OT: Art Experts Needed - YouLookFab Forum

Hi everyone,

I need an opinion on 2 paintings I purchased at Goodwill this weekend. I asked about them on Askville and have been googling for more info. No luck. Hoping someone with an art background can help me out.

These paintings are of tropical scenes, but are done in shades of grey, black and white. A little googling has informed me that this technique is called grisaille. The reason I bought them is because they are so delightfully unexpected--usually tropical paintings are saturated with color. These actually look like photos from a distance. I cannot tell if they are oils or acrylics on canvas.

The artist's name is Mirel. More googling turns up 2 artists named Mirel: Mirel Bercovici or Mirel Shaginyan. I am leaning towards Shaginyan because the few examples of her work that turn up on line are tropical in theme, too. But is there any way to confirm this?

My questions are:

How can I try to track down the artist?
Is there any way to tell what era these paintings are from?
How can I tell if they are oils or acrylics?
Does anyone know who the artist is?

http://s153.photobucket.com/al.....Paintings/

pw: youlookfab

Thanks so much for looking!
Sarah

15 years ago

Queen Mum

Veteran

I have no answers to your questions but I LOVE those paintings! I see why you were drawn to them. I really need to shop Goodwill more often

agrace

Active Member

I don't know either but they are very unique. Your googling sounds pretty effective! Have you checked ebay's forums? A lot of experts on every topic you can imagine are on there and you might just do a search on ebay with the artist's name. There is also the 'advanced search' ability on ebay but you have to log in to do that. The advanced search shows you what they sold for, for example, which again might give you more idea about the artist you are talking about. Good luck they are very unique!

rute

They look african or brazilian but I'm not an expert at all. My father went to Africa many times and brought paints similar only with bright colours.

Srujana

I'm no help in regards to your question, but those are really awesome finds! I adore b/w artwork!

Dusty

(website)

I can't help with specifics - but this website might help:

http://www.findartinfo.com/default.asp

They've got pictures of artist's signatures and it looks like they have at least one painting by a Mirel, so they probably have the signature. Unfortunately, you have to register (and pay - it's $5 for one day!) but non-members can view signatures (although it's not in any particular order and non-searchable unless you register).

Maybe there's some other art appraisal site out there with free info or that could be of more help?

judy

LOVE those. Beautiful find. I have no expertise, but just wanted to say that is nice, Sarah.

Sarah Baker

Thanks everyone for your replies so far. I did post a question in the eBay forums and so far one member has told me they are merely commercial decoratives and that Mirel probably isn't the artist's real name.

I am also paging through the signatures that Dusty posted the link to.

I don't think I have a million-dollar find, but I do feel they are more than just commercial pieces of art--that makes me think of "sofa art" which these aren't.

Just posting a follow up about the paintings in case anyone is interested. On the eBay forums, I was assured that these are "commerical paintings" suitable for a Howard Johnson. My firend Jayna, who is an artist and every so slightly more tactful, says essentially the same thing. These were probably done by one person en masse for the tourist/commerical trade.

Having said that, I do feel embarrassed that I thought they might have been by a famous artist. On the other hand, I still love them and plan to hang them with pride next to my Tahitian nude on velvet.

stringy

I bet that commercial artist would be thrilled to know that someone loves their work so much If you love them, they deserve pride of place in your home.

Category