A Flash Back

That Pesky Man in Brown  12x16  Mixed Media on Illustration Board 

Hickory Dickory Dare

The pig flew up in the air!

The man in brown soon brought him down,

Hickory Dickory Dare.

An early painting that shows my fondness for stripes.  They sure are fun to paint!

Hope you're all haveing a good weekend.

Larry

June 4th Portland or Bust

Page 2 My City Scape

One option is my city scape...

This would be fun to do.  It would be a challenge.  These are good thoughts.

I have never painted a city scape before.  It would not be the best match for my existing works.  These are not so good thoughts.

It would be a good chance to expand my works, maybe lead me in a new direction.  Hmmmm.  Lets do some color studies:

My City scape color concepts

I did the upper left sketch first.  I did it with oil pastels.  I usually do my color studies with colored pencils, digital, white out, markers, and acrylics.  I don't use oil pastels but I have always kept them in my drawer for "just in case".  I struggled with the first sketch until I figured out how to utilize the pastels.

So I did a second color study - upper right.  This one was funner but it made me think.  Portland has some cool bridges.  It would be cool to incorporate some bridges.  I gotta have Mt. Hood in there.  I grew up with this mountain looming in the distance my entire young life.  To me this is the most beautiful mountain ever.  Of course I gotta paint it.  In this sketch the bridge is taking away from the mountain.  What's my focus here?  The city, the mountain or the bridge.  I'm getting lost.  To add to the confusion I remember Portland with a lot of brick.  I remember it as a red city. I don't know why. I'm not liking the blue tone now. I needed to focus.  Should I paint another sketch?  Na, let's look up some reference pictures of Portland.

This is when I redrew the bottom image.  I'm gett'in the buildings more in line and correct.  But now it looks different.  It's not my impression, it's not my feeling of Portland.  It's just a sketch based off what I see in pictures.   I'm going to Portland to visit old friends and family in July.  Lets wait on this painting.  Let's take our own reference shots, check out the bridges, and see the true color of the city for what it is.  I need to get my impression back on, then I'll come back and paint a dozen pictures of Portland.  Yea. let's do that!  I'm going to Seattle too.  Maybe I'll paint that place too.

I think I'm changing the fate of all my other images I decided to wait on right now.  See how that works?  I just had a new grey hair pop out of my scalp.  Yikes!

Now I'm down to three choices.

Have a good Day!

Larry

June 3rd - A decision is still needed

Chupacabra seeking additional Snickers

Decisions, decisions, decisions...

In my last blog I narrowed the choices down to four.

Page 1, the figure.

Page 2, the city-scape, the killer whale and the calling to the light.

There were other choices but the others are images I have decided to wait on.  Experience and intuition tells me I need to wait on these for various reasons.  This is kind of a gamble because I will most certainly get more ideas this month and then what seemed like a good, rational decision turns into something else or just gets forgotten.  Oh-well.


So let me explain what I have been thinking lately.  I'm kind of hoping that explaining my thoughts  will help me clarify them for myself.  Check this out:

Still life7  mixed media on wood

 It a painting of an apple - again prophetic stuff is rolling of my tongue.  -Sorry about that.

But it's more than just an apple.  It's texture too.  If you have ever seen one of my major works you would know that I like a bit of texture.  I don't like it screaming with texture, I don't like texture that doesn't help the painting but I do like it.  Believe it or not but it is hard to achieve with oils, unless you like having wet oil paint on your surface for a couple of months.  I have tried fast setting oils like alkyds.  I have tried dryers in my oils, I have tried dryers in my Alkyds.  I have tried thickeners - many brands.  I have tried a lot of things over many years.   Here's the outcome:

1) I spend excess money on additives to experiment with and they don't do what I want.

2) The paint sets up on the surface but underneath can be wet for months.  This is bad for those times I want to sand down my painting for additional texture - I know, not the best technique for a slow drying medium like oil paint.

