Friday with Fin :: Grandpa Joe's Art (round 2)

As I mentioned before, my dad is an artist... and I'm gonna use today's "Fridays with Fin" to plug his most recent art! Hey, there is a pic of Finny in his diaper in one of the pics below, so technically the star of these posts still made an appearance!?
My dad has been a professional artist his entire career. He was an illustrator for most of those years, until recently, when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.
I can not tell you how proud I am to say that this disease has NOT taken an ounce of creativity from him! He is one of those people you hear about {like a pro surfer losing an arm and getting back on the board or a pro baseball player losing his pitching arm and becoming a motivational speaker} who hasn't let the adversities of his diagnosis strip him of his gifts... he's just shifted his focus.
He now does large scale oil paintings! Pretty awesome, hey? Having difficulty with the smaller, finer details that illustrating required, he ditched the airbrush and grabbed the oils and some canvas. Don't the above paintings still have such an illustrated feel! I may be biased, but I think they're pretty rad! 
And, most recently, he's created these vibrant, abstract forest pieces. They make quite the statement on the wall! And I just shake my head in amazement when I look at his new body of work, thinking of him dealing with the new challenges that his body is giving him, and still being able to produce such amazing works of art!

Check out his Etsy Site! His publicist, photographer and shop runner {uh hum, me} apologize for the horrible photos of these beautiful pieces of art! We are a work in progress and I mostly just wanted to use this platform as a place brag about my dad. ;)

6 comments:

  1. Lora Leis27 May, 2011

    We heart Grandpa Joe!!

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  2. Incredible work! And seriously, the switch to oils and the change in scale is quite an accomplishment in itself! Your dad is awesome!

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  3. Best Friday with Fin yet! :D

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  4. Mandy Andraska27 May, 2011

    Amazing! All of it...your incredible dad, his gorgeous artwork, and his beautiful daughter and grandson. Your dad is such and inspiration. Thank you for sharing!

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  5. i'm so incredibly inspired by this! i didn't realize he was still painting and it's so inspirational to see his spirit and creativity isn't squashed ...

    if we could all switch our perspective and focus ... look at what we could create!!

    love it!

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  6. Anonymous02 June, 2011

    I love his new artwork! I may have to save up to buy one of his pieces! Beautiful!

    Love,
    Kristin

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