Tag Archives: breast cancer

Gallerium’s Cancer – Never Give Up Art Exhibition features ‘Unbreakable’ Shannen Doherty Tribute Piece by Living Dead Girl Nicole 🩷🖼️🩷

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It’s breast cancer awareness month and for those who know me personally, you are already fully aware of the impact this disease has had on me. At the age of only 39 my Mom lost her battle and since the age of 10 I have had to navigate this world without her. Due to this I have been getting mammograms, ultrasounds and MRIs for over 20 years and I am happy to say I got double the good news on this subject today.

One, I got my results back from annual mammogram last week and all is clear. I follow up for my annual MRI aka “double check” in the spring. Second, my ‘Unbreakable’ art piece was selected to be featured in another virtual exhibition curated by Gallerium on the Biafarin platform.

The theme of the exhibition is Cancer 🩷 Never Give Up: Inspire, Honor, Heal: Dedicated to raising cancer awareness, honoring survivors, remembering those lost to cancer, and supporting medical progress and healing through visual storytelling. Every October, the world turns its eyes to cancer awareness, symbolized so often by the pink ribbon. Yet cancer is not one story, but millions—woven through patients, survivors, families, caregivers, friends, and even the animals we love. This exhibition brings those stories to light, not through medical charts or statistics, but through the profound language of art.

When I submitted Unbreakable’ I was not sure if it would get chosen despite knowing how truly aligned the art piece was to the theme. So when the exhibition asked for an artist statement to go along with my piece I summed it up with the following:

‘Unbreakable’ is a pencil and chalk pastel portrait I created as a deeply personal tribute to Shannen Doherty and her mother, Mama Rosa. I chose a warm brown background to bring out her gentle country charm, making the piece feel grounded and full of warmth. This artwork captures a symbol of the unbreakable bond between a mother and daughter.. a connection that nothing, not even cancer, can ever break. As a daughter who lost her own mother to breast cancer, there are so many times I wish I could still share things with her. This piece was my way of giving Shannen something truly special that she could still share with hers. I originally drew this to gift to Shannen in person, but cancer took her just days before we were set to meet. However, the universe found a way to bring this piece home. Thanks to Shannen’s best friend, Holly Marie Combs, I was able to get the original artwork directly to her, and she made sure it was safely given to Mama Rosa in honor of Shannen’s legacy.

You can check out this very special virtual art exhibition taking place this month via the online gallery platform and while you are there please take a moment to give my piece some love via the ❤️ icon next to my art piece and leave some comment feedback on the work via my art piece’s listing page.

Please note that my piece shows up in this exhibition as Not For Sale because as stated above, the original 8×10″ version was framed and gifted to Shannen’s Mom in her memory. Due this being a very personal piece of artwork I will not be offering prints of it out of respect to Mama Rosa and Shannen.

Last but not least, if you are new here, and just happened upon this post, be sure to check out the Creature Features page of my portfolio website. There, you can find this exhibition listed alongside some of the other unique places my art has been featured over the years. And if you’re a gallery, curator, publication, or other outlet that is interested in showcasing my work, let’s connect, chat and make some magic together!

And more then anything, I hope this post popped up for my female art collectors today as a reminder of just how important it is to go get that mammogram scheduled and on your calendar. Blessed be. 💕

Stay Strange & Magical, ✨
LDG Nicole

“Unbreakable” a Tribute to Shannen Doherty and Mama Rosa by Artist Living Dead Girl Nicole

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In my previous Shan Do Forever post I shared how I had been working on a very special art piece of Shannen Doherty and her Mama Rosa to gift to her at Fan Expo. To recap, I had been working on it for weeks and was in the process of sketching in Mama Rosa when I got the devastating news of Shannen’s passing. With that I stopped picking up my pencils as my heart was broken hearing that she had lost her battle, but also because I would never get the opportunity to gift it to her. I was not upset for my adult self but for my inner child that always dreamt of one day crossing paths with her and telling her what a bad ass she was to me.

