Yes, I actually bought this painting

by Robert Popper on March 26, 2009 · 21 comments

poffey

Found this in a local art gallery and couldn’t resist. It’s just so beautifully terrible. I literally cannot look at it without laughing. I mean – look at it!

FYI it’s of a local (to Norfolk) vicar.

I can’t wait to put it up. Can anyone beat that?

Tagged as: Painting, Robert Popper

  • http://danielworth.blogspot.com danworth

    Not technically a painting, but this

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/PAUL-ROSS-Canvas-Print-MirrorPrintStore/dp/B001N6W8U0/

    is amazing – and read the comments, it has a surprisingly high five-star rating.

  • Barry

    The dark side of his beard (which is amazing in itself) is trying to escape down his chest!

  • http://theasylum.wordpress.com John Self

    How much?

  • http://www.adrian.tk/ fourstar

    Blimey, I thought it was Anthony Worrall-Thompson being throttled by a giant slug…

  • http://scaryduck.blogspot.com Scaryduck

    Stick on a chef’s hat and resell it as Anthony Worrall Thompson

  • Rob

    What is that thing growing out of his throat?

  • Nick

    Is Poffey his real name or does he just look like a Poffey?

  • http://twitter.com/johnshepherd John Shepherd

    Marvellous !
    Looks like someone has tried to paint Robin Cook from memory and has somehow got him confused with TV cook, Anthony Worrall-Thompson.

  • Lazyboy

    If you squint it looks like Anthony Worrall Thompson.

  • http://twitter.com/ABluerose Rachael Hartley

    I can actually beat that – it means popping down to my local gallery at Upton House and taking a sneaky shot of a rather fetching oil of Lewis Hamilton I considered buying for £75. It is absolutely the worst portrait I have ever seen as it very competent but utterly devoid of charm.

    Wait a minute – its genius! That is the very essence of Lewis Hamilton.

    Bugger.

  • youruddyguys

    POFFEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! x

  • Olli

    if you think of it as a picture of ernest hemingway, as i first thought it was, i think it makes it even funnier.

  • Tom Daylight

    I wonder what the subject thought when he saw the finished painting.

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/moogyboobles/ Tracy

    My penchant for terrible greetings cards (I’ve been raiding my local shop, they have some with price stickers nearly 20 years old on them) has yet to extend to art. Give it time.

  • Nick

    For some reason there’s nothing funnier than glorified mediocrity.. buying this painting is almost like clapping for that “fear the bear” school band.

  • Mary in Seattle

    My husband and I collect black velvet paintings. Here’s the best one:

    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1040517&l=d3957ac805&id=747034819

  • http://www.twitter.com/jefy Jefy

    Yes, I actually bought my painting for £10
    from a charity shop, it is outstandingly average, I call it “Blue Kevins”

    http://twitpic.com/2h2hb

  • ryan

    If I squint, I can pretend it’s a framed latch-hook rug. That makes it even more awesome.

  • Matthew

    I LOL’d out loud. The lighting is so strange. It’s like he just got out of his car, engine left running, and had his portrait done.

    The subject’s last name is probably ‘Pothecary’, for your info.

  • Flammenfisch

    This painting skilfully represents the spiritual turmoil of a vicar undergoing a crisis of faith. If you look at his beard, you can see the forces of light (white) and darkness (black) engaged in a manichaean struggle for the possession of his soul.

    The Devil, it seems, has already won the moustache, indicating that darkness will eventually triumph.

    God help us.

  • Caroline

    I completely understand. I bought a photograph of a ceramic donkey that looks like he is squatting just because it was wonderfully awful. I love it and am delighted every time I see it.

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