3) I like starting with a dark surface.  Blacks tend to be slow drying, complicating things even worse.  I've tried mixing my blacks with Burnt Umber and Ultramarine - two paints that dry relatively quickly- in oil terms.  The results are same as #2.  Sanding down a painting and revealing bold white of the gesso beneath is like staring into the sun.  I really want to see the black or some other dark color.

4) I've tried black gesso.  It's too thin. I've tried adding plaster to it but it tends to crack.  I can hold it together with added latex medium but now the mixture is getting quite expensive.  And I think there is a better solution - read on!

5) When thick oil paint is drying it tends to be very shiny or glossy, especially Ivory black.  Other layers of paint do not like to stick to shiny surfaces.  It would take this thick paint years to dry to the point it is not shiny but it will always be a surface that other layers will not cling to.  This is why they teach thick over lean.  The lean or thinned paint goes on first and then you should get progressively thicker (and oilier) with every new layer of paint.  - I almost put myself to sleep on that one.

6) Some dryers thin the paint down so much texture just won't show.  Thicker dryers actually increase the transparency of the paint - both not ideal for what I want.

7) In all my trials I have been able to get textures but in some cases not enough, in others too much.  It is frustrating and exciting all in one,

Then along came the apple:

apple is enlarged to show texture.  - Just like on the cereal boxes!

What this apple is doing for me:

I bought the best brand of exterior flat acrylic house paint I could find.  I had it tinted black.  There's a lot of debate over using house paints in fine art.  Some say it will flake off just like it does your house others say it is just as good as any artist colors.  There are many top notch artist using house paints in the world - I won't name names but I know you're out there.  Here's the thing - if you take a painting outside that is done in top quality oil paints it will fade and begin to deteriorate in just a year's time.  How do I know this?  Because I have one outside hanging on the back of my house right now.  It's not even in direct sun light but it is starting to look it age.  If I would have painted this with a moderate exterior house paint it probably would still be looking good - after all there is a ten year warranty on the stuff - right? I have another painting hanging outside, in direct sun and it was painted with interior house paint.  This one has lasted about six years.  Yes it's peeling, but thats expected right? It's interior house paint hanging outside!  So what if I take the best exterior house paint and put it on a stable surface and hang it is a temperature controlled environment and keep it out of direct sun.  I'll let the the conservators worry about in about a hundred years. ----Right!

So I got me the best brand of black, flat, exterior house paint money could buy.  I mixed this with some plaster and I have instant texture that I can control the thickness on.  I can sand it.  It is flat and porous like gesso so additional layers of paint stick to it.  It dries over night.  It is dark colored all the way through.  If I keep the ratio of plaster to paint at a good mix I can apply this mixture to canvas and it will be flexible (I won't be able to roll the canvas for shipping though - it will need to be shipped flat on stretcher bars.)  I'll solve this though - later.

So, with this apple in mind I am going to try this stuff on a new painting. I'm going to try it this month with ya'll watching.  I'm ready to move past the small studies that I have been experimenting with.  It's time to move on and go for the big dog.  Taking this into mind I want to paint something epic, but not so epic I go into a panic attack when I can't achieve what I want with this new process.  I need to set myself up for failure and for a win.  I need to be ready.

So here we go...

And just so you know - I'm rambling tonight because I got nothing done.  It's that thing called life.  I watched a movie and ate pizza with my family.  I loved it!  The movie was lousy but the company was good - wouldn't miss it for the world.


Larry

June 2nd. Still trying to choose but I know my options.

Page 1

What do we have here? Do you really want to know - don't answer that cause I'm gonna tell ya' anyway.

1) Search and Rescue - Litter attendant is getting ready to go over the side.  The three legged thing (can't ever seem to remember the technical names) is set to get our ropes off the ground. NO

2) Written Notes - Kevin MacPherson's limited pallet ( http://kevinmacpherson.com/)  NO

3)Figure painting - background abstract-ish similar to another I have recently done. I like the pose. Maybe

4)Figure Painting - She looks like an 80's style pose.  not sensual.  NO

5) Figure Painting - calmly sitting - shirt would be crazy flower print, can't make out detail in face. A little on the boring side though.  Probably a NO.

