Spitting Image: I Am The Somebody. I’m The Fire.

When invited to go to a 60’s/70’s themed birthday party I didn’t just show up in the requested themed attire, but in the usual Nicole fashion I took it a step further and jumped at the opportunity to show up dressed as my fairy goddess mother (that’s what I call her)… Stevie Nicks. So needless to say I am a big fan of Fleetwood Mac and when I heard Amazon was making a tv show based partially on Fleetwood Mac fan fiction by writer Taylor Jenkins Reid my interest was highly peaked.

I actually counted down the days until Daisy Jones & The Six was streaming on Prime and when the episodes were released I made my husband watch “my rock and roll soap opera” with me every Friday. I’m glad I did because I fell in love with everything about it. The writer’s backstory of the musical influences that inspired the storyline was intriguing (which was much more than Fleetwood Mac and brought me back to the days of helping manage my husband’s band). The talented actors were perfectly casted and incredibly talented (did you know they had to learn how to play music as well as performing together as a band during the pandemic). The fashion was what my 70’s dreams are made of (I love me some bell bottoms, fur edged jackets, and flowing kimonos) and I still can’t stop playing the Aurora album on repeat (they used some heavy hitter song writers to make it as authentic as possible) or singing and humming the songs around the house (my neighbors either love me or hate me at this point). Let Me Down Easy is actually playing on my Mac right now as I type this.

I was excited and sad at the same time the week of the final episode. I wanted to know how they would end it but didn’t want it to end at the same time. To say I have been in engulfed in Daisy Jones & The Six would be an understatement and I am not ashamed to admit it.

Although I loved all the characters in the show I was very fascinated by Daisy Jone herself. Played by Riley Keough (granddaughter of Elvis Presley) I could not help but fall in love with her feisty character. Her struggle to believe in herself after being raised by a family who didn’t support her and her determination to follow her dreams and find true happiness pulled at my heart strings but also motivated me. I picked up my drawing pencils and put all my other projects on hold as soon as the inspiration struck and have been working on this piece ever since.

I call it “I Am The Somebody. I’m The Fire.” inspired by two different Daisy quotes that I feel sum up her journey. It was done in pencil and chalk pastels and I used references from various scenes and photo shoots Riley had done during her career but focused mainly on her look from the Aurora photo shoot episode (above).

I hope one day I will be graced with Riley’s presence and can gift her the original art piece and show her how much her talent has inspired my own. And although Daisy didn’t want to be anyones muse, I will never deny that she was indeed the “inspiration for my next big idea” and I could not be happier with the way it turned out.

If you are a Riley and Daisy fan, I have prints and made-to-order t-shirts featuring this art piece for sale in my online Etsy and Amazon shops and will also have prints available to purchase in store at Closet Collectibles in Crete, IL as soon as I do my next art drop off.

Want to see more of my portrait drawings? You can find them on the Spitting Image page of my portfolio website!

Stay Spooky & Magical!
LDG Nicole

Freaky Fanatics: Sami at FandomGalCentral Pt. 2

I want to give a shout out once again to Sami at FandomGalCentral. She has been sharing my artwork with her followers on Instagram this month and I could not be more grateful.

See these posts from FandomGalCentral and more of my happy customers on the Freaky Fanatic page of my official portfolio website!

For those who are interested in purchasing prints, you can do so online from Etsy and Amazon or you can purchase them in person from my store display at Closet Collectibles in Crete, IL!

Have a photo of you rocking or displaying one of my creations? Contact me to submit your photos and videos so you can be featured as one of my Freaky Fanatics too! Sharing on social media? Be sure to tag #livingdeadgirlnicole and send me your links!

Stay Spooky & Magical!
LDG Nicole

Days of The Dead Indy 2022

Is our extended weekend already over? That’s how I am feeling right now as I type this. Since the pandemic, my husband and I have not enjoyed one of our full blown horror con weekend getaways. We did a random one day drive to Flashback Weekend last year and prior to that we hadn’t enjoyed a full horror con weekend since Days of the Dead in 2019. That was until this past weekend when we decided to take some days off work, extend our weekend and take a road tip back to Indy for another Days Of The Dead con.

As in the past, I was especially excited to gift some of my original art pieces to those who who would be attending and inspired my work. Unfortunately Lori Petty cancelled at the last minute so this Tank Girl fanatic will have to wait until our paths hopefully cross one day in the future. However the guests who did attend that received my work were incredible and made the experience and road trip so well worth it.

First was John Kassir. It felt so great to be in his presence again (we met him in 2018 in Chicago). There are just some people in this world that you encounter that you get all the good vibes from and John is definitely one of those people. I had shared my “Deadtime Stories” art piece with him via the link to my blog post which he was so kind to stop by and comment on. He recognized it right away when I approached his table with the original and told me how impressed he was with my work and that not all things “Tales From the Crypt” that he collects/owns get put up on full display in his home. However, my piece most definitely will be. He gifted me a 8×10 signed Crypt Keeper picture and took this great photo with Frank and I. Later on we even had the honor of enjoying his company in the hotel bistro and he displayed my work on his table all weekend long. Seriously.. I can’t say it enough.. John really is the greatest!

Later after Patty Mullen arrived and was settled in at her table we visited her and I was able to gift her my “Tossed Human Salad” art piece. She also recognized my work and told me that she had seen it posted on Instagram. She said she was impressed with the way I captured her likeness in such a unique way. Especially her eyes. She said for some reason people have difficulty getting them right but I got her spot on. She was a blast to talk to. Even her interacting with the fans before us in line was a trip to watch. Especially when she was in full Frankenhooker inspired fashion from head to toe! So much purple I was loving it. She too gifted us a 8×10 signed Frankenhooker print and took this adorable photo with me. She was so sweet and so much fun to meet!

If that was not memorable enough. Frank and I decided to enter the That Damn Tattoo Contest that was taking place at the convention. Originally I talked Frank into entering his new They Live tattoo and the people hosting the event insisted I enter my Pee Wee’s Playhouse tattoo as well. We BOTH ended up winning in different categories. Frank took home Best Horror Sci Fi Tattoo and I won Best Small Color Tattoo. The judges who we met on stage during the show had nothing but great things to say about our work. We are now so excited to be able to share these plaques with our tattoo artist Luke Reubelt when we see him next.

It felt all around great to finally have a horror con weekend away just the two of us and experience such lasting memories in the process. An all around great weekend that went by way too fast. Thank you again Days of The Dead for another killer event and to John and Patty for being so kick ass!

Stay Spooky & Magical,
LDG Nicole

Freaky Fanatics: Ian at CryptKeeper1225

Today I want to give a Freaky Fanatic shout out to Ian over at CryptKeeper1225. He gave me a 5 Star Etsy Review of my “Deadtime Stories” print, framed it and then shared it with his Tales From The Crypt fan followers on Instagram!

Be sure to go visit CryptKeeper1225 and show the post some love. If you’re a Tales From The Crypt fan give the page a follow to get some “cryptastic” posts in your feed.

You can also see Ian’s post and more of my happy customers on the Freaky Fanatic page of my official portfolio website!

For those who are interested in purchasing prints, you can do so online from Etsy and Amazon or you can purchase them in person from my store display at Closet Collectibles in Crete, IL!

Have a photo of you rocking or displaying one of my creations? Contact me to submit your photos and videos so you can be featured as one of my Freaky Fanatics too! Sharing on social media? Be sure to tag #livingdeadgirlnicole and send me your links!

Stay Spooky & Magical!
LDG Nicole