06/22/2026
Happy Father’s Day to “The Dad”! Many moons ago he was given this nickname by a kid at art camp who saw him walking by and said to the other kids, “Oh that’s ‘The Dad’”. It stuck and here we are years later oh so thankful for all the years of help from, “The Dad”!
There would be no Art Smart without Brian Laskaris. I could not support this business on my own. I am able to do everything I am because behind these scenes this wonderful man is supporting it all! From moving fans outside, to hauling tables and art supplies everywhere, gardening (as my adult students saw recently 🤣), to loading my car, to every last minute crisis…to paying for my sickly self’s insurance and not complaining too much about my art supply bills…he does it all! This week’s “crisis” was our printer stopping as I had 2 prints left to create for self-portraits the next morning. 2 kiddos were not going to have prints to do the project and no one could get it printed in time…except The Dad. He pulled off dropping off our daughter at her own camp, squeezing in very important meetings at his own job, and getting prints to me in time so no kiddos had to be disappointed. He’s a rock star!!
He does so much for our own kids. I don’t think they will ever understand all the sacrifices he’s made for all of us over the years. He sets the most perfect example for them on how to love your spouse and shows up for them as one amazing leader and encourager. We don’t thank him nearly enough. He just quietly does his thing. I joke all the time that he married an architect and now is stuck with this lady who paints in the backyard! It’s no joke though…because his contributions make this dream of mine a reality. So cheers to you The Dad! Our kids are blessed by you…and so is every single Art Smart family who has no clue probably how much you do behind the scenes to keep this going! We are forever grateful you are ours!
