective seems distorted. If it was not intentional, it hinders
the piece, but if it is on purpose I don't see the reason.

16, Peppin Fire. The rancher moving his cattle to saftey is the story
I get from this. Knowing the devestation of desert fires I can only
imagine that this is what is happening.

20, Pheasants. The birds are very well done. Mostly I like the
colour of the sky. It feels like a late autum sky to me.

Chapel of the Holy Cross is my favourite. The piece speaks to my
spirituality and love of the desert. The union of those two themes is
what I like about it. I wonder if that chapel exsists.

Church in the snow and Orca are my least favourite. They both reek of
sappy maudlin commercialism. The former is what you would see on a
postcard in a roadside diner, the latter you would see emblazoned on a
girl's bedroom wall as a poster. While well done, in both cases I
don't like the subject.

I could not venture a guess as to which are the paintings done by a
professional.

This is a good idea and I would like to take part.

Is there a deadline for answers, Lil? Is it allowed only to pick a few for the grand opening? For the time being I only have one definite. Most of the paintings are to cute for my liking.

The instructors works: 1 and 13 although they are different in style and choice of motive. Because of the professional compositions and the playing with the skies.

I'm not reading any of the other's answers untill I've made up my own mind.

No deadline. I reckoned it would probably take a week. And I'm glad you like the idea; it seems to follow on logically from all that we've been talking about in the salon.

I. Painted by the instructor: my guess would be 16 and 20, I think - because the ridge closest to you in both pictures is darker than the next ridge, which is a bit too light IMHO. That and the choice of scenery.

II. I'd say I like number 18 best if I have to narrow it down to one, even though it does look like a poster motif. I like the colour scale (blue is my favourite colour), I think the foam and water drops are well painted, and I like the limitation in colour scale - some of the other pictures feel as if the artist has been trying to cram in *all* colours. The whale's (I was going to use the proper name for it, but it wasn't in my dictionary, as usual!) shadow looks a bit odd, though. To me, the picture conveys power, or force - that, and a sunny day at sea.

III. The picture I like least is number 22, because it really doesn't say anything at all. It looks flat, no light, no shadows, and the choice of motif feels trivial. It wouldn't even look good on a post card.

IV. Other pictures I dislike: several of the church pictures look like 'portrait of a churc' - they are just painted to look exactly like the churches probably look on a photo. They lack any attempt from the artists to express an emotion or any kind of atmosphere. Some of them don't even look like a serious attempt to create 'art' but rather like a study in perspective. Number 4 reminds me about the artist-who-must-not-be-named. The only exception among the church pictures is number 7, which I like because of the colour and texture of the rocks - the perspective of the chapel itself looks a bit odd though. Number 13 is the only one where I percieve an atmosphere because of the sky, but the building itself looks too dull. I would like it if the walls had been given more texture, or if the artist had chosen a different perspective (but it's probably painted from a photo).

Number 8 (the autumn lane) doesn't convey anything special - another 'portrait' picture.

Number 1 contains too much rosy haze for my liking.

Other pictures I like: number 6 - but are those really aspen trees? In Sweden, the trunk of an aspen is a smooth light grey, whereas the trees in the picture look more like birches. The picture gives me the impression of early spring. I'm not sure I'd hang it on the wall, but it would be a lovely motif for a bookmark.

I also like number 16 because of the details - the straws among other things. This kind of picture would look good as an illustration in a book about nature.

Number 5 is interesting - it makes me think. I see different things in it depending on what I think I'm looking for (can anyone else see the yawning woman?).

Number 17 is one of the pictures with 'too many colours' and also too many things reflected in the water. In this case, I think 'less is more' would be appropriate.

I don't understand what the artist is trying to express in number 11 - snowy lake? Where's the snow? At first, I thought the water looked lifeless - but now I'm thinking that maybe it's supposed to be ice? Not very convincing either way.

The face of the top toad in number 2 looks a bit flat, as does the back of the bottom toad. Otherwise, I like it - the colours, the composition. Tricky painting animals with that much pattern.

I like number 10 because of the colours and composition, but I'd like to see the leaving looking a bit more - hmmm... - shiny?

V. Best 12 (which I arrived at after excluding those I disliked most):
2 3 5 6 7 10 12 14 15 16 18 20

I couldn't make up my mind about the pencil one (number 12) but I guess it deserves a second chance.