6) Figure in rain - The painting would be about the yellow boots.  Everything else grayed out, except the umbrella.  Like concept but the composition is not even close to being worthy of paint - NO

7) Mom and Daughter with feet up on wall.  I love this one but I'm not ready to paint it yet.  Just doesn't fit yet.  I love the kids legs personality verses the moms.  I totally see my wife and daughter here.  Yes, but Later

8) Redlands Train Station - I will paint this later.  I need more than a month and I don't want to be side tracked with having to blog during this epic painting.  I have a dozen other sketches for this one where I'm working out the composition.  This is not the best drawing or composition. - Yes, but Later

9) Swinging - this one will be awesome but way to quick of a painting to stretch over a month.  Maybe, but Later

10) Plane.  I love planes.  I worked at Fed Ex for a while in my past, at the airport.  It was here working around the big planes that I got to really imagine the scales of things (Big things with itsy bitsy people in my paintings).  Planes look small from the terminal or from the ground.  When your standing under one of these or leaning up against the tires you really get a sense of how big some of these suckers are.  This is not the one to paint it was just a thought - I have a group of other planes to paint later though.  Hopefully for a gallery show.  So for now -NO

Page two

Page Two:

1) Figure pulling on net.  Goes with a Psalm.  Still developing it so - Yes, but later.

2) The floating whale.  I was looking at another artist work - Forgot who- but it really touched me.  I like the killer whales best so I sketched the killer whale in the same position, below.  This sketch led to #6.  Not this one - NO

3)  The bridge in front of Seven Oaks Dam.  Just a thought.  Probably paint it someday, just not now with this composition.  NO

4) Sketch of Portland, Oregon.  Maybe

5) This is my daughters drawing of a truck.  She takes over my sketch book sometimes. Doesn't count

6) Killer whale. The whales are like airplanes in the ocean to me.  They're big.  The ocean scares me, a lot.  Probably why I'm so fascinated with ocean elements.   Maybe.

7) Another bridge.  No

8) Another airplane.  Thought about putting an airplane in the scene instead of the whale - Nope.

9) Calling to the light.  Definitely a front runner.  Statue between two columns, crazy small people below.  I love the calm warmth this painting will have.  I already see it.   To the right I'm messing around with color options.  I will paint this, just not sure if I want to do it now, so - Maybe

Here's a reality check.  I'm only analyzing two pages from my sketch book here.  When I decide to paint what I call a Major Work I generally skim through all of my sketch book's.  When I speak of a Major Work I am referring to a painting that will be in the 30 x 40inch minimum size range.  The largest I have worked was 48 x 72 inch.  It takes money and a lot of time to complete one of these.  Working on the larger sizes you quickly realize just how small that $10 tube of paint really was.  In addition, to the $ and time I really need to make sure that I am happy with my decision and be sure that the painting will eventually fit in with my other works and compliment them.  I can ponder over this for a good week narrowing down my choices to the top three, and so on.  It's nerve racking sometimes.  For this month's painting I am tending toward  the two foot size range.  I want to make something sizable but I also want to be able to control it as I blog.  a lot of my recent work has been in the 6x6 or 6x12 size range.  This is small.  I'm getting it out of my system and getting ready to go big again,

Back to present day - To add them all up I have 10 No's, 4 Maybe's and 4 Yes but Later's.  So I am still left pondering - Which one to choose......

I need to think about this more.  Let me know which one you think I should paint!

Larry
http://www.larryreinhart.com/

June 1st, round two. What to choose...

Sitting Ram painting standing vertical, drying.  About 95% complete

So what to choose......Cont.

