Red Poppies Three hot off the Easel!

I have recently finished this 14 x 11 acrylic on Canvas! It was a fun and challenging piece to do!  Poppies have such papery, translucent petals that need to glow!  I love the deep background shadows too with some of the foliage barely visible.  It is interesting how sunlight makes some greens appear almost turquoise.  I also love the little pop of lime green in the centers.

I did a smaller poppy painting for a collaboration with another artist and have been wanting to do a larger piece.   This one is only a 5 x 7 piece.

 I do a lot of florals and have many for sale on Daily Paintworks, Etsy and Fine Art America!

Yes, I am a geek! A day at Scare-a-con Horror and pop culture convention!

I must admit I was needing a con fix.  I read in the local paper about a convention called Scare-a-con just 20 minutes away.   I have been to some pretty big Sci Fi conventions and this looked like a small convention with some pretty good guests so heck - I'm in!   It was very intimate and everyone was so nice.

There were some great panels with Dee Wallace and Eric Roberts and 3 folks from the walking dead.  I have to admit I have never seen that show, but it is quite the phenomenon.  My sister, husband and I opted for the photo op with the Walking Dead folks.  From left to right, my husband, Madison Lintz, my sister, me, Lew Temple and Vincent Ward.  Lew was the nicest guy.  He shook hands and thanked everyone in line for the photo op.  He became my buddy!!!

Dee Wallace gave a great talk and had some great stories from filming ET, Cujo and many more films.  We stopped by her table for an autograph and she gave us a free photo op as well.  Such a nice lady with a beautiful smile on her face all the time.

This was such a peasant experience - lots of fun stuff to purchase and parties that I did not attend.  Very affordable and it quieted my con fix for awhile anyway :)

Zazzle products rock! Check out these watches.

 Zazzle has some very cool new products!  The watches have been around for a year or so, but they are newer to me.  I love making them.  There are watches suitable for men, ladies and children.  The pig above is a fun kid's watch.  It is so adorable!!!  You can purchase the piggy watch here: http://www.zazzle.com/pink_pig_wrist_watches-256299810901935454

This is a large watch featuring my purple iris painting.  This watch has a large face to really show off the art.  There are some very pretty smaller face choices too.  You get to choose the band/face for each watch face art selection.  Very cool!!!  Check them out.  Find the iris watch here:  http://www.zazzle.com/purple_iris_watch-256712483044071615

Check all my watch designs here!  http://www.zazzle.com/artbylmr/watches  With Zazzle, always look at the page to see it there is any sale going on.  Use the coupon code provided to save some scratch!!

Old Canoe is an award winning painting with 2 Ribbons!

Here I am with my painting 'Old Canoe' at the Regional Art show at the Rome Art and Community Center (Rome , NY that is :))  I was surprised to see that I won two awards since I did not get a call.  I was at the center and took a sneak peek at the show and was thrilled!  Of course, I went to the opening that night to get my certificates.  I'll get the ribbons at the end of the show!

I got a Place award and a special award from the Jervis Library.  These special awards are the best, because, to the person choosing them, this piece was the 'Best of Show'!  Thanks so much to the judges!

Old Fashioned Christmas - vintage decorations are the best!

Here is a little 5 x7 that I did in acrylic on Ampersand gessobord.  I love to decorate for Christmas and these are two pieces near and dear to my heart.  The Santa Post office is a bank that I had when I was a kid.  I recently found it in the attic at my Mom's house.  Now it is part of my way to big collection of decorations.  The tree was given to me and my husband by his Aunt Helen shortly after we were married.  She fired ceramics in her basement and loved making pieces for the family.  These lighted trees were popular in the 70's and I am lucky to have this one plus a white one with all blue lights that Helen also made for us.

I took this photo as I was taking down my decorations  last Christmas and wanted to paint it before I lost the image which happens too often, but that is another story.  I think this will be my Christmas card this year :)

This piece is available on Daily Paintworks:  http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/lynne-reichhart/old-fashioned-christmas/238222

Do you have any favorite holiday decoratios??

Confessions of an old school Musicholic! Vinyl rules!

