Where are you located?
LARRY: We work out of our studio/gallery in Norcross, GA. Both my wife Pam and I are painters. We paint here inbetween traveling to art shows. And I offer oil painting classes on most Wednesdays. I enjoy meeting with art patrons who come to see the finished work hanging in the gallery and new work on the easel in progress.
Where have I seen your art before?
LARRY: For the past five years Pam and I have travelled to over 34 outdoor art festivals a year. In the process our work has been seen by over a million people each year. Plus we receive an average of over 1,500 visits to our website each month. Our work and art gallery have been shown in issues of American Art Collector magazine.
How many paintings do you do a year? I try to do about 100. Some very large 60"x90". Some very small 5"x7".
What are you presntly working on? In the past two months I have started a series of 90"x60" gallery-wrapped paintings based on Biblicial themes. I estimate it will take until December, 2010 to finish them. Plus three landscapes from a recent trip to Italy. Also I have just finished a 22"x28" portrait of a couple from Houston, in front of the Effiel Tower. Two small 5"x7" rose paintings for a woman also from Texas. A painting of a waterfall for a couple in Atlanta. A wild abstract painting of the" Burning Bush" for a woman in Chicago. Plus a prized bull in the field for a woman in Kentucky. Next week I plan to do start four more large landscapes and one still life. I love to paint.
Do you do commissioned paintings?
LARRY: Yes. People are always asking for commissioned landscapes, portraits and people-scapes (landscapes with people in them.) I have traveled to homes to meet and photograph families before painting them. People have sent me photos of their favorite places and asked me to paint them in my style. If you have somethng in mind, let’s talk. See COMMISSIONS section for more information.
Do you ship? Yes. For original paintings (40"x30" or smaller) we usually ship Federal Express Ground. For larger paintings we ship by freight. For prints we ship US Mail Priority.
What are your shipping and handling costs for a print?
LARRY: Shipping and handling for a print costs about $12.00.
What are your shipping costs for an original framed oil painting on canvas?
LARRY: Shipping, delivery dated needed, and handling varies. Once an order is placed, we check with our shippers to see what the cost for the destination and time of delivery needed. Then we let the buyer know.
Do you accept credit cards?
LARRY: Yes. We accept American Express, VISA, Discover and MasterCard. Also checks and cash. One time we offred to trade for labor to help us take our display down.
Can I see your work in any galleries?
LARRY: We always have our newest work in our own gallery in Norcross, GA. We have offered select pieces in other galleries. Our work has been in Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Cashiers, NC; and Chattanooga, TN. We presently are looking for some new gallery partners to show our work.
What are your studio hours?
LARRY: If we are home the gallery is open. We travel a lot, so call first and make an appointment. Call me on my cell:404.314.3996.
Do your prices posted for an original oil painting, on this site, include a frame?
LARRY: Yes. The price allows for a frame. We feature a simple black or gold frame. Or we will give you a link to our frame provider and you can select a frame from over 200 styles.
Do you sell your paintings without the frame?
LARRY: Yes. I sell paintings that happen to come in frames. I never want a frame selection to keep an art patron from owning one of my paintings.
Do you have a website?
LARRY: Yes. (I think you may need some coffee.)
How did Pam learn to paint so well?
LARRY: I began teaching oil painting classes in 2007. She was a beginniing student. After a few paintings, I suggested she try a portrait. She did an amazing job. Now after 2 years of painting portraits, She is now doing commissioned portrait work. We plan to launch her own website soon. Pam has watched me paint for years and I guess she was always learning. She in many ways, paints better than me. It is amazing to see her grow so fast. We are a very fortunate couple to share the same passion for painting.
What if I want a painting that you have already sold?
LARRY: Because of the way I paint, no two paintings are alike. I am comfortable repainting a subject matter. Many times people ask me to paint a new painting for them based on a previous painting. Sometime I have painted smaller paintings in a larger size. Everything changes. More detail is added. If you have something in mind just call me. Monet painted over 50 haystacks. He painted over 150 water Lilystudies. Van Gogh did 16 self portraits.
When did you begin painting?
LARRY: In high school.
Where did you go to college?
LARRY: Auburn University.
What did you major in?
LARRY: At first veterinary medicine. My father was a veterinarian. I practically grew up in the kennels. But once I realized I did not enjoy any class that ended in “ology” I transferred to Graphic Design. I received a degree in Visual Design. While in school, I took every painting class I could, six in all.
What did you do after college?