To understand what to choose you must first understand why to choose.  Right now I only have six paintings in progress - this is actually low number for me.   In progress means I have paint on the surface but the image is not complete.  I also have four other paintings ready to start.  Ready to start means I have the drawings complete, the reference, if needed, is out, and the surface that I will be painting it on is set to go.  In addition to these, I have six or eight painting surfaces ready to go but nothing in mind for them yet.  That's a lot in the works.  The sad thing is I'm not in the mood for any of them right now.  I want something new and exciting.  This is one of the perils of not having enough time.  Painting can sometimes drag on over weeks, then they become unexciting for me.  What I need is more time to work on them in a day (longer painting sessions).  I wonder if this lack of excitement shows in my work?  I don't think so because as I get closer to the end of a major work I tend to get excited again - my painting sessions tend to go into the whee ours of the night as well and then I struggle through the next day trying to stay awake at my other job.  Sometimes it's kind of funny what I do and what I put myself through.  To be honest, I wouldn't know what else to do with myself if I didn't have my art.

So, the Ram painting at the top of this page is almost complete, another evening and it will be done.  I have a small lion painting going that just needs an hour or so to complete.  I have a horse painting that will need a couple of weeks.  A figure painting that will need about a week.  A city-scape (landscape of a city) that will need about three days. And the last one is an abstract that I have lost all hope for and is just sitting on the painting rail staring at me (I built 2" shelves in the studio that I can set wet painting on to dry.  These allow me to keep them safe while I work on other things - as apposed to lying flat on a table to get splattered on or propped on the wall at the floor to be kicked or dripped on).  Except for the Ram above the zest for these paintings just isn't here right now.

To get back to the why I need to choose - As I was lying there, my life flashing before me, Chupacabra gnawing on my leg I thought "Let's paint something new and document the process!"  Prophetic huh?  Like I said, it's kind of funny what I put myself through.

So here I am asking - What to choose.  Lets get it over with and choose!

Page 1

Page 2

 Would love to hear your comments on which one to choose.

Have a good night,

Larry

June 1st - The Creative Spark

Chupacabra sighting near Big Bear, Ca

Hello Ya'll.  Happy June!

This last weekend I spent some time with the family camping in the wilds of California.  It was a time for us all to relax and spend some quality family time together.  My wife asked me a couple of times if I was able to relax yet and I had to admit that wasn't until the end of the third day that I finally felt a release of tension.  All was good, then this happened -  I almost lost my life during a one-on-one confrontation with the local Chupacabra - (  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra ).  I was violently attacked but survived with only minor mental injuries, let me explain:  During this outburst of violence I got to revisit my entire life as an artist in the few seconds while the Chupacabra was gnawing on my lower leg bone. This life flash has left me more scared then the actual attach.  I haven't figured out if this is a good thing or not. As for the Chupacabra - I fed it a Snickers candy bar and it went away. (Poking fun at the TV commercials) Do you all know who the Chupacabra was?

With my new outlook on life I came up with a Grand Plan.  Maybe not really grand but it is a plan.  The plan involves me blogging everyday for the month of June, or longer, while I complete a painting.  Why you might ask?  If you didn't ask, I sure did - asked myself a few times!  Here's what I was thinking:  Many times people have asked me how long it takes to complete a larger painting.  I don't really have an answer because I do other things in life and I can't seem to sit down and paint a painting from start to end without life's little interruptions (these interruptions are mostly cause by me and my rambling mind).  So, I thought blogging about the process would help me focus, and help you find the answer to this 40 year old question (I started drawing when I was four, I think).  There are other things I hope to tackle as well - I heard great feedback from when I blogged everyday in January and I hope to do this again.  I hope to show everyone how I paint.  You get to see something come to life from initial concept to final, hang on the wall, art.  You'll get to see what inspires me, what hurts me, etc.  I'll try and bare my soul here. It should be fun.  Ultimately, I would really like to give you all a true glimpse into my artistic life.  I hope to do this as fun, as informative and as blunt as I can. (If I get too blunt let me know, I do have experience with this and may need to reign it in a bit.)

I would love to hear all of your feed back.  If there are questions I'll see about answering them on the following days blog.  Perhaps you all can be inspired by what I am doing and go out and analyze your own life and make a change, take a risk,  be inspired, or something.  (This is the "Grand" part of my idea that may not pan out to be so grand.  We'll see.)  If there is someone in your life or in your neighborhood who is a budding artist, an art lover or just seems to be the creative type, please share the link to my blog with them ( http://larryreinhart.blogspot.com/ ).  I would love to extend my audience.

