Artists Share How Their Fathers Influenced Their Artistic Pursuits

Artists Share Memories and Pay Homage to Their Fathers and/or Fatherly Role Models

This was published in June, 2021

I frequently post questions for my artist friends on Facebook and I always attract the best answers! I was curious to know how artists felt about their father’s influence on them as an artist. How did they encourage their artistic talent? In this post you will find several positive comments from artists who responded to my question: “How did your father or a fatherly role model make a positive impact on you as an Artist?”

A Huge Thank You to All of The Artists who Shared Words of Love, Gratitude and Even Loss.

Sam Day
My father was a writer and journalist. When I was in the sixth grade (1976), he paid me five dollars per drawing to illustrate some of his articles for the Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, WA). We collaborated on editorial cartoons for a couple of other papers when I was in high school. He was delighted when, by the end of my 20s, I was making a living as a freelance illustrator.

Lisa Botto-Lee
My Father is a hero to me in every way. Not only is he the kindest human being I have ever met, but certainly the most influential person in my life especially when it comes to art. From the time I could walk, I would go into his studio and watch him paint. I could never thank him enough for everything he has taught me in life and the art world.

Connie Leonard-Volkman
My father was a great person to be around. He worked hard in his business to provide for his family but compared to the other posts, he was a nobody. My memories were of us making kites that were made out of my mother’s silk stash, water-coloring in the park, the back yard, and the lake. Making little dishes and sandcastles out of the backyard clay, giving me a huge box of wood blocks, parts of what he called “thing a ma jigs”, cords, ropes, marbles, leather, and much more, to create things and this was when I was under the age of 9. All of this took place between 1948 and 1955. I was blessed to have such a fun loving dad that let me be a happy exploring childhood. Not to leave out my mother, who was right there with her fabric stashes, tons of paper, and boxes of colored pencils and Crayola’s. It’s no wonder I ended up to be an Art Educator.

Norman Rockwell, an American painter and illustrator, February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978, created many love-filled family images of all kinds. His paintings that adorned the covers of the Saturday Evening Post are legendary.

Bill Massey
My father died when I was 6. He was a victim of PTSD WWII medic in the Pacific (Bronze Star and Purple Heart). He was an aspiring figure sculptor. It was what he left behind -bought me a tiny oil paint box at age 6 -left behind his main paint box, multiple cameras, and a few early 60’s Playboy magazines, which became my figure studies practice. My mother supported anything, and I felt like a king with first painting lessons at age 12. I don’t tell people this.

Patricia Nah Roche
My father. My inspiration. He was an art teacher amongst teaching Sports, English etc. He would take us kids out digging clay from seaside cliffs, to fashion whatever we wanted, put it in the oven & out came my first miniature tea set. At times, I catch him doodling cartoons. Even while he lied in bed, stricken with Cancer, he took an active interest in a school Chinese puppet project I had to do. He guided me along without being pushy. I miss him so. Happy Father’s Day. Papa!! & to all our dads.

Sian Lindemann
“Everything you do is more beautiful than the last. Where did you learn this?!” From my Dad, a few months before he died.

Alan M. Richards
My father was a commercial artist working in the Madison Avenue era. There were times when he took me to his office and give me my own personal drawing table next to his as he worked on his advertising art.

Beverly Todd
My father always said “you can be anything and do anything, and I’ll help you get there.” I did everything from raise & show cattle, manage a swimming pool & teach kids, write for a medical center, lobby in the US capitol, lead a school board, head nonprofit corporations, and now have opened Santa Fe Artist Getaway. Neither of us ever imagined I’d be an artist and art entrepreneur, but here I am. With the unswerving confidence and support of my father anything was possible. p.s. at 85 Dad still tells me this.

Linda S. Watson
My father was my biggest fan. I started doing commercial designs for his company at 13. He gifted me with a set of oil paints one Christmas. He encouraged my creativity in a lot of mediums. He never stopped believing in me and always introduced me as his daughter “the artist”. I wish he could see how my work has evolved. He would have been ecstatic about my association with Manhattan Arts International.

Elise Beattie
My father was a Madison Ave. “AdMan”. The NYC art scene: architecture, painting, theatre, etc. were always of interest to him and he shared his interests with me. He was always supportive of my choice to be an artist… right down to making sure that I had plenty of art materials, so that we could color together!

Martha Coaty
My father was an architectural engineer—very precise in everything he did. From him, I learned symmetry, and developed an eye for architecture and perfection. Above all, I learned patience and the ability to read the instructions. Some of the photographs I’ve made are a direct result of his influence and I thank him often. We never wanted to be called, “Clyde” if we did something halfway or sloppy.

Leanne Fink
My Dad always encouraged my exploration of art. Never minded supplies strewn about the house. My uncle (his brother) was an artist and my first teacher at a very early age.

Elynne Rosenfeld
My dad was a dental technician. He sat for long hours at a bench closely working his sculptor’s tools to craft perfect teeth. Bunson burner, centrifuge, porcelain, and gold were his materials, resulting in miniature sculptures, though the result was considered craft. Because he always had scrap gold he would create beautiful jewelry for my mom, sister and me. And on weekends, he was fond of drawing cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse on napkins, scrap paper, grocery lists. As a painter my process has emulated his almost to a tee. I do only close, intricately detailed work with a tiny brush. I favor shiny materials. To this day I use his case boxes to house my paints. His door sign adorns my studio wall, a plaster cast of teeth above it.

Rosemarie Oehler Adcock
My father was from Vienna, Austria, where he was a ballet dancer and acrobat until the 2nd World War began. Knowing this was his background, it made working in the arts not particularly unusual for me. It was just something you did with the gift you were given.

Ken Clark
As an engineer my Dad was great at technical drawing and sketched a bit. In drawing he taught me to look at the shapes of things. Then working from the basic shapes of rectangle, circle and triangle into a more ‘real’ image of things. But, most of all, he encouraged me always, in all my creative pursuits.

Paulette Bensignor
My dad insisted on me becoming an artist, not anything else. He became an engineer and an inventor but studied art in Europe. His words: “Without art there is no civilization. “ “To be an artist is the high on the needs our world”. So l gave up perusing anything else and have a professional since the time l left PAFA in the 1970s. I believe, any other profession would be easier to survive in financially. I do not love the business of art, but I love the arts …and even though l was and still am successful at the business end of our profession it is a difficult career.

You may also want to read How Did Your Mother Positively Influence You As An Artist?