Theodore Lukits loved rainbows, which for him were "God's promise of better times ahead." He collected the fifteen-odd pastels of rainbows that he had captured out-of-doors in a single portfolio, indicating their favored status among his work. Late in his career, Lukits planned on painting a large marine titled "The Covenant" depicting the first rainbow, after the great Biblical deluge that appears in the Book of Genesis. Based on his plein-air sketches, "The Covenant" was left unfinished at the time of the artist's death. Because Lukits liked clouds, which added drama to his plein-air pastels, he often painted when it was stormy and he enjoyed the challenge of trying to capture the rainbow that followed the storm. These works, rich in color, completely spontaneous in origin and featuring one of nature's most dramatic moods, are some of his finest.       TNL 354,   Pastel on Paper,    9" x 13" "Hollywood Mountain " (circa 1928, Private Collection)     TNL 352,   Pastel on Paper,    11" x 15" "Mountain Rainbow " (circa 1928, California Art Club)   TNL 648,   Pastel on Paper,    11" x 15" "October Rainbow" (circa 1920, Private Collection) TNL 355,   Pastel on Paper,    9" x 12" "Desert Rainbow" (circa 1928, Private Collection) TNL 356,   Pastel on Paper,    9" x 11" "Desert Covenant" (circa 1928, Private Collection) TNL 329,   Pastel on Paper,    9" x 13" "Ocean Rainbow" (circa 1928, Private Collection)             [Back to Plein-Air Pastels]