So, to get started:

What to paint?

Sketch book 1

Here's a few sketches from just one page of my sketch book. (I have three sketch books right now)  These are not master drawings, they are just quick ideas I have and want to record.  This is the real deal here.  On this page I see six images that I could easily pursue if I had unlimited time in my life.  But I don't, so I need to choose - but wait there's more...

Sketch book 2

Here's the next page in my sketch book.  Here I see four ideas I would love to chase.  That's a total of ten really recent sketches that I would love to work on but I must choose to chase just one.  This is one of the parts in my life that really tears me up.  I wish I could choose them all, but I just don't have the time.  And to boot, in a couple more weeks I'll have another dozen ideas.  I truly believe this is one of the things that can drive an artist nuts.

Which image will make me grow as an artist?  Which image will add to my current work, but still allow me to grow? Which image will fill me with joy?  Which image will hold my attention for the next month?  Which image will touch the audience the most?  Questions and questions and more questions.

So back to the initial question:  Which one to choose? .......

Cheers,

Larry
http://www.larryreinhart.com/

A Night Party

Night Party  6x6 Oil on Panel

Haven't done this in a while - post a blog.  It's about time I start doing it again!

What do you feel when you see this image?  Does it remind you of anything?

For me, I was thinking about a late night party filled with friends on the outskirts of town.  Been eat'in, drink'n and danc'n with my girl.  A slow song comes on and we dance real close.  We're hav'in fun.  She asks if I want to go for a walk.  "Sure, Let's go. "

This is where we are at in this painting.  The lights don't stretch out too far, making the party seem smaller than it is, but bright enough to make the nearby trees glow, the music and laughter are muffled.  My girl with her sweet perfume is by my side and says "this was a pretty fun night."

Yes indeed.

This painting is available, framed with a rustic reclaimed wood framed.  $65

Another Flash Back Friday

Bang 15x20  Mixed Media on Illustration Board

This piece was created back in the college days.  It was actually a pivotal piece art for me. I was perfecting my "style" of my work.  The use of subtle colors, the dry brushing, the color pallet, etc.  It was all coming together and I was really enjoying the creation my work.

There were a couple of images before this one that got some mixed reviews from the college staff.  After creating one of these pieces I was told my art was too decorative and pretty and that I needed to include a little bit more about me and my personality in my work.  I needed to make my art more real and gritty.  My first response was that no one wants to see what's in my head, but the teacher taunted or encouraged me (depends on how you saw it) to create something more.

In another piece before this painting a different teacher asked me what the texture means in my work. I responded that it was just texture and I put it in there just because, it was to satisfy me and meant nothing to the image.  He thought that was lame and went on to explain me that everything I do in a painting will be judged differently by different people so I should really think before I do something.  Doing this, would take my art to the next level and become "deeper".

So with new thoughts in my head, I created this piece.  It was a break through, believe it or not. Along with thinking about what the teachers had recommended, this was the first painting I signed with my LR instead of my name.  This was the first time I included text within the art.  I mixed in a bit of my personality to the art.  I even got in my skivvy's and modeled for it.  It was fun.

The Latin words translates into :But it looks so impressive".

The art itself related to an article about toy gun control and how toy manufacturers needed to take realistic guns off the market so innocent people wouldn't get fooled or hurt.  Now we have bright orange colored gun toys and they all have bright orange caps at the end.  Progress for the human race.  I definitely feel safer now, do you?

Larry

Progress of Bev's Humming Bird

Progression of a painting.  

Have you ever wondered what goes on in an artists head?

