Fathers Day Gift Guide: Custom Vinyl Art, Elevated Picnic Fare and More
The New York Times What T Magazines editors and contributors are eyeing for our own paternal figures, including outdoorsy accessories and psychedelia for all the senses.
record keepers
A Favorite Song, Turned Into Wall Art
By Kate Guadagnino
When the self-taught artist John OHara started experimenting with encaustic wax, heating bricks of the material with an electric pancake griddle and then applying it to wood, the glossy, textured surfaces of the resulting works reminded him of a vinyl record. So he followed the thought and used encaustic wax to paint just that. He liked the geometric simplicity of concentric circles on a square panel but decided to add one flourish: In the blank space designating the records label, he wrote, This Must Be the Place, and the band responsible for the iconic 80s song, Talking Heads. Today, OHara sells custom vinyl paintings about as fast as he can make them through Forsyth, the St. Louis design brand that he co-founded in 2015 (and that also sources vintage furniture pieces and reupholsters them with sumptuous fabrics). Customers choose the size, the color (options include black, red, blue and metallic 24-karat gold leaf) and, of course, the song or album. Theres a strong emotional quality to them because theyre so personal, says OHara, who, it seems, is not alone in having vivid memories of spinning records in his friends basements the music selections tend to be dad-friendly. From $1,585, forsythart.com.
