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Repainted
Portrait
of Two Men Rhett Fire and Todd Jefferies riding on a Arabian Horse Traditional
Oil Painting on Canvas by Tom Lohre
The composition is
arranged around the sun signs of Rhett and Todd. Tom spent a good amount
of time studying bulls at the Bronx Zoo but Rhett preferred a horse. The
horse is painted in the manner of the Arabian stallions Ralph had been
painting for the Sheiks of Saudi Arabia.
Rhett Fire
was an eclectic gentleman that spun attractive yarns. A dashing young
man with boundless energy and enthusiasm, he lived in New York City when
Tom was living there. Rhett commissioned two portraits of his lovers.
The first portrait
was with Mel Odem depicting them riding on top of a dragon flying in the
clouds in the background a palace disco center in the shape of the space
shuttle or a tall round pillar with a rounded cone on top. Rhett was working
on an entertainment complex like in the background. The saddle was modeled
after a spider in Palm Beach. The painting was later purchased by the
owner of the Monster, a gay bar in Greenwich Village just up the street
from Tom's apartment. The painting hangs in the foyer of the bar.
Rhett was never ending
lateness. His wallet was so loose numerous young men like Tom would wait
hours to be with him. He was honored to have him come to his ten by thirty
foot railroad car apartment on the second floor of 89 Christopher Street
to pose. Tom was asking for money from Rhett and Rhett would ask for money
from his sugar daddy an actor and voice over specialist. Tom was partially
paid by using the gas credit card from Rhett’s sugar daddy. Tom also painted
his daughter who lived with his wife in Cleveland. One time Rhett packed
up Tom and a friend to descend on her modest home. On the way there in
the newly serviced red Mercedes they stopped for gas and discovered that
there was no oil in the crankcase. Diesels can run without oil so it was
not a disaster. Tom worked on the composition and the photography for
the painting of his daughter. She posed at the base of a tree with Lake
Erie in the distance. The rest of the trip was without mishap, except
the crazy life that Rhett and all those within his reach experienced.
In the nineteen eighties
AIDS struck NYC. Rhett was one of the first to be afflicted his partner
and wife followed. The paintings were never delivered. The portrait of
Rhett and Mel Odem did hang in the Monster Bar 80 Grove Street, Greenwich
Village.
Tom is an artist who
paints portraits, commissions, landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes and outer
space and creates robotic artists and art machines.
The amazing thing
about Tom's progress is that he is moving towards creating robot machines
that paint, talk and maybe even thinks like him. In a world where apprenticeship
under a master is considered passé, Tom looks to instill his knowledge
in a machine.
Tom paints formal
portraits in the manner of: William Adolphe Bouguereau 1825-1905. These
paintings are oil painted a la prima on a very smooth scrapped gessoed
canvas stretched on board. The colors are as transparent as possible and
all the edges are hard.
Tom paints landscapes in the manner of: JAN VAN DER HEYDEN 1637-1712.
These paintings are also painted a la prima on a very smooth scrapped
gessoed canvas stretched on board. Figures are completely painted although
they may be as small as one inch. Trees are painted carefully and without
scrumbling. All paint is applied like icing on a cake.
Finished 1983, 4’
x 5’, oil on canvas can be shipped rolled up with the painting on the
outside of the roll in a box 12” x 12” x 60”, the stretchers inside weighing
15 pounds. Shipping is not free as listed in shipping, packing and shipping
fees to be determined. Painting can be picked up in Cincinnati for free
or delivered by the artist within a two hundred mile radius for a determined
fee.
Brief History of the
Artist/Scientist
Searching for new subjects, he painted the eruption of Mount Saint Helens
while it erupted from life, twenty miles to the south on Tum Tum Mountain.
He also painted the first space shuttle from life, 200 'feet from it,
under armed guard, the day before to took off.
Other rights and obligations
between the artist and owner of the physical part of the artwork outlined
in the Receipt of the Artworks Physical Part listed at http://tomlohre.com/contract1.htm.
For any restoration and repair work, please call the artist, Thomas George
Lohre, Jr., 513-236-1704, tom at tomlohre.com
All information believed
correct but cannot be guaranteed.
Provenance:
Shown at:
Kaldi’s Coffee Shop,
Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati, Ohio
Sitwell’s Coffee House, Clifton, Cincinnati, Ohio
Rhett Fire & Mel Odem
5' x 4', oil on canvas, July 1st, 1983
The first painting commissioned by Rhett. Rhett was working on a entertainment
complex like in the background. The saddle was modeled after a spider
in Palm Beach. The painting was later purchased by the owner of the Monster,
a gay bar in Greenwich and just up the street from Tom's apartment. The
painting hung in the foyer of the bar for many years until it was taken
downstairs and then later to a private home.
Isadora Fire
Oil on canvas, 26" x 30", June 1st,
1978
Painted while in Cleveland visiting Rhett's wife and daughter. The view
in the background is Cleveland. They lived within a few feet from the
water. A funny story Tom remembers about the trip home is that Rhett just
got his red Mercedes out of the shop and Tom finally figured out while
driving it late in the night on the way to Cleveland that the mechanics
failed to put any oil in the engine. The rest of the trip was without
mishap, except the regular running crazy life that Rhett and all those
within his reach experienced.
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Portrait of Two Men Rhett Fire and Todd
Jefferies riding on a Arabian Horse 