Day1, hiding the white and laying in the first color

Day 1

     For this painting, the first step was to get some color down and do with style.  I toned my board with a earthen reddish color - I like to get rid of the white right away.  For the completed painting, I knew I wanted yellow as my strongest color so from this first thought my pallet of colors are all chosen, yellow - orange- reds with a bit of blues and purples. I see these colors in my mind.  It probably sounds like I'm choosing all the colors in the rainbow but green but there's more to it than that.  The purple is key.  Purple is an opposite to yellow so the more soft purple I have the more vibrant and beautiful my yellow will seem.  This is color theory 101.  The blues compliment the purple, the reds compliment the yellows.  Now to put the colors on with style.  Well, there wasn't really much style going on, It was just me and my pallet knife.

Da1, getting the color nailed down on the background.

     Here you can see me start to bring in the yellow.  At this stage it is actually a very dirty yellow, it just "looks" like nice yellow because of the colors around it.  If I would put a blob of this yellow color on a white back ground though you would think I was painting with the fancy kind of mustard -the kind with little bits of whatever floating in it.  Yep, not very pretty on the pallet.  To help me judge this yellow I drop in the beginning of the flower in with blues and purples.  This image is actually at the end of the first sitting, maybe 2 hours into the painting - if that.  But I see where it's going and I'm happy with it so I let it set up over night.  I do use an alkyd white and alkyd yellow to help the painting set up faster than normal oils.  The alkyds and the earth tones are key to getting oils done quickly.  Do you see the spot of bright yellow near the top right of the flower?  It looks bright Huh? Keep your eye on this spot.

Day 2

Day 2 blocking in humming bird

     Back at it.  Now I start to bring in hints of the humming bird, I add more to the flower and am constantly adjusting the background.  In the background adjustments, I am balancing richer color with what I expect the hummingbird to look like - as seen in my mind.  Do you still see that bit of yellow next to the flower? it is beginning to look less bright, right?  The cool pinkish color added next to it did this along with the lighter colors on the flower.  These additions make the yellow less intense.  Other things to see - the shadows from the flower pedals, the color on the birds belly.  I'm almost an hour and a half into this days work now.

Day 2, almost done.

     Here we are at the end my painting session for day two.  For the day, I'm little over 3 hours in, not long at all.  I still have lots of tie to work on other things.  But this painting is complete, except for the final highlights and last minute adjustments.  I just want to let it rest and get my mind off of it for a couple of days.  Do you still see that spot of yellow near the top right of the flower?  It used to be the brightest spot on the painting.  I haven't touched it.  It's still the same color as when I first touched paint brush to canvas. The brightest yellow now, up and to the left of the hummingbirds head, is a spot of pure yellow.  To tie everything together, I have put a lot of little color bits all over.  The orange from the hummingbirds neck is also to the left of the flower, in the background.  The red on the hummingbirds neck mimics the red in the flowers center and appears in the background as well.  Controlling this type of color is fun.  It's what keeps me coming back for more.

Day 3

Beverly's Hummingbird, 11x14, Oil on Wood Panel

Final shot of Bev's Hummingbird taken with my camera (not my phone) just before it was wrapped up for shipment.  This little guys home is in Oregon now.  He brightens up the room on all the cold, overcast, rainy days up there.

Larry

A little Friday Flash Back

3 little mice find a tasty treat.    Mixed media on illustration board

Here's an old one.  Originally I painted this and one other image for a counting book for HarcourtBrace.  The job was given to another artist since the art director thought my mice didn't look like mice and they weren't cute enough...  Can't win them all.  

I did use this image for years afterwords and got a lot of additional work because of it.  I guess it paid off in the long run.  It's also one of my favorite pieces from the past.

Hope ya'll had a good Friday.

Larry

The Time is Coming, What does this painting mean?

The Time is Coming 36x48 Oil on Canvas

I recently found out that my painting The Time is Coming won the Galleries Choice Award at Contemporary Art Gallery in Annapolis, Maryland.  I feel extremely blessed to be able to paint as I do and share my art with everyone.  At first glance, a lot of people may not notice that a lot of my art is Christian based.  I like to keep my Christian thoughts subtle in my work but this particular image is one of the more direct paintings.  Study the image a bit and come up with what you think it means then read on to learn what I was trying to convey:

Ready?  Here we go...

