posted
This one that is hard on me, nobody here knows the man, but for me this is a real tear jerker!!!
I don't know how I ended up in the sign industry exactly, but I was sure going to be in an artistic field just by the way I was brought up, and with the mentor I had right at home.
This is about my dad, Pierre Giroux, an artist like I could only wish to be. Just so you know, he's in a home now with alzheimers now, wandering around with an empty look in his eyes...but this is not what the post is about. I want to introduce my Dad to all my fellow heads from around the globe. An inventor, lettering artist and painter.
Tonight, we will look at a few of his paintings, a few pictures of the ones we were able (or smart enough) to hold on to. I wish I had all the money on earth just to buy back the hundreds of the finer ones out there in the houses of strangers that don't really know my Dad... Of course the best ones were always the first to go when he would set a little booth in the mall just before the Hollidays.
He would have loved to follow me to a meet with his kit and just put a few of these out during the course of the week end.
In a future post, I will show illustrations of his work when he was an illustrator for a Montreal newspaper.
I unfortunately can imagine the pain that you are in because I was in a similar situation with my dad before he passed away 4 years ago. As he became sicker and sicker the last few years, he tried to keep doing what he loved to do which was his artwork but his body betrayed him. To see him struggle and not be able to continue to create what he could see in his mind was too much for him and for me to bear.
-------------------- Kimberly Zanetti Purcell www.amethystProductivity.com Folsom, CA email: Kimberly@AmethystProductivity.com
“Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.” AA Milne Posts: 3722 | From: Folsom, CA | Registered: Dec 2001
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I'm so sorry to hear that your father is suffering from Alzhiemer's. It is such a tragic thing because of the way it robs a person of who they are.
You must be so very thankful that your dad left this wonderful legacy of the the things he found so much beauty in . . . it's almost as if his sheer quantity, and quality of work was a premonition of his fate and he wanted to leave you with as much of his mind, heart, & soul as possible . . .
His work is absolutely beautiful, the subject matter, and especially the way he captured sunlight . . . are these local scenes, or scenes he painted from childhood memories, or what?
Thanx for sharing this.
-------------------- Signs Sweet Home Alabama
oneshot on chat
"Look like a girl, act like a lady, think like a man, work like a dog" Posts: 5758 | From: "Sweet Home" Alabama | Registered: Mar 2003
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I understand how you feel. My dad is still my all time hero!
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Rene, Know some of what you feel...and miss. My Dad has been gone for 23 yrs. and i still miss talking to him every day. Looks like your Dad was as good with a brush as mine was with a fiddle. Fantastic paintings.
-------------------- William "Irish" Holohan Resting...Read "Between Jobs." Marlboro, MA 01752 email: firemap1@aol.com Posts: 1110 | From: Marlboro, MA | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
Wonderful work...I'm so impressed by the "real" feeling these pieces have... capturing a moment in time...so natural... I don't know when I've seen paintings that have impressed me so...Thank you for sharing Rene. My Dad was the finest man I ever had the pleasure to meet...God Bless your Dad too.
posted
That is some very nice work! I am very impressed!
Thank you for sharing with us!
-------------------- Bruce Bowers
DrCAS Custom Lettering and Design Saint Cloud, Minnesota
"Things work out best for the people who make the best of the way things work out." - Art Linkletter Posts: 6451 | From: Saint Cloud, Minnesota | Registered: Jun 1999
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My mind wanders. And that's not a good thing, 'cause it's too small to be out there alone. Posts: 3129 | From: Tooele, UT | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
WOW is an understatement - I Luv 'em all but especially #5 & 2. I have a weakness for snow scenes. That looks almost exactly like where I park my truck when I rabbit hunt, without the Fir trees on the horizon. Rene - I know how you feel I miss my dad - lost him as a teenager - he was a lifetime Electrician - skilled in a different way. Fortunately I still have a few of his tools - use them often, but they don't leave the shop. Edited - Rene hope you don't mind just put #5 as my desktop - looks great - reminds me of Frederic Remington's work, my all time favorite artist. Okay, some say he was an Illustrator, like Norman Rockwell, I dunno I just know what I like
[ October 20, 2005, 01:39 AM: Message edited by: Carl Wood ]
-------------------- Carl Wood Olive Branch, Ms Posts: 1392 | From: Olive Branch,MS USA | Registered: Nov 1999
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I gasped when I first saw those pictures. They have such an old fashioned timeless quality you rarely see. They remind me of looking through a picture book at my grandma's. Amazing!