OK - deep breath and here goes.

1) I think pictures 1 and 6 or 14 may have been done by the instructor - because of the composition and shading.

2) The picture I like most is no 9 - the church because of its naive quality - yes it's a bit two-dimensional and the foliage on the back right corner of the building is a bit ambiguous in that I can't tell if it's attached to the building or sprouting out of the post. But the hills remind me of impressionistic bits of other paintings.
It is what it is - a simple church painted in a simple way.

3) The painting I like least is no4 - Church in the Snow. It reminded me of TK - before I'd even read Z's notes. Rather Christmas Toffee Tin. The sky was unrealistic - but I quite likes the shape of the background mountains. did the painter make them 'loom' to emphasise the 'sanctuary' and warmth of the church?

4) Other paintings
No 1 - Bluebonnets - found the colours artifically bright - especially the orange in the foreground but liked the shape of the large tree.

No 2 - Horned Toads - liked the subject matter and the colours but felt the shape of the beastie on the ground was wrong - something about the curve of its body.

No 3 - Doorway - loved the detail of the plants up either side of the steps - but found the curtains added nothing.

No 6 - Bird in Aspen - Liked the composition and balance of the picture and detail of the irises - but felt there was no suggestion of the texture of the bark. (Odd I know to be criticising one picture for something I praised in my favourite one.)

No 7 - Chapel of the Holy Cross - I like the way the building seemed to have forced itself up through that cleft in the rock - gives the impression of being alien (because of the different colours and its modernity) but still 'of the earth'.

No 8 - Autumn Lane - liked the colours and impressionistic feel of the background - but not the layout. For some strange reason, I have an aversion to pictures of tree trunks like this and find them sinister.

N0 10 - Yellow Bird - liked the detail of the coneflowers and the bird looking ready to take flight at the first sign of movement.

No 11 - Lake in Snow - liked the shapes and colours of the mountains - reminiscent of Cairngorms - but the floating log in the foreground jarred.

No 12 - The Hunt - I quite liked the awkwardness of the horses, the impossible slope and the outsized leaves on the tree in this one. It has a certain charm.

No 13 Las Trampas Church - I wondered if this had been done from someone else's photo because of the proportion of the picture taken up by the side of the building. I liked the lowering sky and the quality of the light below the darker clouds.

No 14 - Creek Fall - perhaps it's my monitor affecting the colours but I didn't like the artificiality of them - the stream looks almost neon and the foreground leaves are over bright. I appreciate the artist's skill in the composition of this one - the balance was pleasing to the eye.

No 15 - Squirrel - liked the detail of the bark - some suggestion of texture here - and the detail of the leaves behind the log.

No 16 The Peppin Fire - this reminded me of Lil's photos of the fire. The herder and cows seem quite relaxed - no sense of urgency, but then if this had been burning for several weeks there wouldn't be.

No 17 - Reflections - wondered if this had been painted by the same artist as no9 - similar palette.

No 18 - Orca - liked the jaggedness of the snowy mountains against the sky.

No 19 - Tome Church - found myself irked by the fact that the window on the balcony didn't line up with the window above and door below when both of these were centred on the path.

No 20 - Pheasants - liked the foreground detail and the birds + the colours used.

The 12 paintings I would include are: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16 and 20 - but I have to say it would be a shame to leave anyone out. The artists are obviously at different levels of development but their work is no less valid for that.

I did read Z's comments yesterday and found them illuminating but purposefully didn't refer to them again before posting today.
What do I need to do to persuade Z and Ag to take me round London galleries and educate me? Would afternoon-tea be sufficient inducement?

My comments:
1) No Idea, Blue Bonnets (1) and Reflections (17)?

2) My favourite is the Las Trampas Church as I like the feeling of the sky above

3) Least favourite is the Church in Snow, it just seems very twee and christmas card-like.

4) other paintings:
3, Doorway. Again I find the image very twee and have seen something very similar in every doctor's waiting room I have ever been in. I like the way the brickwork is depicted though.
7, Chapel of the holy cross. I like this one, it has an air of drama about it.
9, Church. I thought the composition here was very simple.
12, The hunt. This looks very childish, probably because of the medium chosen. Serves to underline that horses are very difficult to get right...
14, Creek Fall. I find the exaggeration of the colours a little surreal, it looks like a fantasy of a creek. I get a similar feeling from 11.
16, Peppin Fire. I like the way the cloud of smoke looks like more cattle herding across the sky.
21, Tulie Church, I like the perspective the artist chose.
I didn't like the birds or the Orca, but I am not sure why - maybe because they must have been painted from photos, the orca particularly doesn't look to have been interpreted at all by the artist.

