Indiana – Page 5 – Larry Johnston, Nostalgic Artist

Oliver Ford

December 29, 2014February 22, 2021 Admin

Oliver Ford

Plymouth, IN

Oliver Ford, Located in Plymouth, Indiana is one of the commission paintings that I have done over many years. The painting was a gift from the owner’s children. They wanted their new dealership painted and also wanted specific vehicles added to the painting. It was a lot of fun adding vehicles to the painting to make it look realistic.

around the sides of the wood.

24″ X 36″ original painting on canvas not available.

Barber Tonics

December 29, 2014February 22, 2021 Admin

“The Barber Tonics”

Chesterton, Indiana

While spending my time gathering information and traveling around the country, I decided to paint a series of four paintings for each subject. One of the subjects was Barber Related. In Chesterton, Indiana, while exhibiting at one of the Arts Festivals, I visited a barber shop, located at the end of the street. On the shelf were some barber related items on display. In the middle of it was Hopalong Cassidy hair tonic. I had never heard or seen that tonic. The owner said he had two of them.

I painted this painting to go along with the other three, to complete my “Barber Set”. The other paintings were, “The Barber Chair”, “Barber Pole” and “The Berma-Shave Barn”.

No Prints Available at this time.

Links to other barber related paints I have done can be found here:

Roasted Peanuts

December 28, 2014February 22, 2021 Admin

Hot Roasted Peanuts

The Peanut Shop

South Bend, IN.

I remember in the 1950’s and 60’s, in the middle of South Bend, at Michigan St. and Monroe, there was always an aroma of Peanuts in the air. Planters Peanuts had company stores and we were fortunate to have one in our city. Mr. Peanut, himself would even walk around outside giving samples of peanuts that you could buy in the store. I spent many-a-days visiting that store. I was always fascinated with the neon sign of Mr. Peanut throwing his cane up in the air. I watched it as it would encircle the sign and he would catch it when it came down.

While I was in Wyandotte, Michigan at an Art Festival in the early 2000’s, I met the man that was the manager of the store. He said he was the man in the peanut suit in his early years.

The Peanut Shop, has since left and the building torn down, but the memories are still around. This is one of those paintings I did to recapture some of those memories.

Tri-Way Drive-In Outdoor Theatre

December 25, 2014April 21, 2021 Admin

Tri-Way Drive-in Outdoor Theatre

Plymouth, Indiana.

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.

Other Outdoor Movie Theatres I have painted are: 28^th Street Drive-in, St. Petersburg, FL; Ft. George Drive in Theatre, Southfield, MI

around the sides of the wood.

24″ X 36″ original painting on canvas not available.

Calloway’s Round Barn

December 17, 2014February 22, 2021 Admin

Calloway’s Round Barn

Rochester, IN

As I review many of my paintings, I will be including some of my early paintings, as well as my recent and more complex ones. Calloway’s Round barn caught my attention because of the design in the roof shingles. The barn is located near Rochester, Indiana, which is located between Kokomo and South Bend, Indiana, north of Indianapolis on Hwy 31. There are other barns in this part of the state that have other designs, such as tractors, American Flags and vintage cars. This round barn has the barnyard animals all the way around the barn, which makes it fun to see.

Amish Acres Round Barn Theatre

December 17, 2014February 22, 2021 Admin

The Round Barn Theatre

Nappanee, Indiana

Every year, about the first week of August, Amish Acres plays host to the Amish Acres Arts and Crafts Festival, located on the grounds of a working Amish farm. My first outdoor festival, where I exhibited my artwork was at this show in 1976. It was located in the apple orchard back then and long before the Round Barn Theatre was a reality. I exhibited at the show 30 times.

I painted several paintings from around Amish Acres, including the Round Barn after it was erected. Other paintings were the Meat and Cheese Shop, Restaurant Barn and the Farm House.

At one time, many years ago, Amish Acres Art Festival was in the top 5 art festivals in the Country, I have exhibited and sold my artwork here for more than 30 years.

Crown Point Criminal Court

December 16, 2014February 22, 2021 Admin