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Rene, Those pictures are beautiful. Like Carl, I especially love the second and fifth. They remind me of the area around here in the fall. I see where you get your talent from.
Be thankful for every minute you have with your dad. I lost my parents much too early and miss them dearly every day.
-------------------- Lou Pascuzzi www.economysigns.com Fine Hand Lettering since 1973 Danbury, Ct 203-748-4580 "IOAFS" Posts: 341 | From: Danbury, Ct | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
Those are beautiful paintings, thanks for sharing your story with us. I hope we can all see the day when we can find a cure for Alzheimers. When my Mother-in -Law got Alzheimers, she didn't even know who we were when we visited. It's great that you have those paintings. To hold them up and say "My Dad painted these".
-------------------- Signs by Alicia Jennings (Mudflap Girl) Tacoma, WA Since 1987 Have Lipstick, will travel. Posts: 3814 | From: Tacoma, WA. U.S.A. | Registered: Dec 1999
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""Good judgment comes from experience; and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" - Will Rogers Posts: 3485 | From: Beautiful Newaygo, Michigan | Registered: Mar 2003
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René, Altho it what is happening to your dad is such a tragedy, his work can still bring joy to others. I hope that looking at it brings you his memories through his eyes and hands, and maybe some comfort. He managed to leave you a priceless legacy. What talent. Thanks for sharing it with us. Love.....Jill
Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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posted
Thanks to all, it's nice to see his life acheivements brought to life again as eye candy to people able to appreciate the value of good work, it's like he was back for a day !!!
As a kid, it was a common site to see him in front of the (black & white) TV with a pad of 8 1/2 x 14 quad paper next to him, sketching away at so many things: a rough copy for a painting, a proposed addition to the house, a floor plan, a logo for a friend or as shown below a technical drawing for one of his many inventions (that never got us rich...). What you see below is a cut view of a hydrolic automatic transmission for a bicycle (or anything else driven by a chain). It was patented, US and Canada, but never got built.
To answer Sheila, most of his work is from pictures he would take travelling the Quebec regions, however the one with the red barn is near Summerset, PA taken during summer vacations. We were travelling on a back road to get to a campground when he hit the breaks. My Mom said what wrong, he goes: would you look at that, took a picture and drove on. He painted it the following fall...
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus Posts: 6714 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Hi Rene, and thanks for sharing this with us.
I can really relate to how you feel.
My father passed away in 1977 at the age of 47 when I was only 11 years old.
He was an electrician by trade, and a master craftsman with everything he touched. He was an extremely talented woodworker, and metalsmith.
He had a creative side that was passed on to my brothers, and my twin sister, who is an unbelievably talented glass artist.
I loved to sit and watch my father sketch projects, and follow him around watching how he made them come to life.
Many can wonder how much you can learn at 11 years old, but you would have had to have known my father. He was patient, kind, and understanding. He was detailed in his instructions, and his passion for any project was contagious.
I too wish he could be around to see what I have become, and what I have created.
"If your not creating, you're destroying".
I can truly relate when you say, "I miss you Dad".
Thanks for listening,
Peace out, Bob
-------------------- "The 3-4 minute mark of "Freewill" by Rush.
Bob Kaschak Artisan Sign And Design Peru New York Posts: 1873 | From: Upstate NY | Registered: Jul 2002
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Rene, I really can't add anymore to whats already been said. But that really is fantastic work, and my favourite is the snow scene, it's like the first snow of the season and the ground is still warm, I can almost smell it. Thanks.
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Rene I feel your pain; my mom has senile dementia. Tomorrow is her 89th birthday but I'm glad she's still here. I'm her "parent" now. Like the song says "...nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky." Your dad was absolutely amazing! Those paintings capture the very soul of those scenes in a way that only a true master can. My dad was a genius; he was the man that invented the machine that made the first hook loop carpet. The details were stolen from him and wound up sold to Singer and my dad never got a dime. Just be thankful that you have a part of him in those paintings and if you *ever* decide to do prints of them, count me in for them.
-------------------- Ricky Jackson Signs Now 614 Russell Parkway Warner Robins, GA (478) 923-7722 signpimp50@hotmail.com
"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Issac Newton Posts: 3528 | From: Warner Robins, GA | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
ABSOLUTLY INCREDEBLE WORK.Thank You for sharing those pics with us.I know this is a difficult time for you and your family,our thoughts and prayers are with you.I lost my dad 2 years ago and have many of his tools are in my shop.It is difficult to go to one of his tool boxes without getting a smile or tear on my face.Please share more if you can. Thanks
posted
I agree with everybody else about your dad's amazing work. I'm very touched by your post. Thank you for sharing the pictures and your thoughts with us. Life is hard to understand at times, but your dad has left you a a wonderful legacy.
posted
A heartfelt post and it seems many of us enjoyed it! Your Dad is still there in those paintings. Cherish them.