Since her passing, I have been reminiscing a lot about all the ways I have admired Shannen and my intuition was telling me to finish the piece. It was devastating looking at it unfinished and on top of it working on it had started to be very therapeutic to me and my own journey. As someone who lost their mother to breast cancer I always wish I could share things with her, I wanted to give her something special that she could share with hers. A symbol of the unbreakable bond between a mother and daughter. Something that nothing, including cancer, could ever break. Something I myself am all too familiar with. I had hoped the heart and soul I put into making the art would transfer into a sense of joy and peace that would remind them both of the strength that emerges on the darkest of days because of the spark that is ignited from the love they both share.

So with that here is the finished piece. I have decided to call it Unbreakable. Not just because of the mother daughter bond but also because of Shannen’s strength to always endure.

The art piece was done in pencil and chalk pastels. I chose the brown background because to me it gives it that country girl Tennessee charm, reminds me of her love of horses, and it also gives the the art piece a sense of warmth. I considered pink for breast cancer awareness, but I didn’t want the piece to be just about her battle with cancer because, just like my Mom, cancer doesn’t define her as a person. What does define her are all the amazing qualities she shared with the world while she was here.

Maybe someway, somehow I can still get the art piece to Mama Rosa one day. Especially since my original plan was to gift it to Shannen so she could share it with her. I just have to trust my intuition that it was meant for me to finish this piece. Until then if Mama Rosa ever comes across this post I hope it brings a smile to her face knowing how much her daughter was loved by so many.

Stay Spooky & Magical!
LDG Nicole

See more of my portrait art on the Spitting Image page of my portfolio website.

Shan Do Forever 💕

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I never post unfinished artwork but my heart is broken at the news of Shannen Doherty’s passing.

I’ve been working on a very special art piece of Shannen for the last few weeks, so I could gift it to her in person at a Fan Expo next month. Ironically I got a lot more sketched out over the weekend but still have a lot more to get done on it. I was super excited for this con. I had my Brenda Walsh doll (that I keep displayed next to my Dylan doll in my art space) ready to have autographed and even designed a Team Brenda shirt that I had my printing partner make for me to wear and show her my support.

Then this morning I heard my husband call out to me with “Baby, go check Instagram, I think Shannen Doherty passed away”. My heart dropped. No it can’t be, but so it was. To say I am crushed would be an understatement. Not because I am a just another fangirl who has admired Shannen all these years, but because I really wanted to share a special moment with her. Be one more voice that told her they have always had her back all these years. Not just with her battle with cancer but her battle with all the haters as well. I admired her for her talents but also her strength and perseverance. She never gave up the fight. Wither it be backlash from cast members, media, trolls or the horrendous disease she was up again. She remained as resilient as she could and I loved her for that.

Originally I considered drawing her as Brenda Walsh with Luke Perry as Dylan McKay because I will forever be Team Brenda + Dylan! After growing up watching Shannen on Our House I was excited when I first heard she would be on the cast on Beverly Hills 90210 and because of her I tuned in. Growing up, I found myself relating to Brenda’s journey the most on the show. Navigating the complexities of life as a light eyed, pale, brunette girl from the Midwest who romanticized about using her talents to one day do something more in life always resonated with me. But the thing I think I admired most about Brenda was that she was unapologetic for being her true authentic self (hippie witch Twin Peaks style and all).

As years went by and I started to see Shannen’s name popping up in the headlines it never changed my admiration for her, in fact it only made me admire her even more. It was like all that fire I saw behind Brenda’s eyes was now Shannen shining through and pushing her to remember her worth. When they let Shannen go after season 4 I refused to watch it anymore. To me Brenda was what gave the show purpose and substance and Shannen was the reason I first wanted to watch the show to begin with. So I chose to follow her in her new roles instead, such as Charmed and anything I saw her starring in and I will never forget how ecstatic I was when Kevin Smith casted her in Mallrats! She was the reason I first watched the movie and have loved his movies ever since. I mean anyone smart and rebellious enough to cast Shannen when so many people were hating on her was bound to make some cool shit (and still does). I really admire him for seeing past all the BS and focusing on her and her acting talents. It wasn’t until I heard she was returning for the reunion show of BH90210 in memory of Luke, that I tuned in again and literally it was just to see her reprise her role. Ironically when I started to watch and discovered she was actually playing the role as Shannen, my adult self could not believe how much I still related to her.

