“I Am The Somebody. I’m The Fire.” a Tribute to Daisy Jones by Artist Living Dead Girl Nicole

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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

Days Of The Dead 2016

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Well the anticipation is over. This past weekend was mine and Frank’s belated anniversary celebration. We decided to hold off doing something for our anniversary (Halloween) and splurge for Days of The Dead since it was only a few weeks after! It worked out perfectly. We got a hotel room and had a blast.

The hi light of the trip was giving Alice Cooper my Zombie Alice head prop. I prepared like I did for Chandler Riggs and made a special box to put Zombie Alice in. I decided that “I’ll Bite Your Face Off” was the perfect song title to use on the outside. I then just painted the box in the colors that are used on the shirt her wears on stage/on his album cover.

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Due to the fan chaos of him being there we decided to only stand through one long line for the photo op and not do the autograph line. We were smart to do it on Friday because as expected Saturday was absolutely insane. Another reason it was smart to just get the hotel for the whole weekend and not stress. This was me in our hotel room just moments before going to get in line for the photo op. I was stoked!

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We stood in line for quite a while because it was a bit of a cluster at first. The staff working were a little bombarded on what to do with all of us. Once they got the hang of things and Alice arrived things moved a lot more quickly. When Frank and I walked up to him and I handed him Zombie Alice. His first reaction was “Wow! You made this!” and then he shook my hand. Then I told him I made it for HIM he said “It’s gonna be so fun getting this on the plane when I fly home” ha ha. He was making little jokes with everyone that walked up to meet him and was so laid back and easy going. It really was a “nightmare” come true. We have never been able to afford the meet and greets at his concert so even though we only got a brief moment with him it was an incredible experience.

This is a scanned copy of our professional photo op…. EEK!

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The next thing on our list was to play catch up with my dear friend and favorite “clown” Sid Haig. We waited until his line died down for a little bit on Saturday to stop by and shoot the shit with him. Of course I had to get a picture to add to my millions of Sid moment photos. sid-haig-9
It was so nice to see him once again and catch up. He said he really liked my Halloween costume and I of course thanked him for my hot dog shirt. It went by too quickly as the line started to build again from us chit chatting and we didn’t want to hold up all the people looking forward to meeting him (and some for the first time). A girl who was buying something at a vending table later on in the day went on to me about what a class act Sid was and how some others were not so kind. I didn’t bother to tell her how many wonderful memories I have had with him since 2004 and how I now consider him and Suzie friends. Instead I let her ramble and agreed 110% with her. I remember how it felt to meet him for the first time and I remember feeling the exact same way about him. It’s so great to see people getting that same feeling from him all these years later. There are some celebs you meet at these things that just seem to go through the motions and some who you know really care about their fans. Sid cares and always has. He is a rare gem!

While visiting him we had him sign us a mini bucket of Captain Spaulding chicken. He had them for sale at his table and are replicas of the ones used in the Rob Zombie Pin Ball machine. One of the most meaningful things we got all weekend.

Another meaningful piece was this statue we saw that immediately drew our attention because it made us think of our departed Sabbath (Sabby Girl). See she liked to spill things just for fun. This included always trying to knock over my cup of water/brushes when I would paint. She also had a bad habit of knocking her water bowl across the kitchen or spilling cups we left out over night. She would tip them over, watch it spill and literally walk away. She was crazy but we loved her.

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We bought a lot of other really cool things. I won’t bore you by listing them here but if you really want to know leave a comment and I can fill you in. I know some of my fellow horror fanatics might find them amusing! The vendors there had a great variety. We got life like props, t-shirts, limited edition collectibles etc. Here are just a few pics we posted on Instagram during our con venturing showing off a few.

Overall this past weekend at Days of the Dead was the perfect little getaway to celebrate our belated 7 year wedding anniversary. So memorable!

Stay Spooky!
LDG Nicole

 

Spitting Image: Genesis 4:7

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I just finished this portrait piece of Henry Rollins reflecting 2 different sides of him in the movie He Never Died. Jack also being Cain is what inspired the Genesis 4:7 title as well as the piece of scripture I drew below him.

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I have drawn Rollins in the past as a gift to my brother, Mike. This piece however I will actually be giving to Rollins himself, so the pressure was on.

I have been working on this piece in between other projects in hopes to have it finished on time. I was getting behind and frustrated when my brother (my Yoda whenever I need encouragement) texts me “patience young Jedi” and as always he was right. I took my time and focused my energy on it today. I am very happy how it finally turned out.

Now I can sit back and count the days til my birthday when I will be standing there (with my brother and husband) completely lost for words handing it over to Henry Rollins in person. EEEK!

As always prints are available in my Etsy Shop.

Stay Spooky!
LDG Nicole

 

Happy Birthday David Bowie!

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Thank you for filling my life with magic, music and goblins!

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Prints available in my Etsy Shop!

Stay Spooky!
LDG Nicole