Asian occasion!

unnamed, unknown, 11" x 10", watercolor on paper

unnamed, unknown, 10" x 11", watercolor on paper

These were an ebay find. Probably Southeast Asian, or maybe from the Philippines. They appear to be by the same artist as the signatures look the same, but are indecipherable. To me, at any rate. Quite well done, probably for the tourist trade, but maybe by a well known local artist, wherever "local" was. 

Indonesian inquiry.

unnamed, all 7.75" x 14.25", watercolor on paper

I found these at the local Goodwill store a few months ago. There are actually four of them but I have not gotten a picture of the other one, yet. All are similarly signed, with something like "G. Sedokna", but I can't quite make out the signatures. They were identically framed and had framing labels on the back in Indonesian, so I am guessing that is their origin. They are quite nicely done, so I suspect they are the work of a professional artist. I don't think they are more than 20 or 30 years old. Any help is appreciated.

Simply Simpkins?

unnamed, Simpkins, 3" x 5", oil on board

unnamed, Simpkins, 5" x 7", gouache on board

Mystery solved! I was able to identify these paintings as the work of Carmen Zitelmann Simpkins by comparing the signatures on my paintings to that on one on a work on FindAGrave.com, which was posted by someone who knew Ms. Simpkins.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=99964145

The link also contains her lengthy obituary and other information contributed by a friend.

These two small paintings are an ebay acquisition. They appear to be by the same artist and came from an estate sale via the same seller. They are so different in style that I probably would not have guessed they were by the same artist, since I was only able to determine the signature on the abstract painting because it is relatively clear on the guoache. Both had the framing label of the Burrison Art Galleries, Philadelphia. This gallery apparently moved several times, as I found similar labels for at least three different street addresses. The signature on the gouache appears to be "S or C Z Simpkins". Possibly the work of Berlin born Cuban artist Carmen Z. Simpkins, 1913-2011. I have been unable to find any examples of her work or signature.

Signatures

Nice Jugs.

Red crackle glass jug, 6" x 3.5"

Mystery Solved! I was able to prove that this jug and another like it in my collection were made by the Rainbow Glass Company when I found a labeled example. The Rainbow Glass factory was in Huntington, West Virginia from 1942 - 1973. Rainbow did not make glass, at first, only decorated glass made by other companies from 1942-1954. Their glass was decorated with painting, staining and other techniques. From 1954 - 1973 Rainbow made their own art glass until the company was sold to Viking glass. The Rainbow factory burned in 1983. Numerous Rainbow pieces can be found with Viking labels which shows that Rainbow items were popular and Viking continued making them for many years.

I found a version of this jug in red glass at a local thrift shop and thought it might be from a mom and pop glass maker, but when I searched ebay to see if anything similar was out there, I found this exact copy of the jug in red crackle glass from a California seller. The non-crackle version is more red and the crackle version has a bit of orange in it. After finding to nearly identical jugs, a couple of thousand miles apart, I now think it must be from one of the commercial art glass houses, like Pilgrim, Rainbow, Blenko, etc. Hard to date these. My first instinct was 1950s or 1960s, but now not so sure. The first jug I found had a cork in it, so these may have been intended to hold cordials or liqueurs, which is what I an tempted to do with them. I don't recognize the pontil mark, which is just a small circle and I could not find an exact match for the glass colors used in the two jugs amongst those I found on ebay. These are gorgeous little jugs, elegantly simple in design and in beautiful colors, so really interested in finding out who that maker was/is. I collected art glass for many years and really don't have space for more, but could not pass these by. Any help appreciated.

Sorry for the lousy image. This was the ebay image. I'll get a better shot.

Who Be Ware?

unnamed, J A Ware, 12" x 9", oil on board

This painting was purchased on ebay from a seller in San Diego who guessed it was a 1930s vintage painting. The only artist I can find with initials J. A. was John Angus Ware, about who little information is available, but whose work does not particularly resemble the work of this artist, being much more realistic in style. This piece appears to be in the original frame and is under glass, which is unusual for an oil painting. It could date to the 1930s, but could also be a bit earlier or a bit later. There is nothing about the painting that really helps to definitively date it. The signature is somewhat distinctive, though. Any help appreciated.

Krueger's fruit?

unnamed, Krueger, 10" x 11.75", oil on artist board

Not much to go on here, just a last name and date. I suspect that this is German, not painted by a German American. Not the work of an amateur, methinks. The signature may be the only clue, though, along with the style of the work.