One thing I was looking forward to sharing with her most was how the Beverly Hills 90210 episode “It’s Only A Test” aired in 1991 when I had lost my Mom to breast cancer. Just like Brenda’s Aunt, my Mom was also young (only 39) when she left this world and mine was never the same. That episode made me feel less alone as no one I knew at my young age was going through what I was going through. For a brief second I felt some normalcy. Many moons later when I found out about Shannen’s real life diagnosis I took to Instagram to let her know that she was not alone in her fight either. I was even inspired by her motivation when I discovered in her feed that she was using dance as a way to keep her body moving and her spirits up. So much so that after my multiple intestinal surgeries and health set backs I started to give it a try. It is now my outlet for “exercise” and gives me so much joy.

My whole vision for the art piece I wanted to do for her changed once I discovered that Shannen recently downsized her home in Tennessee in order to make things easier for her Mama Rosa incase anything should ever happen to her. She was not giving up the fight but just taking proactive steps and looking out for her. Her posts about her Mama Rosa being by her side during her hardest cancer moments was something that always hit me to my very core. As someone who was in the reverse role and can no longer share things with their Mom, I had this overwhelming intuition to put my original idea on the back burner and decided to focus on drawing something that she could share with hers. My inner child was telling me, If you have this one opportunity with her, make it count. So I switched gears and started the portrait you see here….

I am really sad I will never get to tell and show her what an impact she had on me or gift her this special portrait I have been putting my heart and soul into. My intentions were definitely there, but it looks like the universe had other plans. As much as I and other fans are hurting right now, my thoughts and positive manifestations of healing go out to her family and close friends. If it hurts this bad for us to lose someone we grew up admiring so much, I can only imagine how someone who actually had the blessing of knowing her must be feeling right now.

So with that I would just like to end this by saying thank you to Shannen for being so unapologetically Shan Do and showing the world what it means to be authentic and fierce. Like the words Dylan told Brenda when they first crossed paths you will always be “incandescent” in my eyes. Shine brightly in the stardust with Luke for us! 💕

Stay Spooky & Magical!
LDG Nicole

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imagejpeg_0It sucks when a day turns into a milestone that makes you flashback to so much loss. An annual reminder of how long you have lived your life without someone in it. A day you flashback to when you were a child and felt the worse pain imaginable. For 27 years, March 16th has been a day of mourning,  a day of feeling incomplete, a day of “why her?”,  a day of confusion, a day or feeling alone, a day of tears you can’t hold back even in public, a constant reminder of when my entire world got turned upside down. The day the world lost an incredible woman. My mother.

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Every year on this day I go to the cemetery in her memory and it’s never easy. This year I decided to make a special bouquet for her. I am hoping it might help to use symbolism and to honor her instead of focusing so much on the loss of her not being here. I used flowers in some of the bright colors I know she would like. My goal was “let’s brighten such a sad and shitty day…….somehow.” Yes, the pink ribbon symbolizes breast cancer but to me, it also symbolizes that she was a fighter!  The owl represents who she was as a person. She loved owls and they remind me of the happier times of my childhood as they decorated the house we lived in. But they are also very wise, strong and beautiful creatures…… just like her.

As another step of trying to focus this creation 6tag_230716-104736post in her memory. I want to end it with a photo of her and I that always makes me smile. My Mom was a funny lady and my brother and I  get a lot of my personality from her. As you can also see in this photo 🙂 This one’s for you Mom! You may not be here physically, but your spirit will always live on within us. Thank you for giving us the foundation that helps to keep us strong.  For the signs, you send to Mike and I that let us know you’re with us or that you know what we are facing. For bringing random people into our lives at just the right times that help to keep us going. Your love shines through them. Thank you for being the woman you were to help me become the woman I am.

Never Forgotten,
LDG Nicole