“I don’t have a preconceived idea of every single detail. I know what the philosophy is going to be in that painting,” Reynolds said. “How that philosophy is portrayed in the painting is up to the painting itself.”

Each painting takes several different twists and turns before the work is complete, he explained. This is what makes the process so exciting.

“It keeps me interested, because I am not really sure what is around the next corner or what is in the next hour or how this painting is going to evolve within these next couple of nights,” he said. “It is going to be another painting all together than when I started.”

Even though the painting has the final word, Reynolds can see his techniques in every painting he creates.

“When it is done, my natural style is in there,” he said. “You know who painted it from a football field away. It is obvious I did it.”

The layered and texture effect common to his paintings is achieved by using a mixture of oil, graphite and limestone. This technique is taken straight from the old masters that he studied on his journeys through Europe.

“It has a wonderful rich texture to it,” he said. “Not many artists in the world do that anymore. I’m very fortunate to be one of them that can handle this technique. I feel like I have almost mastered it.”

Reynolds went on to say that “almost” means that he will probably have the technique conquered in about 30 more years.

“I do not think anybody can really just run into it and just say ‘here I’m a master now,’” he said laughing. “There are very few modern day masters walking the planet. I guess that is one of my goals to be considered the high honor of the modern day masters.”

Reynolds predominantly paints angels.

“I did not want my work to be something that is very generic that matches the couch or the curtains,” he said. “It is not going to be decorative at all. It is going to be sending a message that right off the back there is something deeper; there is something below the surface of the painting. It is not just a painting of an angel. There is something that artist is trying to tell.”

Art is supposed to tell a story, Reynolds explained.

“It is my job as an artist to begin telling that story. If I just paint an angel and say ‘there it is I am done,’ that would not fulfill the destiny of the painting.”

True art, he said, can tell the struggles of mankind and what happened in the period the piece was created.

“In my mind these paintings will be viewed 100 years from today or even longer, so I have to be telling you what the painting is about,” he said. “These pieces right off the bat tell something about mankind – our nature, what do we do, why do we do it. Hopefully, offer that there is a better way or another way to live other than how we are living now. These paintings each have their own philosophy built into them. It is not just something that is going to make your hallway look pretty.”

Art enthusiasts that purchase Reynolds’ paintings are not after a picture that matches their furniture, he said. These people understand art and some go on to become collectors of his work.

A collection of his paintings definitely comes at a cost. Reynolds’ paintings range in price from $12,000 to $35,000. Framed prints of his paintings start at $500 and go up to $3,500. Each print is signed and numbered.

His paintings are available in the Panama City Mall at the Patrick J. Reynolds Gallery or online at http://www.angelartist.com/contact.htm.