Larry Johnston. Nostalgia – Page 10 – Larry Johnston, Nostalgic Artist

Skyline Chili #1

December 31, 2014February 22, 2021 Admin

Skyline Chili & Wienermobile.

Cincinnati, Ohio

Skyline Chili is well known around Cincinnati, so while in the area exhibiting in several shows, I decided to paint one of their locations. Actually, I painted 2 Skyline paintings, one commissioned by a customer, to include his car in the painting. (View)

The painting above was the closest to the original restaurant, which has since closed. Since they were famous for chili dogs, I included the original Wienermobile in the painting. I didn’t know what brand of hot dogs they used, but the Skyline Chili Restaurant with the Wienermobile was quite a popular painting.

around the sides of the wood.

24” x 36” ………. $1,295.00 Original Painting

Whistle Stop Depot

December 31, 2014February 22, 2021 Admin

Whistle Stop Depot

Juliette, GA

from the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes”

While traveling and exhibiting in Art shows and festivals, I had done several shows in and around Atlanta, Georgia. When the movie came out “Fried Green Tomatoes, we found that the movie was filmed in Georgia and that you could actually eat at the Whistle Stop Cafe’. One weekend, we decided to visit the restaurant and cafe.

When we arrived, we found the quaint little one street town called Juliette. It is located 8 miles east of Forsyth, GA. If you cross the RR tracks, you just missed the town as it was a street just before the tracks on the right. As I remember, the cafe had already closed for the day, but we walked around and took pictures of the town.

I painted a set of 4 paintings from the town, one of them being the Whistle Stop Depot. They had purchased the depot for one dollar, as it had been sitting in a field for many years. It now sits on the main street of town because of regulations as to sitting along-side the tracks.

Whistle Stop Cafefried

December 31, 2014February 22, 2021 Admin

The Movie “Fried Green Tomatoes” became a classic and was filmed during a time when I lived in Georgia. Last week in History of a painting, I highlighted the Whistle Stop Depot. This week I’m showing you the painting I did of the Whistle Stop Cafe, in Juliette, Georgia, the location where the movie, “Fried Green Tomatoes” was filmed. The painting is acrylic on stretched canvas. The owner of the restaurant purchased the panting and then had me paint another one without the gas pumps. The pumps were movie props and went back to the movie lot, when the film was completed. If you visit the Whistle stop cafe, you get fried green tomatoes with every meal. They’re pretty good to. I painted four paintings related to the movies, then put prints of them in a frame as a set of 4 matted and framed prints. The print sets were very popular, especially in the Atlanta area. One of my favorite shows was just east of Atlanta at Stone Mountain, called the “Yellow Daisy Festival”. It ranked in the top for shows in the country and several times #1.

Here are links to the other 3 paintings from the town of Juliette. (That is the town of Whistle Stop.) Whistle Stop Depot, Fried Green Tomatoes Church, Fried Green Tomatoes (Threadgood) House.

“Fried Green Tomatoes” Threadgood House

December 31, 2014February 22, 2021 Admin

Fried Green Tomatoes, Threadgood House

Senoia, Georgia House

Gone Fishing Puzzle

December 31, 2014February 22, 2021 Admin

Gone Fishin’ Puzzle

“Gone Fishin’ Puzzle”, is a unique Painting, where I made one painting from another and then sold prints of both. The Tackle Box was mine, which I painted on stretched canvas and took photos of it when it was finished. I was then able to make prints from them.

Later, I took the same painting and painted it to look like a puzzle, removing part of the painting by painting over it to remove the pieces, repainting them individually elsewhere on the canvas. When I finished the makeover, I took photos of it and made prints from the puzzle looking painting. Original Gone Fishing Painting.

Eventually, I sold the painting of the “Gone Fishin’ puzzle”. I was surprised to find that some of the judges were not impressed, because they thought I had glued a puzzle on a canvas, or framed a puzzle and put a price on it.

Here the links to the other lures I have painted: Paw Paw Lippy Joe, Carter’s Best Ever, Flat Fish Frog and Pikie Minnow.

Here are links to salmon flies I have painted: Blue Doctor, black and white hook, black hook and small fly.

Related to fishing, here are three other paintings you may be interested in.

Midway Bait & Tackle

Gone Fishing

Gone Fishing Puzzle

around the sides of the wood.

12″ x 16″Black Edge………. $163.14

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12″ x 16″ White Edge………. $163.14

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12″ x 16″ Wrapped Edge………. $163.14

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18″ x 24″Black Edge………. $237.96

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18″ x 24″ White Edge………. $237.96

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18″ x 24″ Wrapped Edge………. $237.96

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18″ X 24″ original painting on stretched canvas not available.

