05/17/2026
Jason Oberly's tribute to Ronnie James Dio
Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hell.
Though his parents were from Cortland, New York, Dio was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where his family resided for his father's service in the U.S. Army during World War II. The family returned to Cortland when Dio was very young, and he lived there until graduating from high school in 1960. Dio's music career began in 1957 as part of the Vegas Kings later Ronnie and the Rumblers. In 1967, he formed the rock band Elf, which became a regular opening act for Deep Purple. In 1975, Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore founded the band Rainbow and hired Dio to be the lead singer; during his tenure, the band released three studio albums. Dio quickly emerged as one of heavy rock's pre-eminent vocalists. In 1979, Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne as Black Sabbath's lead singer and appeared on three studio albums with the band, all three of which were met with success: Heaven & Hell (1980), Mob Rules (1981) and Dehumanizer (1992). In 1982, he left to form the band Dio, which itself had two albums certified platinum by the RIAA. In 2006, he founded the band Heaven & Hell with ex-bandmate Tony Iommi. In November 2009, Dio was diagnosed with stomach cancer and died of the disease six months later.
Dio is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential heavy metal vocalists of all time. He is known for popularizing the "devil horns" hand gesture in metal culture and his medieval-themed song lyrics. According to a version provided by the singer himself, the act derives directly from the classic Italian apotropaic gesture, which his grandmother often displayed. Dio had a powerful, versatile vocal range and was capable of singing both hard rock and lighter ballads. He was awarded the "Metal Guru Award" by Classic Rock Magazine in 2006. He was also named the "Best Metal Singer" at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in 2010 and ranked as the genre's best vocalist in 2013 by music journalist Sacha Jenkins.
Jason painted these portraits of in support of The Stand Up & Shout Cancer Fund in memory of Ronnie James Dio. The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund was formed to bring awareness and education about cancer with the understanding that cancer screening and prevention is of vital importance in avoiding this deadly disease that robs families of their loved ones.
The philosophy stems from the notion that “Knowledge Equals Power.” Cancer screening allows people to effectively plan strategies to deal with the disease early on and affords a better chance to overcome the cancer.
The fund is committed to providing free cancer screening programs and testing to all people regardless of their ability to pay. The fund will support community outreach programs and help provide the necessary equipment and personnel to test and screen people for cancer.
The fund also provides financial support to those individuals and families afflicted with cancer that cannot access treatment due to the overwhelming financial burden of medical treatments.
*The fund is committed to the early detection and prevention of cancer through facilitating access to medical screening and medical educational programs.
*The fund supports programs designed to integrate medical knowledge into local communities such as cancer screening programs, education on nutrition in cancer
prevention, exercise and overall wellness.
*The goal of the fund is to reduce the risk of developing life threatening cancers by offering access to preventative medical services.
*Furthering the commitment for patients to access to quality medical care related to cancer, the fund seeks to assist families burdened by the cost of caring for loved ones with cancer.
“You are the strongest chain, and not just some reflection” - Ronnie James Dio.
The artwork on the back of the Portrait of Ronnie's face has the Killing the dragon original art from long time Dio artist that created many album covers. To pay his respects Jason painted Marc Sasso's signature in artwork.
Jason would like to thank Wendy Dio and he is honored to be a part of supporting The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund.
RIP Ronnie
Jason proudly uses Wizards Products, Indasa USA, American Icon Finishes, The VsionAir Modular Workstation, Fisheye Filter, Innovative Tools & Technologies, Inc., Walcomspraygun, House Of Kolor, Anest Iwata USA, Coast Airbrush, Createx Colors, SprayMax, SprayGunner, Trulers
