Gratitude

A letter to Rob Zombie

Update: So I met Rob Zombie and he’s cool and down-to-earth. He really was kind to his fans and tried make them at ease.

When I spoke with him he was trying to joke around but I was so focused on thanking him and showing him some of my paintings (and worried about making people behind me in line wait to meet him) that I wasn’t able to joke back. If you’re reading this Rob, I’m usually more laid back.

Anyway, I think he got the message I was grateful for his inspiration because I said it about five times. He liked my “Living Dead Girl” painting and cracked a smile at my “Donkey Kong” painting which was all I hoped for. I told him about how I tried to paint like Basil Gogos with my Frankenstein painting (I discovered Basil Gogos through Rob Zombie’s intro in a book about Mr. Gogos. See the amazing art of Basil Gogos at basilgogos.net)

I forgot to show him my take on Picasso and my FrankenPatrick but it was just a great, cool, fun experience. Thanks to Rob and to ILoveAllAccess.com for the opportunity.

Later in the night I remembered about a half dozen questions I wanted to ask him and I realized I didn’t tell him this was my seventh Zombie show. Oh well. The show, by the way, was one of the best I’ve seen of his. If you get a chance, you should try to see him live.

And Rob – if you haven’t read it yet there’s kind words below and a link to that Picasso painting I wanted to show you. Thanks!

Original post:
On 12/04/09, courtesy of a VIP package, I’ll get to meet Rob Zombie at the Electric Factory in Philly. If I’m able to convince him to stop by here, I hope he reads this:

Mr. Zombie, thanks a million for committing to a career of monster rock, illustration, comics, and movies. There’s a lot of easier ways to make a living and your career has not only given me a soundtrack for the Fall of every year, but inspires me to be true to myself and the kind of art I want to make.

Your music has influenced my art, and become part of my life. I can’t really thank you enough for making that music. It’s made my life more fun during good times and put a smile on my face during some bad times.

My wife and I have thrown a Halloween party for all our friends for the past fourteen years. Each year I create a series of Halloween-themed or horror-inspired paintings of my friends. I’m always listening to your music while I paint these.

Here’s a painting inspired by Living Dead Girl and a few of my favorite paintings I’ve done over the years. If you’ve read this far, thanks again. If you want to see all 95 of those paintings, you can go to the gallery. If you’re really into the Steve Cleff Experience, you can also check out FluidBeauty.com which is my site for my other style of painting.

Living Dead Girl