In the years of the roadside Diners, the Hamburger, French Fries and Milk Shake were the order of the day. In the painting here, it shows a typical Milk Shake, with the silver mixing container that always came with it, because the glass was never big enough to hold it all. It was like a bonus, being able to drink your milk shake, which was usually topped with whipped cream and a cherry. The cherry must have fallen off this one. Of course, there was always that glass of water sitting close by, in case of “Brain Freeze” from drinking the cold shake too fast. They always came with 2 straws, so you could share with your sweetheart.
Prints:
ALL PRINTS are printed on canvas and stretched on wooden stretcher bars and prices vary according to size ordered. Most are 2:3 proportion
Options:
wrapped print- part of the image is wrapped
around the sides of the wood.
Non-wrapped print- The full image is on the face, with white or black edges
(frames and hardware are not included)
11″ x 14″………. $148.82
16″ x 20″ ………. $204.72
16″ x 20″ ………. $375.00 Original painting on stretched canvas
I was due to exhibit in an Art Show in Rome, Georgia and then in Cave Springs, so I visited the area to see what I could find in the way of Nostalgia. Cave Springs was a quaint little town in which I noticed a barber shop, just off the square. It had the letters painted on the windows, which you could see through to the inside.
We went inside the shop and I immediately noticed several porcelain barber chairs, in which one was filled with a young man, who was being given a haircut by the only barber in the shop. Just as he finished and the gentleman left the shop, we asked the barber if we could ask him some questions and told him what my intentions were. His reply was, “You can ask me anything but my age.”
It was the mid to late 1980’s and I had noticed a sign he had posted that said, “$1.00 Haircuts”. He said he had always given haircuts for a dollar and didn’t see any reason to change. The sign on the door was Hot Showers and Air Conditioning. When he started cutting hair in that shop decades previously, Cave Springs was just off the main truck route, so many truckers would stop after a long trip, take a shower and get a haircut.
Carter Brannon
Copyright Larry JohnstonCopyright Larry Johnston
Links to other barber related paints I have done can be found here:
Established in 1932, Angels Diner is the oldest diner in the State of Florida. Palatka is located 44 miles east of Gainesville and is open 24 hours. They even serve breakfast at any time. Besides up to one-pound hamburgers, they are also known for their freshly made Onion Rings. (Not Frozen). You can also order Hot Dogs, Fried Chicken and Catfish. The diner also has outside covered seating.
Gainesville has several big Street Art Shows per year, which I exhibited at both. Angels was a big hit after I painted and unveiled it for the shows. The locals recognized it as their own favorite historic place to eat.
Prints:
ALL PRINTS are printed on canvas and stretched on wooden stretcher bars and prices vary according to size ordered. Most are 2:3 proportion
Options:
wrapped print- part of the image is wrapped
around the sides of the wood.
Non-wrapped print- The full image is on the face, with white or black edges
(frames and hardware are not included)
8″ x 12″ Black Edge………. $109.17
8″ x 12″ White Edge………. $109.17
8″ x 12″ Wrapped Edge………. $109.17
12” x 18” Black Edge ………. $168.07
12” x 18” White Edge ………. $168.07
12” x 18” Wrapped Edge ………. $168.07
16” x 24” Black Edge ………. $226.14 (Most popular)
16” x 24” White Edge ………. $226.14 (Most popular)
16” x 24” Wrapped Edge ………. $226.14 (Most popular)
When exhibiting at Art Shows and Festivals, I tried to have a painting that the locals could identify with, so I would scan the area after the shows and take pictures of interesting places. I had been in the show in Wyandotte, Michigan for years and painted several places near there. One of the places I painted, was the A & W Drive-in, located in Taylor, Michigan. It was a typical design for that restaurant in the 1950’s that I remembered. It was a 24″ x 36″ painting, on stretched canvas. With a little humor, you will notice the driver of the corvette is parked in a no parking zone and the car hop is paying more attention to him, instead of the customers.
While exhibiting at a show in Cave Springs, Georgia, a couple talked to me about painting a picture of their home. We made an appointment with them to see the home and take some pictures. Their home was located north of Rome, Georgia outside of Armuchee, GA.
While being taken on a tour of the home, they brought out a photograph of what the home looked like before it was remodeled. It was black and white photo of the house back in the early 1900’s. Since I was interested in nostalgic places, I mentioned that I would like to paint a second picture of what it used to look like. The didn’t mind, but they were not interested in purchasing it when it was finished.