5) For the exhibition? Um, 13 or 21

Right, now to go and read everyone else's comments...

I'll study these later and make a list. I was about to make a quick comment about the Peppin Fire, but Kelli beat me to it. I think the cloud formation looks like a buffalo charging across the sky - the way a fire charges across the landscape.

And one other general statement - I prefer paintings that contain life and movement. So my list of 12 will probably include those paintings that have this element. Just a quirk of mine.

Painting I like the best - 21, Tulie Church.
I like the viewpoint the artist has chosen to view the church. An imposing bright white hard structure contrasting with the softer more earthy colours of the trees forming a hedge on the other side of the church and the overhanging branches in the top right, forming a natural frame for the picture of the building.
Honorary Mentions - Pictures 6 and 10 - Bird In Aspen Tree and Yellow Bird. The Bird In Apsen Tree almost was best picture for me apart for the bird! The trees and flowers shown in these pictures are wonderful nature studies in themselves and could easily stand for themselves without the birds I think.

Worst Picture - 4, Church In Snow
The whole lighting of the picture looks unrealistic. Yep, the artist can do what they like with realistic looking pictures or not but half and half don't usually work. Shame because the church looks to have been done quite nice even if the snow looks false. Inside though it looks as if the rapture must be upon us (either that or they're burning the sinners) with the amount of light at all the windows. Shame so little of it spills outside, guess it must be beacuse of the amount of daylight in the sky but that can't be because of the shadows down the lane and in the trees.

Other Comments:
7 - Chapel of the Holy Cross. Makes me think of the kind of lair that a superhero/supervillan might have hiding out in the mountains. Nicely textured scrub mountainside also.


12 Picks - 21, 6, 10, 7, 5, 22, 19, 13, 18, 2, 8, 20

I'm having trouble identifying which two paintings are done by the instructor.

There's three pairs of paintings that resemble each other in style. They are: Yellow Bird and Bird in Aspen (6&10), Chapel of Holy Cross & Tulie Church (7&21) and Bluebonnets & Creek, Fall (1&14). If I had to guess, I'd say the person that painted the Chapel of Holy Cross and Tulie Church was the instructor, because those paintings have more of the elements (to me) that make a good painting. Probably, though, because I've looked at the paintings again, Creek, Fall & Bluebonnets are the instructor's paintings.

That being said...

1) Bluebonnets - The only thing it needs is a windmill. Then it would look like every other painting of bluebonnets. Sorry, but I've been in Texas all my life, and I've seen so many paintings of these that I regard it as being very overdone. Perhaps that's a bit harsh - it's not a bad painting.

2) Horned Toads - The composition on this is odd. Because of the stacked toads (one on the log, one on the rock) the eye isn't quite sure where to go. It also looks very flat. There's great detail on the toads and the log, but the toads themselves have no dimension.

3) Doorway - The composition is great on this. The painting looks stilted - the bricks are too even and the patches where they're exposed is too symmetrically placed. And the perspective on the wall leading to the door is wonky.

4) Church in Snow - In the style of Thomas Kinkade, and you know how I feel about him. The subject just isn't very exciting. There's a problem with the light spilling from the doorway - it should get brighter as it gets to the door. Right now it looks like somebody's spilled paint on the snow.

5) Blue Rhapsody - Watercolor? This is probably my favorite painting of the lot. While the composition could use a little work, I like the study of the rock/driftwood texture, and the artist has managed to keep as much white as possible. Looks like Georgia O'Keefe.

6) Bird in Aspen - Good composition and contrast.

7) Chapel of Holy Cross - Probably my 2nd favorite painting in the bunch. Great composition and contrast. Subject is interesting - very unusual architecture for a church.

8) Autumn Lane - This painting has a good composition, but lacks contrast. It looks as if it's still unfinished.

9) Church - The hills need to fade away in the background - they look like they're all the same distance. The bushes and grasses look too evenly dispersed. The church should be larger, as it's the point of interest. This painting needs more contrast.

