Creature Feature: Be Wise. Be Brave. Be Tricky. – Beautiful Freaks Fest Day 3!

I knew right away when I came to my blog today what I was going to write about for the final day of the Beautiful Freaks Fest.

As mentioned in yesterday’s post I had planned my day out to work on a commission piece. The client asked me to do a painting for their niece’s birthday present. She has a healthy obsession with the movie Coraline and they immediately thought of me to do the piece. I was told to do what I wanted and am really happy with how it turned out. I also think it fits in quite nicely with the overall theme of the blog festivities.

I call it “Be Wise. Be Brave. Be Tricky”…….

I love commission pieces. Especially when they have to do with cool themes of things I am into. Coraline is an incredible movie and this piece was right up my alley. The movie has been described as being “a child-friendly premise interlaced with twisted imagery and psychological depth”. The story line in general is often compared to some of my other favorite movies (Labyrinth, Alice In Wonderland and Wizard Of Oz). Even though the client would’ve been happy with a painting that was just a close up of the character I wanted to do a little more because I love the movie so much and had yet to do a piece inspired by it.

Besides the creepy yet magical feel of the movie its the character of Coraline that I love so much. She’s not your typical girl from Pontiac Michigan. She’s a blue haired girl with an adventurous heart. She tells it how it is and enjoys the little things in life like playing in the rain and making dowsing rods to track ghosts!

And even though her curiosity causes her some danger she is smart enough to find unique ways to overcome her obstacles.

I am going to see if I can find a place with a large enough scanner so that I can offer prints of this piece. So come check back here soon! Also feel free to check out the Drippings page of my website for other paintings I have done and don’t forget that today is the last day to take advantage of my coupon code! Just put in code BEAUTIFULFREAKS17 at check out in my Etsy shop and watch 13% get slashed off your orders (of $5 or more)!

If you are interested in having a commission piece done by yours cruelly contact me for more info and then go visit the remaining posts for the Beautiful Freaks Fest! Let your curiosity go wild!

Stay Spooky!
LDG Nicole

Creature Feature: Chase The Morning For Beautiful Freaks Fest Day 2!

So I was not sure what or who I would talk about today for Day 2 of the #beautifulfreaksfest2017 and then it hit me. I was getting all my paint supplies together to work on a commission piece and thought hmmm what am I in the mood to listen to…. and of course I pulled out the Repo The Genetic Opera soundtrack.

Now if you have seen this movie you know that it’s filled with tons of beautiful freaks. But if you know me personally then you also know that there is one beautiful freak that pulls on my heart strings …. Blind Mag (played by the stunning and amazing talented Sarah Brightman). So much that she inspired my art piece that I call “It’s Too Late For Me”. Call me a Genco Junkie but I absolutely LOVE this movie. From the dark horror story line, the visual artistry and the heavy rock ballads it’s a sum of so many things I love.

So I am dedicating this post to the beautiful freak that is Blind Mag and giving a little more background on the scene that inspired the NAME of my art piece. Now if you read my past post when I completed this piece you know that it was drawn inspired by the scene (that kills me every time) of Mag right before her final performance. But the name of the piece comes from a specific scene that goes along with that. So here it goes…..

Mag’s most striking characteristic is of course her eyes, unnaturally blue and marked in a pinwheel pattern. But of course they came with a price. See Mag was born blind and was given her sight back through Rotti Largo owner of GeneCo and also the then fiance of Mag’s best friend Marni. To cure her blindness she received an operation which gives her back her vision in a very unique way. They are capable of not only vision, but projecting things she has seen. However the terms of her operation was she was obligated to work as a singer for GeneCo forever. A small price to pay at first until she starts to feel she is “owned” by them. When Mag is reconnected with her goddaughter Shilo (Marni’s daughter) she tries to warn her to stay away from GeneCo and to not follow the same mistake she made… “It’s Too Late For Me” and to “Chase The Morning”. Here is that very scene…

If you have not seen the movie I highly recommend it. It’s truly a masterpiece on film and of course the most unique soundtrack you can own. My husband who is not a big fan of musicals even loves this movie. If you are already a GeneCo junkie you can purchase It’s Too Late For Me as prints and on customizable t-shirts. AND don’t forget! As announced in yesterday’s post I am offering a coupon code to celebrate this online freak fest! Just put in code BEAUTIFULFREAKS17 at check out in my Etsy shop and watch 13% get slashed off your orders (of $5 or more)! This code is only good during the Beautiful Freaks Fest so make sure to place your orders before Monday!