This is what the finished painting looked like before it was remodeled. The painting was sold almost immediately. Actually, it was still on my easel, not quite done, when someone told me they wanted to buy it when it was finished. You’ll notice the date on the painting , 1985 shows that it was painted 35 years ago.
Prints:
ALL PRINTS are printed on canvas and stretched on wooden stretcher bars and prices vary according to size ordered. Most are 2:3 proportion
Options:
wrapped print- part of the image is wrapped
around the sides of the wood.
Non-wrapped print- The full image is on the face, with white or black edges
(frames and hardware are not included)
11″ x 14″Black Edge………. $148.82
11″ x 14″ White Edge………. $148.82
11″ x 14″ Wrapped Edge………. $148.82
16″ x 20″ Black Edge ………. $204.72
16″ x 20″ White Edge………. $204.72
16″ x 20″ Wrapped Edge………. $204.72
16″ x 20″ ………. $375.00 original painting on stretched canvas not available.
I worked with a lady, during the time, when I was teaching myself to paint realism. She had taken some Art classes and had a big painting hanging in her office of an old barn. The roof had collapsed and you could see the boards sticking out the top, where the roof had broken. Next to it was an old brick silo.
I was impressed with the subject she had chosen, so I took my camera and scoured the countryside around northern Indiana, expecting to find old fallen down barns everywhere. For 2 days, I drove around and only found nicely painted red barns, white barns, but very few weathered barns. Even the houses had been kept up.
So when we moved to Georgia, there were old houses, old barns, outhouses and even old weathered farms. I took lots of pictures, so when I was asked to teach a painting class, at an art supply store, that was my first project. The first painting was of a shed that was located behind the main house on a property.
I called the painting “Behind the House”. I learned that teaching a 4-week painting was a mistake, since the students missed weeks along the way, that they had paid for. We eventually got through it, but all my classes after that were quick 2-hour paintings, that they could finish the same day.
Prints:
ALL PRINTS are printed on canvas and stretched on wooden stretcher bars and prices vary according to size ordered. Most are 2:3 proportion
Options:
wrapped print- part of the image is wrapped
around the sides of the wood.
Non-wrapped print- The full image is on the face, with white or black edges
(frames and hardware are not included)
11″ x 14″Black Edge………. $148.82
11″ x 14″ White Edge………. $148.82
11″ x 14″ Wrapped Edge………. $148.82
16″ x 20″ Black Edge ………. $204.72
16″ x 20″ White Edge………. $204.72
16″ x 20″ Wrapped Edge………. $204.72
16″ x 20″ ………. $375.00 original painting on stretched canvas not available.
When I first moved from California to Georgia in 1983 and started exhibiting my work, I found a nice show in Bartow County in the community of Acworth, which sits along the shores of Lake Allatoona. As I looked for a subject to paint, I found several. One painting from the area, was “The Gathering Place”, which was an old shed. To compliment the subject matter the I was painting at that time, was the Acworth house, which was an abandoned home in the area.
During my travels to the southern states to exhibit in Art Festivals, during the Winter months, we regularly stayed at a campground, in Ft. Pierce, Florida. As you know, I am always on the lookout for nostalgic places to paint.
In the early years of going to Florida, which would be in the mid to late 1980s, we discovered Angelo’s Hot Dog World on Hwy 1, in Ft. Pierce.
I think he eventually moved close by to 304 Gardenia Ave, Ft. Pierce, just off Hwy 1. I no longer have the painting, as it was sold to a young couple, at a show in central Georgia, called Cotton Pickin’ Days.
The Drive-in Theatres dwindled in numbers, as developers bought up the properties, I tried to capture the images of a few of those theatres. One of the few remaining theatres in Indiana, is the Tri-way in Plymouth, Indiana. It has 3 screens so they can show several movies at once, to bring in larger crowds.
This painting was done at a time before the recent remodeling a few years ago, which included the neon sign. I personally like the older sign, which I captured in the painting. There are a number of the cars you may have seen during the outdoor theatre era.
As you drove to the parking spot, the ground was raised in the front for easy visibility to see the movie. The pole next to the car held the speakers, which could be removed and placed inside the car, complete with volume control. Most people hung it on the window and then rolled it up as far as they could. The biggest problem was the failure to put the speaker back on the pedestal before leaving at the end of the movie, ripping the cord and taking the speaker with them. Many memories were made at the outdoor theatres. They had the concession stand in a building, which also housed the movie projector. Some even had playgrounds below the screen, for the parents to entertain their children before the start of the movie, although I never saw anyone use them.
