The life and legacy of artist Leroy P. Elie is alive and well thanks to his daughter Chiara Elie.
ABC15 sat down with her inside the art gallery in Phoenix that she curated with his paintings.
"I just wanted to give back to my father, and we, you know, we were such a bond, you know, through the art. And that's why I wanted to get back and make sure the world sees him and what he's done in his life. You know, he was too talented of an artist, not for people to see what he was about," said Chiara.
Leroy left countless creations of his art reflecting his life, not as an artist but from his actual career.
"He was a printed circuit board designer. So, he designed hardware engineer," explained Chiara, "He designed motherboards for a living. So, he was a hardware engineer."
Leroy worked for tech companies we all know today.
"He worked for several different other companies like Intel and Motorola, General Dynamics, all those, but Nvidia was his number one," said Chiara.
If you look closely, Leroy always managed to combine his two passions in his paintings.
"So, like this piece over here, printed circuit boards all throughout the face, but the sadness. So, he was very good at giving that emotion out of a painting, showing that along with the printed circuit boards," said Chiara.
But being a Sunday painter wasn't enough, and Leroy decided he wanted to go back to school for art.
"As good as he was, he knew he was talented, but he wanted his credentials behind him. He wanted to be taken seriously, you know, and so he decided at 66 years old to go back to school and get his Fine Arts Degree which I thought was the most amazing thing," Chiara recalled.
Leroy spent his final years facilitating piece after piece with several of his artworks now hanging inside State Farm Stadium.
Showcasing his artwork is now Chiara's love letter to her father, who died in 2020.
"I would imagine that in setting up the space and setting up this exhibit, at some point you had a moment to just step back and look around, and what did you feel in your heart?" asked ABC15
"I felt like he was there with me. I felt like I was honoring my father, you know. I'm an only child and so, and I didn't have kids. So, this is it, you know. So, I want to give my dad as much as he gave me," Chiara answered.
The exhibit runs through Friday, February 28 at Chic Artistry Studio in Phoenix. Stop by from 7:00-10:00 p.m.
You can learn more about Leroy's artwork on his website, now run by Chiara.
