A while back, a fellow blogger (I no longer recall who) posted the painting above which blew me away. (All I kept thinking was, “Look at those shoes!”) It inspired me to do a little research, and I was not disappointed.

This is the crazy beautiful painting of German artist Reinhard Schmid. Though he has been supporting himself since 1987 solely by making art (the lucky so-and-so), he began his adult life as a submarine navigator. What an interesting guy!

Schmid’s lush-looking paintings are made using a combination of media in reverse on glass, which explains why his art has such magnificent depth of color.

“My work is a sensual combination of fantastic, surreal images and a rare style: pencil and a unique mixed media technique on the reverse side of glass! I like to show the world of the unreal. My work is whimsical complex and mostly with a humorous or erotic touch.

Though surrealistic and bordering on the fetishistic (he’s clearly got a shoe thing), Schmid’s works nonetheless feel familiar, like modern interpretations of Medieval images. He’s currently working on a large-scale version of the Tarot. I’ll bet that’s going to be spectacular!

You can follow Schmid on his website and on Facebook.

All images property of Reinhard Schmid.