Revelations 16:16 calls out a place with the Hebrew name of Armageddon.  It is said that this is the place where all nations will come together and battle Christ.  Armageddon is translated from the Hebrew word Har Megiddo which means Hill of Megiddo.  This was an ancient city in Northwestern Palestine, Southeast of Haifa in present day Israel.  This name is depicted above the front door to this building.

The building I chose to depict here is completely made up but in my design I wanted a building that felt solid, like a bank, older government building or something along this line.  Surrounding the building I have added a few symbolic items to help tell my story.  Here's what I included:  Above the door you can see a United Nations symbol to push the idea of one government to rule all nations.  The gold statue bust above the central portico is my depiction of a false idol, it is ambiguous on purpose.  The gold front doors have tarnished to green to symbolize the decay of the building has started from within and is working it's way outside.  The entry stairs and the column bases have not tarnished yet but when they do will it effect the buildings strength?  The time of the clock is 3:06, or three sixes, the number of the beast.  These numbers have been lifted up, but not in a Righteous way, but rather in a man made way with ropes. The clock is big and looms over the people below in a dangerous way.  The ropes holding it up don't seem too strong or placed just right.  Will it come toppling down on the people below?  From the rear of the building, the destruction of the war has started and is depicted by the first plumes of smoke.  The smoke is dark and thick to show it is man made synthetic items that are burning, natural items tend to burn with a white or grey smoke plumage.  We see that  people have begun to arrive at this place, possibly for help and protection, but the doors to this building are closed and must be locked.  Overall, this painting is about a beginning of a very turbulent end of days where it may seem that all hope is lost.

But hope is not lost.  To the right of the painting there is a statue of angels with the inscription of IXOYE near the base.  These markings depict the Greek word for fish.  It was this marking that was once used by a group of people to mark secret entrances to safe houses and places of worship.  Within these places is where groups of people first came together to worship.  They were the first Christians.  The Greek word for fish was eventually replaced by a symbol in the shape of a fish that is still seen today, often on the back of people’s cars.  I wanted to express that even in the direst circumstances there is always hope and maybe if you just open you heart, lift your eyes and look around the corner you just might find it waiting for you there.
Matthew 7:13-14  "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

That's a lot to think about and to put into a painting.  I would love to here what you all think.  Did your first instincts about the painting express a note of destruction or a tinge of hope?

On  a more personal note:  I like to hide a "7" in a lot of my work.  Can you find the seven in this painting?

Prints of this painting are available here: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-time-is-coming-larry-reinhart.html  Many sizes are available and the prices start at only $17.

The Original painting can be seen in Riverside, CA.  Here is the link to the current show:  http://www.artscaperiverside.com/

Take care,

Larry

Flashback Friday - Steamed

Steamed.  Mixed Media on Illustration Board

03/11/2016

Here's my first flash back Friday for ya'll.  Here's a few things I remember out this piece:

    I used pictures of myself for reference on this image.  In a strange way, thats my face.

    The date of 2003 must have been a period when I was using this image for advertising.  I know it was painted before 2000.

    I painted this one while living in a single bedroom apartment with Raveen and Seven in Pasadena, CA.  I was attending Art Center College of Design at the time.

    I used mixed media to paint it.  I started with Acrylics, added water color, then a wash of purple oil that was rubbed off, followed by more acrylics, the steam was painted with Gouache and then finally detailed with colored pencils.  I was using each medium to its advantage so I could paint quickly.     

    This is a picture I would have / could have painted in a single day.  I was busy working two jobs, going to school and learning to be a dad, I had to use my time wisely.  - Maybe this was the inspiration for the image??

Check out the stuff flying out of the briefcase.  The old cell phone, the floppy disk, little calculator. Back in the day I didn't even own a cell phone.  I think I owned the calculator though and this was painted around the time I got my first computer with an external dial up modem for very early web access.  This image was before any knowledge of "Steam Punk."  Did I invent Steam Punk!!!

Ohhhhh, the memories.  Hope you all enjoy the art and have a good weekend.

Larry