Happy Birthday To My Biggest Inspiration!

It’s Throwback Thursday but, more importantly, it’s my Daddio’s Birthday! So this post is in tribute to the man who has supported and believed in me and my craft since I was a young batling.

I know I say I am inspired by so many famous artists, but my Dad has been my biggest inspiration since I picked up my first crayon. He taught me so many of the art skills I use today and I continually grow as an artist and a person because of him. When I doubt myself he pushes me not to give up and even has his own sketch pad full of suggestions ready to help me out.

He never fails to amaze me with his talent and he has also inspired and introduced me to so many things that I still love today which in their own way have shaped me not only into the artist I am today but the woman I am today as well. It was him who had the giant cardboard cut out of Elvira that perked my interest into who she was and started my realization that you don’t have to look like Barbie to be stunning! It was him who took me to the video store every weekend to literally overuse their copy of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth. It was him who took me at a young age to see my first Tim Burton movie. It was him who took me to see the Little Mermaid and then afterward when we got home sat down with me and drew all the characters together. It was him who took me to the store to buy all the art supplies I needed to enter every art contest imaginable. It was him who let me listen to his Tom Petty and Aerosmith albums and fall in love with classic rock. I could go on and on.. but to sum it up, you can all thank my Dad for the weirdo I have become and am so proud to be.

Happy Birthday Daddio!  Thank you for teaching me to “Fink Differently!”

“You belong among the wildflowers”

With Love,
Nic

Remains: Dad’s Very Own Yellow Submarine

As you have seen in past posts and on the Remains page of my portfolio site, my husband and I often team up to make custom wood signs for people. We had been wanting to make a special sign for my Dad for quite some time now. The fact that he has been putting together his art space in his new house inspired us to do it for Father’s Day.

See my Dad is not only an artist but has also influenced my rock music taste. One of his favorite things is the Beatles Yellow Submarine. So we made him his very own……..

He was pretty blown away by it and totally surprised when he opened it. Just what we were hoping for. I can’t wait to see how it looks hanging in his studio! Here is a little collage I made of the photos from Father’s Day…..

Stay Spooky and Keep Rockin’!
LDG Nicole

Remains: Dragnuts and Goblins

Today we celebrated my Dad’s birthday by going to see Labyrinth on the big screen. A wonderful tribute to David Bowie by the theater but also a really memorable way to celebrate with my Dad as well. He was the one who first introduced me to Labyrinth as a young batling (it came out when I was 5 and I think I literally wore out the VHS) and to this day it is still my all time favorite movie (thank God DVDs hold up so well ha ha). To see it on the big screen 30 years later was unforgettable.

We also gave him his birthday gift today. It was another model project I did with my husband, Frank. He built it, I painted it and Dad loved it!

It is of Big Daddy Roth’s Drag Nut complete with Monster and Rat Fink. My Dad set it up as soon as he got home and sent me this picture. I of course immediately added it to the Remains of my portfolio site.

Stay Spooky!
LDG Nicole

Remains: Turrise Wedding and Gifting

I had posted photos a couple of months ago from my cousin Nellie’s bridal shower. Well the big day was yesterday. For October in Chicago they could not have gotten a more beautiful day. Everything about the wedding and reception was beautiful. You could just see how in love the 2 of them are and how perfect it all fell into place for them. It’s really neat knowing that they started dating in high school and stayed together all these years just like Frank and I. The kicker… the same high school. BT love stories I tell ya ha ha.

I have been sick for the past few days (digestive disorder is a bit out of control) so I was just happy to be able to attend, support them and witness how memorable it all was. Starting to finally feel somewhat better today and taking it easy the rest of the day while editing photos and laying around.

Frank and I decided to join forces and make them a wedding gift. I am so happy we got a head start on it with me getting ill. The idea came to me as I was thinking how well we did working together to make our great niece Violet a wooden Marie wall hanging. I thought it would be rather symbolic if we joined forces again to make another special gift together for Nellie and Vince’s special day. Even more so it being from one married couple in the family to another. I had a vision of sorts in my head because I knew Nellie loved owls. You all know my appreciation of owls comes from my Mom so when I have a chance to use them to make something special I am all over it.

I thought this time it would be fun to not just share the finished piece but to also share some photos of the work in progress.

I sketched it out with different ideas and versions. Frank got the wood and had me draw the final idea we both agreed on directly on to the wood. He then cut it out by hand with a saw and hand sanded it to make sure it was a smooth surface.

I then did my thing and painted it. This shot was taken during the painting process.

When it was all dry I painted the sides and back and then Frank put a nice clear coat on top of it. Then I wrapped it along with an picture hanging kit in cellophane, attached the card and added a cute polka dot green ribbon (Nellie’s favorite color).

When we got to the reception we saw my Dad also made a artistic gift for the couple (now you see where I get it from ha ha). He drew a caricature of them and included a mat for all the guests to sign! Our wall hanging set perfectly next to it and the other gifts that people brought.

For fun here are a few photos I got at the reception (before we had to leave because of me not feeling well.. ugh)….

Frank and I with the stunning newlyweds Nellie and Vince

Me with my beautiful cousins Nellie (the new wifey Turrise), Chelsea (the maid of honor) and our awesome Aunt Maureen

A photo my Dad took of Frank and I at our table

My new favorite photo of me and my Daddio 🙂 Not only my Dad but my artistic inspiration.

Stay Spooky!
LDG Nicole