10) Yellow Bird - Good contrast and composition.

11) Snowy Blue Lake - Typical landscape painting. Good contrast, but needs foreground interest. The lone log in the foreground looks a little lonely.

12) The Hunt - Perspective is a problem, as is the tendency of the artist to bunch the elements up within the available space. Subject is interesting, as is the composition.

13) Las Trampas Church - Composition lacks interest. The horizon is too low - move the church up to the center of the painting, or give more interest to the sky behind it. The light is nice behind the church. This would have been a better painting if the artist angled the shot against the sky.

14) Creek, Fall - While this is a nicely painted piece, the colors are too cartoonish for my taste. The composition is good and so is the contrast.

15) Squirrel - Needs more contrast. Good composition, and there's nothing wrong with the rendition of the elements.

16) The Peppin Fire - Brushstrokes in this one are too short and stiff. The artist would do better to use a larger brush, especially with the clouds. The hills fade off nicely in the distance - something that the artist of Church needs to look at. The cow heads are a little odd looking.

17) Reflections - Composition doesn't add to piece - typical landscape. Colors are odd. Brushstrokes are stiff and don't flow - the artist needs to relax and use more of their arm.

18) Orca - Nothing wrong with this piece, except that the subject is overdone.

19) Tome Church - Good composition. Needs more contrast between the church and the sky. Nice shadows on sidewalk.

20) Pheasants - This is flat with no contrast. The composition is very dull.

21) Tulie Church - this is my 3rd favorite painting in the group. I like the composition and contrast against the sky.

22) Window Box - The detail of the flowers is nice, but the composition is too balanced. The window box on the left and the dark wood window on the right draw the eyes away from each other. It's very distracting.

Painting I liked least: It's a close tie between Window Box and Pheasants.

Painting I liked best: It's a three-way tie between Blue Rhapsody, Tulie Church, and Chapel of Holy Cross.

Paintings I would put in a showing?

• Blue Rhapsody
• Tulie Church
• Chapel of Holy Cross
• Yellow Bird
• Bird in Aspen
• Creek, Fall
• Squirrel
• Orca
• Tome Church
• Las Trampas Church
• Horned Toads
• Bluebonnets

*Resisting the temptation to read other's posts first*

1. I think the instructor's paintings are 13 and 19 - they just seem to have more experience in them and slightly more technical.

2. Very tricky - quite like a lot of them, each for very different reason. It's also very difficult as I don' know the scale of them - some work better at the thumbnail size than the bigger, so if they're large then I probably wouldn't like them. However, finally decided on 7 as that's the one I kept coming back to. I think I liked the contrasts and depth in a compressed field of depth and I loved the sky.

3. Almost as tricky to pick out the least favourite - I really don't go for the 'chocolate box' imagery, which a few border on for me. I also find it difficult to be negative knowing full well that I probably couldn't do anything half as good. However, I think the most twee and therefore least liked is number 1. I think the blues and pink are just a bit too much.

4. Yes, all of them? Erm, I'll restrict myself to the main themes I have in mind. I like 5 because it looks abstract and almost real at the same time. I like realism and almost photo-realistic pictures so that covers 2, 13, 15 and 19. I don't like twee so that covers 3 (although would make a good book cover), 4 (although would make good Christmas card), 6, 10, 14, 15 (I know I said I liked it too), 17 and 18.

5. My final 12, in numerical order not order of preference: 2,3,5,7,8,11,13,16,19,20,21,22

Blimey, everyone else has written loads. Is my cold a good enough excuse? Very interesting convergent and divergent opinions. Just shows how much personal taste comes into all these judgements I guess.

My choices are purely emotional as I have no formal training in art appreciation other than a single course in college.

1 - Instructor's works are 6 and 10, I'm betting that he/she has a thing for birds.

2 - I liked 3, Doorway, the best. I feel drawn up that staircase. The plants are nicely done although the stairs and brickwork aren't as well-executed. But this is the image that pulls me in.

3 - I liked 4, Church in the Snow the least because it is evocative of "You Know Who".

4 - Random comments: 12, The Hunt is very childlike. I would like to see 7, Chapel of the Holy Cross, IRL, as I am intrigued by the way the cross grows out of the cleft in the hillside. It looks like someone stuck a twig onto 11, Snow Blue Lake, it's floating on the lake instead of in it.