-------------------- Jane Diaz Diaz Sign Art 628 W. Lincoln Ave. Pontiac, Il. 61764 815-844-7024 www.diazsignart.com Posts: 4102 | From: Pontiac, IL USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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Beautiful artwork Rene. I'm touched by your sharing this with us.
-------------------- “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” -Winnie the Pooh & A.A. Milne
Kelly Thorson Kel-T-Grafix 801 Main St. Holdfast, SK S0G 2H0 ktg@sasktel.net Posts: 5496 | From: Penzance, Saskatchewan | Registered: May 2002
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My wife and I cared for her father in our home for five years and watched Alzheimer’s and strokes take their toll on him, robbing him more and more of the reality others lived in and leaving him increasingly marooned in his own. It's tough watching someone become, as you so eloquently put it, "A man I once knew..."
-------------------- David Harding A Sign of Excellence Carrollton, TX Posts: 5084 | From: Carrollton, TX, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Absolutely Stunning Rene! You mus be proud to show off such a talent. Thanks so much for sharing. I'm sorry he has come down with such a terrible disease. Like Sheila mentioned its fantastic that he can leave such wonderful works for others to appreciate.
-------------------- Brian Diver PDQ Signs Everett, Wa
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Thanks so much for sharing them Rene; I caught my breath when I saw them, they remind me so much of where I grew up (SWQuebec) and the light in them is perfect. I have had family members on both sides 'disappear' before they died, with alzheimers; I hear you.
Your dad was obviously really talented, brilliant and versatile. His bright spirit which shows in his work shines on in you, all your family and those who knew him, and now for all of us who see and appreciate the beauty in his art. Merci et prends soin de toi Erica
posted
Once at René's place he showed me a lot of thing his father did. Looks like the man never sleeps or eats. I have never seen such a talent. Not only he was able to draw mechanical stuff perfectly, he could also do the most realistic oil painting, portrait, scenery, anything. He also had such a natural hand for signpainting. Here's a couple examples of the ads he was doing for a newspaper. [IMG]http://www.letterville.com/album/BullBoard/Pigi_03.jpg [/IMG]
René, you are a very talented guy, but no offense you still have a long way to go to reach the level of your father. If fact we all have.
-------------------- Jack Wills Studio Design Works 1465 E.Hidalgo Circle Nye Beach / Newport, OR Posts: 2914 | From: Rocklin, CA. USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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Your dad was a genius Rene. His insight and talent are far above most people Ive seen. My eyes watered up looking at his work. Such a shame he has to spend his last years like this. One thing for certain though, he has a son who loves him.
-------------------- Maker of fine signs and other creative stuff. Located at 109 N. Cumberland ave. Harlan, Ky. 40831 606-837-0242 Posts: 4172 | From: Ages-Brookside, Ky. Up the Holler... | Registered: Jul 1999
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posted
I'm sorry for the troubling news of your dads health. I lost my dad recently enough & extend my sympathy for the situation you describe. That reall is great looking artwork Rene, thanks for sharing
posted
Wow, thanks to every one who left heart warming messages. I didn't think this post would get such an effect. I wrote in the first paragraph that he was a lettering artist as well: so here is that part as promised (even though Pierre kinda beat me to it...) I was going to start another topic some day, but might as well just carry on while the attention is captured.
My dad was never in the sign industry, although I think he would have been very successfull about it. In the late fifties and very early sixties, he worked in a graphic studio to pay for university (he later became a chiropractor).
Back then, believe it or not, it was cheaper to pay an artist to illustrate by hand a living room set for a newspaper add, than it was to process just a black & white picture...times sure change. All scripts were done by hand in china ink and they had standard types for straight letters.
Needless to say that a computer back then was a slide-rule. So for many years he collected hundreds of newsprint clippings with some of his other kind of work. Here are a few more:
My fond thoughts are with your Dad and you. He seems like a magnificent Dad.
Someone told me about a book called "Bless the space between us" and I think of connecting always with that space, so there is a better peace of togetherness. I miss my dad too, and my Mom of course, they always promoted me as an artist even when I was just starting out;
the artistry that you posted is very enjoyable and awesome, thanks.
-------------------- Deb Fowler
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible - Walt Disney (1901-1966) Posts: 5373 | From: Loves Park, Illinois | Registered: Aug 1999
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