I know this is an primarily and art blog, but music is my 2nd love after art!  In my high school days I used to stay up until all hours listening to my favorite radio stations, often drawing and painting at the same time.  I had piles of cassette tapes from recording my fav songs and DJ's from the radio.

As you can see above, I still have all my vinyl albums that I collected growing up and beyond.  I used to go to Woolworths and get a record album for $3.99.   I can't bring myself to part with my collection and I still play them on occasion.  10 years ago or so I started to catalog all the records and what they are worth. Some are pretty rare, but they are all priceless to me!

I also have a nice collection of 45 rpm records.  When I was making the big bucks before I retired to pursue art  we got a jukebox so I could play my singles.  I love playing the old songs and singing along.  Songs like ' The Night Chicago Died' and 'Treat Her Like a Lady'.

Next week I'll be back to art because YAY- I just won a couple of awards for one of my paintings.

Anyone else out there still listen to their vinyl - I'd love to read your comments.

History of a Rock concert goer - prices sure have changed!

I have saved my concert tickets for as long as I can remember.  I put them in this 30 year old photo album that has ended up being a history of ticket prices as well as wonderful memories.  Check out Paul McCartney for only $34 in 1989.  This is a random page from the album.  I think the most interesting is The Rolling Stones in 1981 for only $15 (not shown).  That also included Journey and George Thorogood!

I remember my first concert was Orleans and Melissa Manchester at a local venue.  My Mom had to take me because I wasn't old enough to drive.  Poor Mom ended up taking me to many shows near and far.  I lived on the Canadian border so I heard and loved a lot of Canadian music.  She crossed the border to take me and a girlfriend to many a show not to mention the treks to Canadian record stores to purchase favs not available in the US.   Ottawa and Toronto get lots of big US names too!

I still love going to concerts.  The most recent was Justin Hayward from the Moody Blues just a couple weeks ago.  I must admit that I am seeing the acts that are no longer in the big arenas anymore, but they are still rockin' after all these years as am I :)

'Oktoberfest' painting finished! 'Hacker Pschorr' brewery.

After many hours, this painting is finally done!  I posted an 'in progress' photo 2 entries down in case you missed it.  Check it out!

Flora and more flora!  It was a challenge painting all the floral garland, but I like the cast shadows they create.  I was always looking forward to the next item to paint.  I love the blue on the wheels and that was one of the last thing I painted.  I did this one on smooth Ampersand gessobord and it proved to be difficult to blend even with my favorite blending too - my fingers!   I am really happy with how this came out though.

Please share it with your beer loving friends!    Hacker Pschorr  is a Munich brewery.  This is their float in an Oktoberfest parade.  My husband was lucky enough to be in Germany at the time.  I am kind of curious to try one of their brews now.  The first Hacker brewery is mentioned in 1417, located at the corner of Sendlinger and Hackstraße in Munich so they must be pretty good.

Featuring 'Montmartre circa 1977' Paris France painting

This is one of my favorite paintings!  I snapped this scene on a high school junior French club trip to Paris.  I was so in awe of all the wonderful artists painting and selling on Montmartre.  It was like painting little paintings within the larger piece.  They were such fun to do since they were looser than my style and I probably wouldn't paint a clown :)  I did this piece on Ampersand Gessobord which helped loosen me up a little because of the smooth surface.

This was a trip of a lifetime and one I will never forget.  There were 3 total from my school that went and they were both friends.  We slept 3 in a bed and faced the morning wake-up calls together!  The chaperons were quite lenient.  There was an older guy from our school going to the Sorbonne and we were supposed to meet up with him.  The three of us took off to tackle the Metro at night!  Such fun memories.

Thanks for reminiscing with me.

Hacker Pschorr Oktoberfest painting Work in Progress - a sneak peek!

I found this great photo of a float during Oktoberfest in Munich a number of years ago.  My husband took the photo when he was on a business trip and I was psyched when I saw it.  He is not known for he photo prowess, but he got lots a great pics this trip. 

