Cancer diagnosis doesn't stop "clever and talented" dad's beautiful art

Tuesday 15 March 2022

A local father of two has continued to create beautiful works of art for his family despite a terminal brain cancer diagnosis.

Nathan “Ned” Oliveira, who has a diagnosis of glioblastoma multiforme, crafted iconic figures of Mickey Mouse and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle which are displayed outside his home.

Mr Oliveira’s wife, Abby Oliveira, said her husband is multi-talented. 

Pictured: Ned Oliveira built a figurine of Leonardo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for his son, Neo. 

"Ned is incredibly clever and talented," she said.

"It’s not just the fibreglass figures, but also things like oil paintings, sculpting with cement and wood working.

"He built the characters for our children before his diagnosis, firstly the Mickey Mouse and then Leonardo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because our son, Neo, loved the character.

"Ned was working full-time when he built them, so he used all his free time to get them finished and built them in our garden.”

Pictured: Ned Oliveira built furniture for the family house after his cancer treatment. 

Mr Oliveira has not been able to work with fiberglass since his diagnosis but has found other creative outlets. 

“Shortly before Ned’s diagnosis, we were meant to be buying a house and absolutely everything was packed up and we had got rid of all the furniture ready for the move,” said Mrs Oliveira.

“When he got his diagnosis, we could no longer purchase the property, so we were left with an empty house and everything in boxes.

Pictured: Neo Oliveira in the tank bed that his father built him. 

“Ned went to the UK for six weeks for treatment and, when he came back, he managed to get hold of a load of free wood.

“He then built completely new furniture for the house from scratch and even built a bed in the shape of an army tank for our son.”

Mr Oliveira was formerly in the army reserves.

“Neo loved his army room and Ned made a canopy area as well, which Neo’s friends loved to come and play or sleep in,” said Mrs Oliveira. 

Pictured: Neo Oliveira was delighted when his dad built him an army-themed bedroom.

“Our daughter, Jessie, was too old for furniture like that so Ned made her some really nice built-in furniture," said Mrs Oliveira.

Mrs Oliveira said that Mr Oliveira can turn his hand to any creative discipline. 

“We enjoy watching Bob Ross [an American art instructor and television host] together and Ned said he wanted to try one of the painting tutorials.

“We both tried and mine was not very good. When I saw Ned’s painting, it was perfect on the first attempt, and it only took him two hours to complete.

Pictured: Ned Oliveira has a talent for oil painting. 

Pictured: A bonsai tree mural painted by Ned Oliveira in his family home.

“Ned told me he wanted to paint a bonsai tree. I didn’t realise he meant he wanted to paint the walls, but now we have a massive mural up the stairs.

“Ned also painted a picture for our daughter’s room. The children really appreciate how talented their dad is.”

Pictured: Ned Oliveira built a concrete bird bath for his wife. 

Mrs Oliveira said that Mr Oliveira undertakes creative projects to bring his family joy. 

“Ned knows that I love wildlife, so he started making me something out of concrete. I didn’t know what it was at first, but when it started to take shape, it was a lovely bird bath for me for the garden.”

Mr Oliveira’s second attempt at working with concrete saw him create a Bambi statue, which is on display in the family’s front garden.

Pictured: One of Ned Oliveira's many creations - a Bambi statue from concrete.

Mrs Oliveira said that one of Mr Oliveira’s creations was vandalised.

“During the lockdown, Ned had taken the Mickey Mouse down to repaint and, while it was down, some kids dragged it up and down the street and it was completely damaged.

“Because all the shops were closed during the lockdown, Ned had to repair it with art supplies we had at home, but it needs to be redone with the proper products.”

Mr Oliveira’s art continues to bring happiness not only to his family but also to passers-by who can see his creations on display. 

Pictured: Fibreglass figures handmade by Ned Oliveira.