That is the motto of Paul Lastnameunknown, who for thirty years has been going to thrift stores in every town he visits, and rescuing the "more unusual or poorly executed pieces" found there.

http://www.thriftstoreart.com/
This collector has a mirror site for these?

I sat transfixed last night, going through each of the fifteen galleries, in an odd state of curiousity and horror. It's truly bad art, mixed with a few pieces that were almost good. Oh, the raw ambition of some of these artists:

http://taiga.com/~paul/facesh.htm
"Colorful Italian Nude with Many Faces (Vortice Vitale)"
Tatiana Levi, 1970, 16" x 24"

"Although Ms. Levi is not listed in the Davenport's directory of "known" artists, it appears that she did have quite a marketing campaign during her time. This piece was certainly considered "High Art" back in 1970 as witnessed by the Galleria d'Arte "La Conchiglia" sticker slapped on the back of this painting, complete with an artist bio and promotional material for Tatiana's latest show, all printed in Italian. What would the aspiring artist have thought more than three decades ago if she knew that her painting would one day be purchased in an American thrift store for the princely sum of $5.00 (plus all applicable sales taxes)?"

Oh, I kept proceeding, with a horrid feeling that some piece of mine left behind in Joliet with relatives might be there. This is the last chance before the trash can. Paul did rescue one piece from a thrift store trash bin, as "even thrift stores have standards". Thus, I found myself drawing 'the gallery of Bad Art':

I was visiting the Guggenheim site to see what will be showing there this year, and was amused by my thoughts regarding a cycling picture illo of their permanent collection. For ease of discussion, I've captured them in still mode:

by Giacometti, Kandinsky, and Picasso

I can imagine, because when I went home for Mother's funeral, I found my paintings which I'd lovingly given her stuffed into her closet, along with tons of other stuff. No, not hung on her walls, but put OUT OF SIGHT! She'd rather have some gray street scene on her wall. I rescued one, and it hangs on our wall. But even I left one behind, an unframed impressionistic still life that was rather large. We just didn't have room for it in our tiny apartment, I reasoned. So no doubt that got let loose in a thrift shop or at the very least was put out for a sale at Ebay. And I have no idea what happened to the painting of an unknown model I did at college. Gramma honored it and hung it on her dining room wall (It shows up in old photos). She said she liked the skin tones. But what happened after she died? The model being no one anybody knew, that painting could have been donated to charity. I have no idea, for I never asked about it. There were so many other issues at the time, I never thought of the lady in the red dress until now. And there were the truly horrid things I did at university which had been stored in an upstairs closet at Gramma's house. Without the thoughtfully set up classical still lifes, I was bereft. I had no idea then how to draw from my imagination. I remember a huge painting of a ballerina, which had been done from a magazine photo. It was ghastly. But the hand built frame was so well made, I bet some artist bought it and painted over it. I hope they did. It was a damn fine canvas!

There I am in the early 1980s, holding a still unframed painting.
I can see the very edge of that impressionistic still life, location now unknown, in the lower right.