I was reading OMG Posters! today and the first story on the page today was the news that the founder of I Want Your Skull was killed in a car accident this weekend. His son Declan was in the car with him and was thankfully unhurt.

I never met Ryan. But inadvertently he may be one of the reasons that I met Laurel. It’s one of those chicken and the egg moments. I don’t remember if I was aware of his website before I made the first skull door knocker or if I already had the idea when I found his site. But he was an inspiration for me to get off of my butt and make some kind of art. I made the skull door knocker. It was featured on his blog sometime in 2006 (the archives were corrupted in 2009). I used the door knocker image as my profile picture on MySpace. It was one of the reasons that Laurel sent me a message. We’re getting married in October.

Through being his friend on Facebook I could tell that he was a very devoted father. I’m so sad that his son will grow up without him. My heart goes out to his wife Sarah, his son Declan, and all those he left behind. I would like to thank him for just being himself and motivating countless people everywhere.

R.I.P.

Paypal Donations for Sarah and Declan can be sent to ryanaugustdonation[at]gmail.com.