I have been slowly working on the wood areas and took a break to do the sign which was a challenge.  After taking a couple hours to do it, I had to look up what I was painting.  I found out that 'Hacker Pschorr' is a Munich brewery.  In the late 18th century, Joseph Pschorr bought the Hacker brewery from his father-in-law; he subsequently founded a separate brewery under his own name.  His two sons divided his estate by each taking control of one of the two separate breweries. In 1972, Hacker and Pschorr merged to form Hacker-Pschorr, but the beers were sold as separate brands well after 1975.  It is incredible that the original brewery was founded in 1417.  I guess the stuff must be pretty good!

I have made some more progress since taking this photo.  I have to get everything else done before working on the flowers since they are 'on top' of the barrels.  I hope I can do it justice!

Thanks for looking and feel free to leave me a comment to say Hi!

A Trip in the Way Back Machine or How to Decorate a Teenager Girl's room in the 70's

I came across this photo and boy did it bring back memories!   You can still see tape residue on the paneling.  Get a load of that lamp!  My mother just recently took it down to put up a ceiling fan.  I wish I had gotten a hold of it - could have been a good Ebay item :)

Do you recognize anyone on the wall?   Let's see - I see Rick Springfield (sigh), Alice Cooper, Seals and Crofts, Mick Jagger, Barbra Streisand, David Bowie and a huge poster of Gilbert O'Sullivan.  I really didn't know it was that big when I ordered it :)  In the upper right hand corner there is a painting I did of Michael Sarrazin, an actor,  He was a cutie.  I painted and drew lots of my favs in my teens.  I never realized I would eventually become a full time artist, it was just a lot of fun.

I was a night owl.  In the summer I would stay up until 2:00 AM painting and listening to music.  I would love to hear your memories of your teenage room.  Feel free to comment and Thanks for reading!

Finished WIP "Old Canoe' Fall painting

 'Old Canoe'  14 x 11" on Ampersand Gessobord

 

Photo of the finished piece.  It is at the scanners so I will have a better pic for making prints.  I am not a very good photographer so I get them scanned so customers can order large prints that will be crisp and clear.  The colors in the original piece are brighter - especially the canoe. 

 

I love fall and painting fall scenes.  This reference photo was courtesy of Wet Canvas, a great tool for artists with no strings attached.  People have told me that I like bright colors.  I guess I do if that is what the piece calls for.  I can just as easily use more subdued colors for the right painting.  Check out 'Pont Vecchio Landscape' below.  This painting is from a photo taken on a dark day in the morning.  Visit  http://lynne-reichhart.artistwebsites.com/ to purchase prints of this piece.  Prints of 'Old Canoe' will be available shortly once I get the scanned image back.

 

 Thanks for visiting and come back next week for a new installment~



A fun shout out from a media personality about my art!

As  I mentioned in my last post, I participated with The IndiExhibit  at the WOW Creations Oscar gift lounge. 

Media personality Karen Salkin chose my artwork to take home - Yay.  She writes a very fun on-line column called 'It's not About Me (But it Really is)'  This month she talked about the WOW gift lounge, the IndiExibit and my canvas print. 

Under a photo of the display she writes 'Don’t get married to the painting in the middle (the predominantly red one)–it’s now MINE!'  She also mentions me by name.  Thank you, Karen!

You can read the column here.  The second vendor she talks about is The IndiExhibit.  There is a photo of the display with my piece hanging on the middle.  Look for this piece...

Thanks for reading!

Acadamy Awards and my Art! Celebs take home some of my work.

I am currently a member of the IndiExhibit.  The indiExhibit is an officially registered non-profit organization that specializes in promoting the talent of creatives from around the globe. Members participate in unique special events ranging from red carpet gifting suites to backstage concert events and charity benefits.  I have had my artwork at Hollywood award show gifting suites for several years now.  My most current event was the 2014 Academy awards. 

Media personality Karin Salkin took home a canvas print of my painting 'Red in Silver'.  She was very kind and said she really loved it and it spoke to her.

One member of Cassie Jackson's Pop group MP2 took home a trinket box featuring my 'Arranging Lily'  painting.