LARRY: I married the love of my life, Pam, my college sweet heart. We began a family with three kids, a dog and a cat. (We later had to let the cat go). I began a career in advertising. I was an art director at three of the South’s largest advertising agencies. Then in 1983 I started my own advertising agency. In 2004 I began painting as a full time career.
Who has influenced your work?
LARRY: The French Impressionists. Especially Vincent Van Gogh, Monet, Cezanne and Pissaro. My three children. My wife. Plus my high school art teacher Mrs. Painter. My college professors — Hugh Williams and Tazewell Morton. I love to read about the Impressionist artists and can often be found imitating a sponge in an art museum or art book.
Has your work ever hung in a museum?
LARRY: Yes. One month after I graduated from college, I entered a competition in Birmingham. One of my first paintings was juried into a show and my painting hung in the museum.
Would you say your work is in the ”Pointialism” style?
LARRY: My work reminds many people of some of the ways the impressionist artist, George Seaurt, placed color dots next to each other to allow the viewer to mix colors visually. A green dot next to a blue dot would yield a dark green color from a distance. But I do not work in dots. I work with brush strokes. Bigger than dots. My work is more “Dash-a-lisim". Bigger than "Pointialism". Imagine Vincent Van Gogh and George Seaurt having a baby.”
What does the term “Fun-a-lisim” mean?
LARRY: It is a name I sometimes give to my work. I strive to paint paintings that uplift the spirit. If my paintings were in the movie Star Wars, they would be hanging in Obi-Wan Kenobi’s house. Or Yoda’s. Not Darth Vadara’s.
Why do you think people are attracted to your work?
LARRY: They like the colors. The movement. The subject matter. Plus my paintings tend to be “happy” paintings. I enjoy painting. It makes my heart smile. I believe I am able to capture this joy in my work.
What is the most difficult thing about painting?
LARRY: Forgetting to clean my brushes, and trying to remember that it is time to clean my brushes. Plus coming into the studio early in the morning and seeing uncleaned brushes, crying "clean me, clean me". Or my wife Pam bringing me a brush with paint on it, and saying, "You forgot to clean this one".
How long does it take you to complete a painting?
LARRY: Each painting has a different time-frame. I have a few paintings that took over a year, and others that took just over a hour. The biggest challenge is knowing when the painting is finished.
I start out with an inkling of an idea of where I want to go, but along the way the painting takes on a life of it’s own. I have done a 24”x 36” oil painting in two days. I have one 11” x 14” oil painting that took one year. Sometimes while at an art show I will notice a painting that I thought I had finished and see something new I want to add some more color. I have even pulled out a brush and painted on a painting while it hung on the wall. This drives my wife Pam crazy.
Where have you recently shown your work?
LARRY: We have traveled as far south as Miami. As far west as Austin, Texas, as far north as Wisconsin and as far east as Virginia Beach.
What is the avantage of doing so many art shows?
LARRY: It gives us an opportunity to explore different markets for my work. Expose my work to as many people as we can. Also Pam and I have a blast traveling together. And the other artists we meet and the shows are fun.
What is the process to be accepted into the art shows?
LARRY: Most art shows we enter are "juried" art shows. You just don’t apply and you are in. The "secret" jury looks at your work. They make their choices, then send smoke up the chimney to alert the anxious artists. Or they may place one or two lanterns in the church tower. But mostly they send letters or emails.
The shows have deadlines requesting 3-5 examples of your work, plus a visual of your booth display. Some shows have as many as 2,000 artists applying for 200-300 positions. Oil painting is one of the most competitive categories in art shows. Competition is strong. The shows require a jury fee (usually $25-$40) and when accepted a booth fee (anywhere from $150 to $600).
Where do you get your inspirations for your paintings
LARRY: As we travel, we take back roads. We take thousands of photos of out of the way places. During the year I go back packing with my dog and camera. Last year Pam and I spent 5 days photographing in the Everglades, and 12 days photographing cities and landscapes in Tuscany, italy.
You often use Biblical themes for inspiration? Why?
LARRY: I love reading the Bible and I love to paint. Both are embedded in my heart. Often they overlap.
Do you travel with your dog?
LARRY: Yes, Abbey, the wonder dog, our high-spirited English Setter, loves to travel with us. She does not bite, knows over 100 words, enjoys sweets, likes to point birds, squirrels, bunnies, and kitties. She likes coffee. Drinks a bowl of water every night at 10:30pm. Knows how to smile, bark, roll over, shake, lie down, stay and whisper. She is still working on the command “come”. She will let you pet her, but she is very shy. She can easily be identified because she looks like one of my paintings. Lots of spots and sometimes a hint of blue or red where she has wagged her tail on a wet canvas.