A video of Dave Santia, a premier performance speed painter from the Detroit area, painting an amazing portrait of late MEGADETH drummer Nick Menza in less than six minutes can be seen below.
With a combination of rock and roll and attack of speed and color, Santia creates his speed paintings right before your very eyes in just a matter of minutes.
Santia has painted some outstanding portraits of Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Slash, John Lennon, Freddie Mercury, Ozzy Osbourne, Prince, Elton John, Billy Joel and David Bowie, just to name a few.
One day, while Santia was sitting at home wondering how he could combine his two loves of art and music, he found himself surfing on YouTube when he came across a video of speed painter Denny Dent. Santia watched that video, and thought to himself, “I think I can do that.” So he practiced and worked at it and soon unveiled what he calls his “Art And Soul”.
Originally planning on using his speed painting ability to get people’s attention and to get them interested in his oil paintings that can take up to 40 hours, Dave soon found himself invited to perform his speed paintings at various charitable fundraisers and occasional corporate events.
Late in the evening on May 21, 2016, Nick collapsed after suffering a heart attack during a concert with Chris Poland and Robertino “Pag” Pagliari in their band OHM: at The Baked Potato in Studio City, California and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said Menza died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Nick rightfully earned his place as one of heavy metal’s fiercest drummers during MEGADETH‘s 10-year commercial peak. The highlight of his career, Nick said, was playing Rock In Rio before more than 100,000 people. The lowest point was being fired by MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine while he was still in a hospital bed after surgery to remove what doctors feared was a cancerous growth.
An official Menza documentary film “This Was My Life – The Story of Nick Menza”, is currently in the works. It is described in a press release as “an unflinching exploration into the life of one of the most successful thrash-metal drummers of all time, authorized by the Menza family. From his childhood all the way through to the end of his life including a true blow-by-blow account of the repeated failed attempts of the classic ‘Rust In Peace’ lineup.”
“This Was My Life” will feature rare and never-before-seen photos and video footage from Nick‘s archived VHS tape collection, personally filmed by Menza himself from 1988 through 1991. Included will be exclusive content showcasing Nick working at the studio, personal home movies, casual time and party time with his fellow bandmembers, as well as other well-known artists of the era that Nick toured with.
Menza‘s official autobiography, “Megalife: The Autobiography Of Nick Menza” by J. Marshall Craig, was released in December 2018 via Post Hill Press.
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Tagged: Alternative Music, music blog