Faces of Milwaukee: Don Nedobeck

Milwaukee artist Don Nedobeck, the subject of today's portrait, attended Pulaski High School, Marquette, and UW Milwaukee. After college he joined the Navy and graduated from the Naval School of Music playing clarinet in the 7th fleet band. In the Navy he would meet his wife Elizabeth to whom he was married for 62 years. He began his professional life as a traveling Dixieland Jazz musician with "Sugar Blues" Clyde McCoy and might have remained a musician rather than an artist if not for a chance event when playing in West Palm Beach, FL. The hotel the band had been scheduled to play at closed only three days into a two-week engagement leaving him with no job and a need to replace the lost income. Taking a chance on a return to visual art, he got some 5 x 7 pieces of Masonite, and painted them in his distinctive whimsical style with acrylics, and attempted to shop them around to local galleries. He met local gallery owner and art dealer Tanya Brooks who immediately bought his entire stock and asked him to produce more, launching him into a career as a full-time artist.

He has since produced countless works, including three children's books, and a yearly "Fanciful Feline" calendar starting in the 1990s. Nedobeck sadly passed away last year, but I was lucky enough to meet him back in the 80s and get him to sign my copy Nedobeck's Alphabet Book which I still have to this day, and have enjoyed with the next generation!