The Beatles, as seen on George Donabedian's garage. (Bill Bresler | staff photographer)
Being a musician, Larry Donabedian always enjoyed music by the Beatles.
With a talent for drawing and art, he always liked the Yellow Submarine album cover.
He thought it would look cool on his parents' garage door on Beatrice.
The year was 1975, and he was given a class assignment to enlarge a picture to a grid. He used the Beatles' Yellow Submarine album cover for the assignment, deciding to paint the album design on his parents' garage door.
And 34 years later, Donabedian returned with his son, along with a sister and two of her three sons, and they repainted the garage door on Beatrice where his father, George, and mother Lydia still live.
“It got pretty weathered,” Larry said. “My parents always liked it. (Painting) seemed a good excuse to get my son and nephews together.”
Back in 1975, the cover's design and the band's music drew him to do his interpretation of the cover.
“I always liked the Beatles,” Larry said. “I played in different bands and liked their music. My family always liked them.”
Donabedian liked Peter Max and psychedelic art used on some of the album covers of that era.
“It's a pretty simple style,” Larry said. “It's not like you're painting the Sistine Chapel. It's pretty straight forward, pretty graphic.”
Larry followed his artistic love and pursued an education in art. After he graduated from St. Agatha in Redford, he studied at Wayne State University where he graduated with a degree in fine arts. Today he works in advertising as an art director at Doner in Southfield and lives in Troy.
Last month, the weekend before the Woodward Dream Cruise, Larry got together with his son, Nick, and his sister, Anna Marie Kamischke, and her two sons, Garret and Kyle, at their parents' home, which they built in 1959.
“I wanted to do the same cover, and replace the old one and I knew it would be time together,” Larry said.
Larry said this version was quite different from the original. “I'm a lot more technically savvy,” he said. “I analyzed a Jpeg of that art, and analyzed the colors. I cut out swatches and matched up the paint.”
“When I painted it in high school, I did the outline first; then this time we filled in the color first and I did a black outline last. The colors are more accurate. I'm anxious to see how it holds up, but I'll have to wait another 30 years.”
Larry said his sons like it, but adds “they aren't into it like I was.”
Garret Kamischke, Larry's nephew, enjoyed the project with his mother, uncle and cousins. He plays piano. “I enjoy the Beatles and growing up listening to them,” Garret said. “It was a fun project. I worked on a coat, I did a tie, shoes and hair” on the Fab Four. “It was raining all day, and we had to put up umbrellas.”
Larry's father, George, said that 35 years ago, he and Larry walked the neighborhood asking if neighbors wanted their door painted. But Larry doesn't remember the story quite that way, and said their work didn't bring additional income, but may have given other neighbors ideas. “There were a couple of houses who did paint murals on their doors,” Larry said.
George is thrilled with the new look and with the work from Larry and Anne Marie and their children. “Larry's gift is that he is creative,” George said. “I am so blessed with my five children and eight grandchildren,” he added.
George said he loves music. He enjoys the Beatles, Bob Seger, John Denver and Frank Sinatra.
Earlier this year, George and Lydia traveled to Branson. “We bought tickets to a show, and we had no idea what show we were going to see, and it was Liverpool Legends,” George said. “George Harrison's sister, Louise, was there and directed the show. She was answering questions, and we raised our hand. I said we didn't have a question but we had a story. We told the whole audience about our Beatles (garage door) experience and they gave us a nice round of applause.”
Recently Louise Harrison sent the couple a thank-you note for sending her photos of the garage door.
Larry was asked by his father jokingly if George's discussion of the door in Branson had anything to do with Larry wanting to repaint it. Larry smiled and responded: “It didn't discourage it. It looked so bad. It was so weathered.”
SOURCE: http://www.hometownlife.com
Reprinted By Permission
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