Reed City man OLAH artist of the month

REED CITY — The haunting faces of Australian Aborigines are representative of the dramatic creations of Reed City artist Lynn Mohr. During the summer, the Osceola League for Arts and Humanities features an artist of the month. In July the honor goes to Mohr who has more than two dozen paintings on display in the league studio in Evart including the Aborigine portraits, lifelike wildlife scenes and other intriguing subjects. Mohr, who lives just north of Reed City with his wife Jackie, grew up in Reed City, attended Reed City High School and graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in forestry. He is retired from a career in state forest land management. Over the years, the versatile artist found time to master a number of media including sheet metal sculpting, leather working and ornamental blacksmithing. About two years ago, Mohr began to work almost exclusively in a new medium — airbrush. Visitors to the studio who observe his striking paintings will be surprised to learn that none were created with pencils, pen and ink, pastels, charcoal or the familiar artist’s paint brush, water colors and oils. The rumbling of the air compressor provides a sharp contrast to Mohr’s delicate workmanship as he designs and completes his unique works of art with an airbrush gun. Starting with a basic sketch, he roughs in the scene in gray and completes the painting with the application of color. Ambitious paintings with complex subjects may requires as many as 200,000 airbrush strokes. Morhr’s paintings also were exhibited last year at the annual league art show at the Kettunen Center and the Evart studio, where his entries earned the third place ribbon. “OLAH has a number of classes and workshops and provides good training for people interested in painting and different kinds of crafts,” said Mohr. “It also gives people a place to come and observe different media and art forms and it’s a good gallery for Osceola artists to display and sell their art.” The league studio is both a showcase and a gift shop featuring the creations of area artists including paintings, stained glass, photography, mosaics, pottery, knitting, ceramics, woodworking, sewing, crocheting, jewelry, quilts, dolls and notecards. Classes and workshops are also available in painting, a variety of crafts, basket weaving, mosaics, beading and other art forms. “We believe that OLAH helps both artists and the community by bringing original art by talented artists to the community in our studio and gift shop,” said Mary Brininstool, league treasurer. “People don’t realize how many talented folks there are in Osceola County and the studio is an attraction to visitors to the area.” Mohr’s moving and expressive work will be on display in the studio throughout the month of July. Don’t miss this opportunity to see an outstanding collection of airbrush paintings. It’s also a great chance to spend time browsing and appreciating distinctive and charming art objects by the many talented artists of our area. Mohr’s paintings can be purchased at the studio, or contact him at (231) 832-2301 . The Osceola League for Arts and Humanities is at 207 N. Marin St., Evart. Summer open hours for the studio and gift shop are noon to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. For further information about the league and class schedules, call (231) 734-9900 or go to olahartstudioevart.com.

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