I am now on my way to chase my morning with a smoothie, my Repo soundtrack and a canvas! Don’t forget to visit all the other blogs participating in the Beautiful Freaks Fest this weekend! So many amazing posts yesterday and I can’t wait to go through today’s posts from everyone later today!

Stay Spooky Freaks!
LDG NIcole

Happy Beautiful Freaks Fest!

Today marks the beginning of Beautiful Freaks Fest! An online celebration of all the beautiful freaky people out there and the things that they love. It probably comes at no surprise to most of you that I would take part in this. In the words of Lydia Deetz “I myself am strange and unusual”. Which is why I decided to use this opportunity to give you a little background on myself and my art.

I have been doing art since I was a young batling. The minute I was able to pick up a crayon I knew this was what I was meant to do. CREATE! When I wasn’t religiously watching Labyrinth  I was using markers to make my Barbie’s look “different” and entering coloring contests to win tickets to the circus. I also always took in anything my Dad would teach me when it came to art. That is why my coloring contest entries actually had shading (those other kids didn’t stand a chance ha ha).

When I was given an assignment in school I always ended up doing something different then everyone else. When I was in the 5th grade we had to do a drawing along with a small essay about a bird. I chose an owl. Most likely influenced by my Mom (who had passed away) and loved them and had statues and macrame versions of them all over our house. I will never forget when they hung all the drawings up in the hall for the parent teacher conference. Here were all these beautiful, colorful birds drawn perched on branches and then there was mine….  an owl in mid flight with a mouse captured in its talon. And to me it was just as beautiful if not more so then the others. I also remember the parents pointing mine out. Maybe they liked it maybe they didn’t but I felt such satisfaction knowing mine stood out from the rest and it just came naturally to me. I have thrived for that feeling ever since.

Growing up and even as an adult I continue(d) to express myself in all aspects of life from my own personal fashion sense (if people don’t like crazy colored hair, tattoos and horror t-shirts that’s on them) to my artwork. My favorite quote is “Be yourself everyone else is already taken” (Oscar Wilde). If something I do suddenly becomes trendy I tend to stop and move on to the next thing. But I never let anyone stop me from being me. I find beauty in the dark, spooky and mythical. If something is odd or macabre I am usually drawn to it. Same goes for fairies and other fantasy creatures. Aspects of these things tend to come through in my creations as an extension of myself. I always tell people I grew up to be a mixture of my 2 childhood idols….Elvira and Jem. “Give me spooky and creepy with a side of glitter and glam… that’s me!” I find a lot of that comes out in my Dead Girl Decay accessories

People often ask me how the name Living Dead Girl Nicole started as my signature artist name. Some of my art online says my maiden name of Nicole Birmingham, my married name of Nicole Garcia and then there is of course Living Dead Girl Nicole. This name stuck with me thanks to my love for horror and all things that rock. What started as an online screen name due for my admiration of Rob Zombie stuck with me when people started to associate my artwork with the name as well. I found it rather fitting as Rob Zombie had always been someone that inspired me as an artist. I could relate to
his work and it always reminded me that it’s ok to break out of your shell and to continue doing what I love no matter how dark the genre is. If people wanted to associate me and my artwork in that way then I was honored to be known by it and still am.

I am also honored to have so many Freaky Fanatics and people who follow my work. Just the other day my friend posted this photo on Instagram. Its of his zombie welding helmet with my logo sticker on it. The caption says “represent”!

Having the support of people like this is what makes me keep creating! It means you love what I do and are proud to embrace the beautiful freaks that you are!

AND to celebrate just that here is a coupon code! Just put in code BEAUTIFULFREAKS17 at check out in my Etsy shop and watch 13% get slashed off your orders (of $5 or more)! This code is only good during the Beautiful Freaks Fest so make sure to place your orders before Monday!

And to end this post with a rocking bang here is my girl Kimberly Freeman of One Eyed Doll singing a song that should be this event’s anthem! When your done rocking out take a click over to Little Gothic Horrors blog page to see all the other blogs participating in the Beautiful Freaks Fest and go visit their pages! Don’t forget to show some comment love on their posts too! Us freaks need to unite 😉

Stay Spooky!
LDG Nicole

Creature Feature: Beautiful Freak (Online) Fest 2017

It’s time to participate in another online event that brings all us like minded.. strange and unusual folks together! I found one that is right up my alley so make sure to come back here this weekend for my special Eulogy post for the Beautiful Freak Fest! And if you have a blog and want to participate sign up here! Don’t forget to tag your posts with #BeautifulFreaksFest2017

Stay Spooky!
LDG Nicole