Gone Fishing

December 31, 2014February 22, 2021 Admin

Gone Fishing

“Gone Fishing”, is a unique Painting, where I made one painting from another and then sold prints of both. The Tackle Box was mine, which I painted on stretched canvas and took photos of it when it was finished. I was then able to make prints from them.

Eventually, I sold the painting of the “Gone Fishin’ puzzle”. I was surprised to find that some of the judges were not impressed, because they thought I had glued a puzzle on a canvas, or framed a puzzle and put a price on it.

Here the links to the other lures I have painted: Paw Paw Lippy Joe, Carter’s Best Ever, Flat Fish Frog and Pikie Minnow.

Here are links to salmon flies I have painted: Blue Doctor, black and white hook, black hook and small fly.

Related to fishing, here are three other paintings you may be interested in.

Midway Bait & Tackle

Gone Fishing

Gone Fishing Puzzle

around the sides of the wood.

12″ x 16″Black Edge………. $163.14

Error! Special characters like [, ], <, > are not supported in the product name.

12″ x 16″ White Edge………. $163.14

Error! Special characters like [, ], <, > are not supported in the product name.

12″ x 16″ Wrapped Edge………. $163.14

Error! Special characters like [, ], <, > are not supported in the product name.

18″ x 24″Black Edge………. $237.96

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18″ x 24″ White Edge………. $237.96

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18″ x 24″ Wrapped Edge………. $237.96

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18″ X 24″ original painting on stretched canvas not available.

Fire Truck

December 31, 2014February 22, 2021 Admin

“The Fire Truck”

Ripley, West Virginia

While traveling around the country exhibiting at hundreds of Art shows and festivals, One of the best in the Country was the Mountain State Arts & Crafts Festival, in Ripley, West Virginia. It was rated #1 in the Country by Sunshine Artist Magazine a number of years ago.

As I returned to this show in July of each year with new paintings, I kept seeing this old fire truck just sitting out in a field. You might say that it’s days of fighting fires were over and it was put out to pasture. (Pun intended). Eventually, I stopped and took pictures of the truck and painted the acrylic painting on canvas.

Every year since, I sold quite a few prints, especially to the local residents. I was told by the property owners, that the fire truck had been used in parades since its retirement. That’s where the Stroh’s sign on the truck came from. It was put on after retirement.

Other Fire Department related paintings include: Fire Dog; Fire Station #2 Hose Reel; Miami Fire Station #6 and Cassopolis Fire Station.

Judge Roy Bean

December 31, 2014February 22, 2021 Admin

Judge Roy Bean

Daphne, Alabama

All my paintings, many nostalgic, have some-kind of story, or history behind them. One of many, is my painting “Judge Roy Bean”, which is a building I found, while at the Art Festival in Fairhope, Alabama.

The building, a tavern, restaurant, like none other, was located a couple of miles north in Daphne, Alabama. While at Art shows and Festivals, I would ask locals, what they had in the area that was nostalgic. I received all kinds of answers. After writing them all down, I took a tour of the area before leaving, taking photos of the places on my list. The next year, I would return with a painting from their local town, one they can identify with, so they can buy prints of the painting, or even the original painting.

Judge Roy Bean, was a famous Judge, which they named the place after. As you can see, the outside does not have much curb appeal. There were beer bottles on the bench outside, and the place looked abandoned….. I was wrong!

Inside was a bar, with a small stage and quaint places to sit. Then, you stepped down, out another door that lead into a fenced area with gazebos, volleyball courts, and yes, even a place to have concerts. I have been told that Jimmy Buffet and Alabama played there at least once. It was not unusual to see BMW’s, Cadillacs and even Limousines parked outside, when they were open. Since then, the building burned down and as far as I know, it was never rebuilt.

Lost Mountain Store

December 31, 2014February 22, 2021 Admin

Buckeye Store

December 31, 2014February 22, 2021 Admin

Buckeye Confectionery

Phoenix, Arizona

Ohio is known as the Buckeye State, as most of us know. While exhibiting at an art show in Wyandotte, Michigan, not too far from the Ohio – Michigan state line, the show draws people from Ohio and Indiana, as well as Michigan.

A couple from Ohio saw my display and was interested in having a painting done from an old black and white photograph of their great grandfather’s store, that he opened after leaving Ohio many years ago. The store was located in Phoenix, Arizona at 2120 Buckeye Road. I have no idea where the connection is, as far as the town of Buckeye and their great grandfather. At the time I wasn’t familiar with the town of Buckeye, but thought it was interesting, that the street had the same name as the store, (almost).

It’s exciting to meet people and their history and then to become part of it, to be passed down through their future family.