5 - In no particular order: 1,2,3,6,10,17,5,7,20,16,19,8.

Nota bene, I refused to read what anyone else (nope, not even S) had said before I did this, so as not to be influenced at all.

1. Which two paintings were done by the instructor?
Hmm. Possibly Las Trampas Church and La Tome Church. And the reason is a Sherlock Holmsey one, not an arty one. They both seem to be signed by the same person... That said, I like the very unified and elegant colour-schemes. They look more... grown-up? than the others.

2. Which painting do you like best and why? Saying "because I like it" isn't enough; maybe you see a story in the painting, maybe you respond to the colors, or maybe you appreciate the technical accomplishment. There are no wrong answers.
Favourite? Hmm. I was very torn between three paintings. But see question 4. I think I shall choose the Chapel of the Holy Cross (no7). The colour of the sky reminds me of Giotto's lapis lazuli skies in the cathedral in Assisi (alas now lost to the earthquake - but I saw them once!). The angle, looking up to the cross, is cleverly echoing the religious awe feeling of 'looking up to' something - the cross itself mediating between the red earth and blue sky. The limited colour palette is striking. I kept coming back to have another look at it. Ooh. S has just read this over my shoulder and told me he chose the same one. I could say something very saccharine here, but shall mercifully spare you all.

3. Which painting do you like the least and why? Same sort of answer as the first, please.
I'm afraid it's Church in the Snow. Yes, it is technically not bad, but the choice of subject baffles me. Surely part of the joy of learning art is learning to see the world through new, fresh, child-like eyes? That image is part of the whole Christmas tinsel and eggnoggery and my dear old gran used to send me cards just like it every year. It's boring, which is a shame, because the artist can actually draw and the glowing windows are rather sweet and the pine trees are fine. Perhaps if it had been a picture of pine-trees in the snow?


4. Do you have any feelings, pro or con, about any other paintings in this gallery? Please name them and say why.
I very much liked The Peppin Fire - that marvellous charging-buffalo-like smoke cloud. I also really liked The Hunt and Church (9). But I've always liked 'naif' art, and the Hunt is charming with it's childlike perspective and cute horses and little red splashes of colour for the jackets. I liked Yellow Bird too, because it was a neat little wildlife portrait, again, with a simple colour palette and nice diagonal composition.
I disliked Bluebonnets and Orca, again because they were too cliched. To me, a cliche looks charming when drawn very 'naively' by an inexperienced or extremely experienced artist, but a technically competent artist can make it look chocolate boxy. Or too obvious. Blue Rhapsody - lovely image, idiotic name.

5. Finally, list which 12 paintings you think should be included in the Grand Opening.
2 Horned Toads, 5 Blue Rhapsody, 7 Chapel of Holy Cross, 9 Church, 10 Yellow Bird, 11 Lake in Snow, 12 The Hunt, 13 Las Trampas Church, 16 The Peppin Fire, 19 Tome Church, 20 Pheasants, 21 Tulie Church.
The ones I eliminated I eliminated on grounds of naffness rather than technique or accomplishment. There's not much point having excellent technique if you put no soul or love into what you paint.

Now I shall see what the rest of you thought.

> I could say something very saccharine here, but shall mercifully spare you all.

I have been assisted by NOD (8) and SIC (6) in my deliberations.

I looked at the pictures without reading everybody else's comments ... but I have read them before posting, and particularly enjoyed Z's.

SIC liked 15 Squirrel - not for any artistic reason, simply because she likes squirrels (grrrmfrphr it's just a rat with good PR grmmfrphr).

NOD liked 18 Orca - because she's a girl and she'd like to have a poster of it on her bedroom wall, I suspect.

1. Which two paintings were done by the instructor?

Ag's Holmsery is interesting - these were the only two I could pick out as related to each other, looking at them all from the home page. So I shall also go for 13 Las Trampas Church and 19 Tome Church.

2. Which painting do you like best and why?

The painting I like best is 10 Yellow Bird. I like its clear colours and simplicity; it looks effortlessly real (cf other paintings full of so much detail and brushstroke that the sense of reality is lost), and yet it's missing many of those elements that I generally like to see in a painting (eg sky and trees) - it's all foreground, which makes it slightly unreal. The real vs unreal conflict ... it's made me think, anyway, and I like paintings which do that.