It is a lot of fun seeing who likes your work and I have gotten some great publicity to boot!  Next up, I think will be the 2104 Emmy awards, but who knows what opportunity may pop up before that!

Visit The IndiExhibit website to find out more information about becoming a member!  Feel free to ask any questions in the comments.

Discover Golden Artist Colors - my acrylic of choice!

Artists invest a lot of money in their tools.  Canvases and other supports, brushes and paint all run the gamut of price ranges.  I admit that I am guilty of buying less expensive brushes because I am very hard on them.  I need to replace my favs frequently.  When it comes to paint, though, I get the best!

Golden acrylics are the best in the business.  They use little or no fillers and are packed with pigment.  They use single pigments in the majority of their colors and actively search out ways to maintain the highest pigment load among all major manufacturers today. The result is high impact work! 

Julies Tulips.  18 x 24" on gallery wrapped canvas.  Contact me about the original at lmrspdr@dreamscape.com .
Prints available here.  http://fineartamerica.com/featured/julies-tulips-lynne-reichhart.html

Golden Artist Colors is an employee owned company with great worker satisfaction.  I am lucky to live within a few hours of the factory in New Berlin, NY.  I have visited the facility and seen the skilled employees hand painting the color charts - you heard me hand painted!!  This way they truly represent the color.

 

Golden Artist Colors strives to enrich the local community arts scene and provides artists lots of reference tools to assist the process like this really cool virtual color mixer.  This allows you to try out color combinations within the Golden palette. 

 

I truly love these paints because they help me create works like this...

 

 

Sunflowers and Light is sold, but prints are available at  http://fineartamerica.com/featured/sunflowers-and-light-lynne-reichhart.html. 

Thanks for reading.  Pick up a tube of Golden acrylics and compare for yourself!  If you want to chime in to the discussion - please leave a comment.

Fall camp scene sneak peak work in progress!

 

Work in Progress!



I found the reference for this piece on Wet Canvas in their reference library for artists.  It is a great place to find reference photos that members have graciously allowed anyone to use, no strings attached. I typically use my own photos, but I really liked this one.  I loved that the canoe was all scuffed up and that the old building had a bright fresh coat of paint.   What you don't see is all the fall leaves and long grass that are still to come.  I am plugging away at it though.  I was happy to get the canoe done since that is really the focal point.  My picture doesn't do it justice - it really pops!

Here is a look at the reference so you can see what is to come.  I did change the red of the building a bit so that the canoe would stand out more.  Also, it was the same color as some of the leaves.  I suspect there were some photoshop changes involved to pump up the color.

 

I'll post the final version when I am finished.  Thanks for looking and feel free to comment with what you think.

 

 

Featured art - Caffe Gilli Acrylic painting award winner!

I will be featuring a piece of my artwork from time to time and giving some background on it.  This week I am featuring my painting titled 'Gillis'. Caffe Gilli is a wonderful Patisserie in Florence, Italy.  I just added the original for sale on Daily Paintworks  and Etsy so I wanted to showcase it.

This painting is near and dear to my heart since it won me a Best in Show ribbon at a juried show I entered.  I was floored and so grateful.  This is what the judge had to say about the painting:  "Composition strong with elements of storytelling.  Color transition carries your eye through the piece.  This painting successfully tells a story complete with a get-a-way car :)"  I thank her for the kind words and the recognition. 

My husband travelled to Florence for work and I eagerly tagged along.  It was a wonderful trip and I came away with many reference photos for future paintings.  This one really had me eager to paint it.  Reflections and food - what's not to like??  I have to admit that I had a real craving for biscotti the whole time I was working on it.

Thanks for reading!  Please leave a comment if you get a chance.

Bicycles with Banana seats - Do you remember?

I was sitting here watching the Olympics wondering what to blog this week and it hit me.   I have been having fun with Throwback Thursday on Facebook so why not a throwback post.

My first bicycle (without training wheels) was one of those bikes with chopper handlebars and a banana seat.  These were pretty comfy seats though I expect they weren't very aerodynamic since they were long.  Mine was a really pretty shiny purple.  I had this bike for a long time and was really proud of it.  As you can see below, I got it for Christmas of 1965. 

