Happy Fathers Day Reuben Martinez

Sorry I missed out on your 50th Birthday last January, Reuben.

Fortunately, I can at least dedicate this entire blogpost to you: the one and only Father Figure of mine.

Believe it or not, my father is the one who spurred me into the creative artist that I am.

Because he was always supportive of my creative endeavors, unlike some Executives that I know of.

But it's not always about my art that he was supportive of, it's also the paternal support that I've craved for many years.

Plus, the best thing about a paternal figure is that you know he's got a steady job to the point he can spoil me with the best gadgets there ever were. 

We need more of that in today's economy!!!

This is me and my father playing SUPER MARIO ALL-STARS for the SNES 

on our vintage 1980's Woodgrain Tv even though this photo is dated 1999.

And it's not just that SNES at the top photo that he's spoiled little me with. 

He blessed my family with 3 Computers.

The first was our COMPAQ PRESARIO 5477

Next was a personal favorite, the VOBIS HIGHSCREEN SKY

And another personal favorite: the MDG Horizon 2400.

But really, it's the artist in me that my father really started to take notice.

Of course, I can barely find all the drawings I did back in the day

(Some were thrown out, others were stored heavily in my house).

But he knew the moment I laid my eyes on DISNEY movies on VHS as well as seeing me sneak out of my room to watch THE SIMPSONS & KING OF THE HILL on Q13 FOX, he knew there was a side of me that screams:

"I WANT TO BECOME AN ARTIST!!!"

Plus, he was a great story teller too.

I still remember vividly the story of MOKIMOKI, a little character he came up with to entertain 6 year old me when we were living on this nice Blue House in Myrtle Street in Burnaby, BC.

Is that where I came up with the idea for the Hayden Brentwood character?

"Doubtful."

Speaking about Myrtle Street, the house was jokingly referred to as 

THE BIG BLUE PAINTING HOUSE 

Probably because my father was constantly painted the interior. 

Plus, it smelled like paint.

Also, my father was fond of animals too.

Here is a photo of Papa Reuben letting my previous cat PEACH sleep in front of his Dell Laptop

Here's a little something for my father:

"Papa Reuben. If you're reading this, it's to let you know that I'm always remembering you for the way to helped inspire the creative in me. Thanks for all the support. Hope we can see each other in person again."

The last time I was my father in person was somewhere around 2015 or so....

about 9 years ago at the time of this posting.

But I don't have a photo of that so instead, here's a photo of me with my father taken during my 15th Birthday on December 13 2012.

Quite the familial resemblance. Also, this was several years before I grew my beard.