Giving back...

I was forwarded this email yesterday from the curator of the gallery that shows my work in Richmond and Charlotte. In the spirit of the holiday, I want to not only express thankfulness for my ability, but to “give” back by offering my thoughts to aspiring artists.

“Mr. Chasen,
I would like to thank you once again for your help and patience this weekend. The girls were absolutely spellbound by the outstanding collection you feature at the gallery.

The following are some of the questions that the girls had for Michael Sprouse:
1) Please provide any biographical information you see fit (birth date and location, education, inspirations, etc.)
2) Are your paintings based on real people?
3) Why do you choose to paint the faces of only women?
4) How long have you been an artist?
5) How many different works have you composed?
6) How long on average does it take you to complete a painting?
Any additional information you would like to provide would be appreciated.

I have an additional request, as well. Do you have digital images of Aspirant and Recital that you might be able to pass on via email? I took decent black and whites of them this weekend, but thought you might have something better.

Thank you kindly for all of your help. Please pass on our collective appreciation of Mr. Sprouse's work to him.
Jason Strong”

So, I figured that for today’s post I would answer these questions and see where it goes. I have been the subject of many individual student’s art projects, but this is my first time that I have been the subject for an entire class. It’s an honor for me to think that I or my work somehow serve as an inspiration to young artists.

Here goes:

1) Please provide any biographical information you see fit (birth date and location, education, inspirations, etc.)

I was born in Somerset, Massachusetts in May of 1965 though my family moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky in 1969. I was raised in Bowling Green and lived there until 1989 when I began traveling to different parts of the south eventually ending up in Washington, DC in 1990. Though I did attend Western Kentucky University at different times in the early 1980’s, I never officially finished. I mention this only because somehow along the way, different Press publications list me as having graduated from WKU with an BFA. That is not the case, I actually have never had a painting class in my life, though I did take several drawing classes, which I highly recommend for any beginning artist. I have several artistic inspirations, not only through visual art of course, but also film, music and photography. Some of the fine artists that have inspired me are Amedeo Modigliani, Chuck Close, Edward Hopper, Kate Kollwitz, Jackson Pollock, John Singer Sargent, though there are always more that I could add to this list. I am totally captivated by the lives and works of the late photographers Robert Capa and Diane Arbus as well as the films of Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein, Fritz Lang, and Federico Fellini. When I paint I listen to a wide variety of music, though a large percentage of that music is early American and French Jazz and Jazz vocals. The one important fact is that I can’t paint without music in the background. It is without a doubt an integral part of my creative process.

2) Are your paintings based on real people?

Though I have painted real people by the way of commissions, by far the majority of my works are based on vintage photographs that I find in flea markets and yard sales, or that are just given to me by those who know that I appreciate them. I go through hundreds of photos until I find the one that seems to call out to me. I then create an artistic portrait of that person. It’s a very emotional and spiritual process and though I have never met these subjects and they have been physically dead for many years, some kind of connection does form between my work, my process and the “energy” of the subject. I still find the process fascinating. Imagine if you could go back in time to the moment when a photograph of one of my subjects was taken and then say to them, “you know, one hundred years from now, a painting of your face from this photograph will be hanging in an art collection somewhere”. There is a cycle that forms, though I’m still trying to work it out in my own mind. Exercises like this and answering questions like yours really help me to do that.

3) Why do you choose to paint the faces of only women?

Though the majority of my works are of women, I have painted several portraits of men as well. For some reason, they don’t seem as popular as the images of women. There seem to be definite societal ideas at work in this. I think that society has been taught historically over the years that women are more artistically approachable as subjects in art then men. We are taught that they are have an easier ability to express and sense emotion. I believe that the core essence of art is about expressing emotion in one way or the other. There have been times when I have painted portraits of men, and because they were such close-ups of the face, people have assumed that they were women. You may also find it interpreting that I began my career as an abstract painter and I still am a big fan of well done abstracted work. In fact, I my last two works were abstracts.

4) How long have you been an artist?

I feel that I was born to be an artist. I remember when I was in 2^nd grade, the agor old question was brought before us by the teacher of “what did we want to be” when we grew up. Amongst all the answers of fireman, nurse and doctor, came my response of “I want to be an artist”. This caused the whole class to laugh and I remember very clearly the teacher telling me that I couldn’t be an artist because the chance of being successful were very, very slim. Of course, that was a long time ago. I began creating work professionally in my late teens, but I was working many different jobs at that time to financially support myself outside of my artwork. Now, however, I have been working full time as a professional artist for several years.

5) How many different works have you composed?

I have created so many different works of art over the years that I literally don’t know the answer to that question. I imagine hundreds though I have every intention of creating much more.

6) How long on average does it take you to complete a painting?

I’m asked this question often and there is no solid answer. It depends on the work and my mindset at the time, my level of inspiration. Some works take only a few days and others a few weeks.

Any additional information you would like to provide would be appreciated.

There is so much advice that I could give young artists that I have learned over the years that I don’t know where to begin. Perhaps I will write a book, because I have really had a wild ride, though I am grateful for every second of it. However, one key piece of advice that I would suggest is to strive to do something creative every single day. It doesn’t matter if it’s a doodle on a notebook, a painting, or rearranging items on a shelf. If your try to do something that requires you to think creatively each and every day, you will begin to see that there is beauty and inspiration all around you, no matter where you are or what type of situation you may find yourself in. If you can do that, you will begin to think like an artist and a whole new world will open up for you.

Thanks for your interest in my work and for your engaging questions. Best of luck to you all,

Michael Sprouse

P.S., you can learn more about my work on my website at www.sprouseart.com