A wheelie bike, also called a muscle bike, high-riser, or banana bike, is a type of stylized children's bicycle designed in the 1960s to resemble a chopper motorcycle and characterized by ape hanger handlebars, a banana seat with sissy bar, and small (16-to-20-inch (410 to 510 mm)) wheels.  In 1963, Schwinn introduced the Sting-Ray, the first bike with a 'banana' seat and high-rise handlebars.

 

  I also see my Easy Bake Oven under the tree as well as a Feeley Meeley game too!   I still have the Easy Bake Oven and it is ready to go out on Ebay one of these days.  I remember 'baking' all those yummy cakes and brownies with just a light bulb.  I also remember making a pizza that my poor grandfather was kind enough to eat.  That mix was not one of Kenner's best efforts.  Well, maybe I will do some more throwback posts in the future.  I absconded with a few fun photos like the one above that I have to share.

 

Thanks for reading and please leave a comment on a childhood memory that your treasure.

The Twitter Art Exhibit is art for a good cause!

 

I am so excited to be a part of the #TwitterArtExhibit this year.  Artists are engaged through social media and enlisted to create postcard sized works of original art.  This year the physical exhibit is at the CityArts Factory, Magic Gallery | Orlando, Florida, USA and benefits The Center for Contemporary Dance, Special Needs Classes.  Show runs March 20 - April 11, 2014

 

You can still get in on the fun!  Art must be received by  2/21/14.  Check out the Call for Artists.

 

This is the piece I created using acrylic on 6x4" watercolor paper.  I call it Rusty Bucket.

 

 

The #TwitterArtExhibit was founded by David Sandum (pictured below)  "Through art we can change the world."

 

 

This is a worldwide phenomenon!  Artists from around the world are encouraged to participate.

Last year the exhibit attracted 502 artists from 35 countries who sent 726 entries and raised $7,000 for Art Division, a nonprofit organization that mentors underprivileged young adults.

 

You can also get more information at http://twitterartexhibit.org/

2 new art venues for 2014 - selling originals and cards!

I am starting off the new year with a couple of new endeavors.    As I mentioned in my last post, I have closed my Cafepress shop.  I wanted to get down to basics and try to sell my originals.  Daily Paintworks is just the place for that.  You can only sell originals there.  The only problem is that it helps to post new work often.  I am a slow painter so I am going to try to do some smaller works every week to offer more affordable pieces.

I was contacted by Lily from Greeting card universe about creating cards to sell.  I have done very well with cards in shops so I thought I would give it a go.  This is quite a time consuming endeavor and cards take several weeks to be approved, but we shall see how it works out.  I only have a few cards at this point because Lily fast tracked my first 10 cards - now I have to wait the 4-6 weeks for approval.  So check back and more cards will be popping up as they get approved.  The good thing about the approval is that all the cards are professional with appropriate images and no spelling or grammar errors.  You can also customize the inside of the card before purchasing!

I just love the Zazzle watches!

I am back and ready to blog!  My goal is to blog weekly - Monday or Tuesday.  I hope you will come back to see how I do!!

First off, I am kind of in mourning.  I have been thinking about deleting my Cafepress shop for some time now and I finally pulled the plug.  It was at the point that I would almost have to start over anyway - so many new products and not happy with many of the designs I had.  I decided that for the time being I am going to concentrate more on Zazzle. 

One thing that I really love on Zazzle is the watches!

 

You can customize the style of watch - this one is geared towards a little girl.  You can buy it here:  http://www.zazzle.com/pink_pig_wrist_watches-256299810901935454

Watch for coupons and you can sometimes get them 50% off!!

 

I love this one too!  http://www.zazzle.com/purple_iris_watch-256712483044071615

This one is kind of a Monet style

http://www.zazzle.com/rustic_garden_watch-256424854655505803

I have over 40 watches to choose from on Zazzle and more to come!  You can see them all here:  http://www.zazzle.com/artbylmr/watches .  Check out my store for all the great products!
http://www.zazzle.com/artbylmr

Thanks for reading!!!