So I am going to cheat, shockingly, because the *picture* I like best is 12 The Hunt, precisely because it intrigues me. It reminds me of the Bayeux Tapestry or the Mappa Mundi (hmm ... history again, sorry) and I keep coming back to look at it again and again ... it's not a child's picture! Excellent use of colour, esp in the sky; I like the reluctant riders and the eager ones, my eye is taken out of the picture and away towards where the hunt is (presumably) to take place and the other hunters are gathering, horns blowing, hounds baying. None of the other pictures tells a story. Story-telling is important to me.

It doesn't matter to me that two of the horses look as though their back ends are lying down while their front ends are cantering away - possibly because I don't know a great deal about horses, possibly because I don't know a great deal about drawing, probably because the art upon which I am usually called to judge has been produced by my daughters, so I have trained my eye to overlook certain technical incompetencies.

12 The Hunt also stands out as a picture which the artist *wanted* to draw, and in his/her own style. One cannot accuse this artist of imitating any other artist (cf almost every other picture) and that confidence deserves credit.

3. Which painting do you like the least and why? Same sort of answer as the first, please.

Damn. I can't do all that passion again. I can do controversy though, so I'm going to say 2 Horned Toads is my least favourite, and it was also the *only* painting which provoked the response "eugh no" on first look through. Stylistically it is not dissimilar to 10 Yellow Bird, but I don't think it's simply a case of my liking birds and disliking toads. It has at least forced me to google Horned Toads to find out what they are (not toads) and what they look like from a photo (not unlike the picture).

4. Do you have any feelings, pro or con, about any other paintings in this gallery? Please name them and say why.

OK I have been working on this intermittantly for 3 hours now and my family want me back. I didn't really go for 5 Blue Rhapsody - I can't see what it's supposed to be, and if it's supposed to be an attractive arrangement of the colour blue, then for me it doesn't work.

7 Chapel of the Holy Cross - fabulous sky, wonderful image of a modern building somehow wedged into that fantastic landscape.

8 Autumn Lane - not sufficiently intense in the use of colour. Be bold! 14 Creek Fall, for example - although there's something about that picture that doesn't work for me, I think it's the colours of the rocks on the left ... they don't quite match, but nor do they contrast.

11 Lake in Snow - what is that log *doing* there? It completely ruins the picture. If you slice the bottom third of the picture off it looks much better, although obviously this affects the balance of the composition. Ignoring the log (if one can), I liked this one. I also liked 17 Reflections, but for me there is something not quite right about it; I think it may be that this picture depends on symmetry, but the symmetry isn't consistent throughout. It's obvious in the centre of the picture, and occurs on the right, but not on the left. My eye (and this could just be the ordering control-freak in me) wants this picture to be *completely* symmetrical, up-down and left-right, all quadrants, with perhaps a pleasing asymmetric something thrown across the foreground. This picture is not being bold enough with its asymmetry, or consistent enough with its symmetry, which is a shame, because otherwise it's rather good.

13 Las Trampas Church and 19 Tome Church. Liked these, particularly the sky.

16 The Peppin Fire. Liked this, *except* the sky. The cloud looks too solid to be smoke, but it does strange things in the sky that make it look like a cloud, except not quite cloud-like enough, and ... this was a picture that made my head hurt. Although in a positive way.

18 Orca. Z, that was your only bitchy comment. Perhaps the horizon was at an angle in the original photo. I like the movement in this picture, and the light.

20 Pheasants. I'm not quite sure about the domed hill, which seems to dominate without being particularly exciting, but I like the colour, light and composition and would consider hanging this one on my wall, if I could spot any points of historic interest within it

Anything not mentioned above just left me indifferent. Reasonably pleasing but did not raise any enthusiasm.

My list of 12:
2 Horned Toads (yes - even though I don't like it)
5 Blue Rhapsody (doesn't speak to me, but may well speak to everybody else)
7 Chapel of Holy Cross
10 Yellow Bird
11 Lake in Snow
12 The Hunt
13 Las Trampas Church
16 The Peppin Fire
17 Reflections
18 Orca
19 Tome Church
20 Pheasants

Just don't tell SIC that I left out 15 Squirrel.

Thank you, Lil, for this; an enjoyable learning experience that I wouldn't otherwise have had.

Mol

Sorry, hoping to get to this tomorrow... Huge deliberation goin' on...