Times Square and New Year's Eve

Place a message on a bit of confetti for New Year's Eve in Times Square....

http://www.zoomerang.com/recipient/survey.zgi?p=WEB227AC5GHEXV

Clinton leads in Iowa

This is a nice way for me to start the day...
According to the latest Reuters/C-Span/Zogby poll released today, Clinton is in the lead. You can read more about it by following the link here.

Clinton leads in Iowa

Early Spring?

Oddly enough, it's a balmy 58 degrees with rain and thunder here at the Delaware shore this morning. Of course, that's not the norm for December 29th.

I make no secret of the fact that I am a huge Hillary fan...



I don't know how much more of this buffoon



the country or the world can take.

The main reason that I'm not supporting Obama is his real lack of experience which he, and the media frankly, keep trying to downplay. It's important right now. Extremely important.

Now, this may be a weak analogy, but here goes anyway. Say I were to go away for a couple of weeks, and I had to choose between two people to watch my home and tend to my cats while I was away. Basically, I'm handing over power of my little world to someone temporarily and I have to be able to TRUST them to make the right decisions about my home while I'm away.

One potential house sitter has had quite a bit of EXPERIENCE house sitting and taking care of other people's pets. They're more mature with a no-nonsense attitude and have a long track record of house sitting and house sitting well. The other potential sitter has very little or no experience house sitting. He is a good speaker and certainly charismatic, but he keeps insisting that what I need is a change of the "old" ways. When I ask him about experience, he simply keeps stating that I should trust him to do the best job, simply because he has a fresh approach, or so he says, at house sitting. He wants me to simply trust in this fresh approach and not ask too many questions.

In fact, when I start to show a bit of indecision, rather than speak to me more about problem solving and practical experience as the first potential house sitter does, he informs me in a passive aggressive manner that if I don't choose him that I will never have another opportunity to do so, because if I don't pick him now, he will never make himself available to house sit for me again. Ever.
(Click here to read what I'm referring to)

Now, I don't know about you, but that last comment by the potential house sitter would have been viewed as childish and immature. Guess who I'm going to pick to house sit? Now what if the house that were speaking about is the White House and we're speaking about the next 4 to 8 years? And what if you were handing over control of such house with a massive sever storm brewing outside? Hmmmm...

Maybe it's not such a bad analogy after all.

Tee Hee

Winter humor...

At least I'm staying busy in the studio...

I have never been as out of the Christmas spirit as I have been this year. Ever. The economy is so miserable, despite what the Idiot In Chief says,



that we have decided not to celebrate the holiday this year. No tree, no lights, no gifts. Nothing. I'm OK with that. Of course, everyone will say that the holiday isn't about gifts. But, frankly, that's mostly bullshit. It's totally about giving and getting gifts. It's massive consumerism. If I hear one more person ask me if "I've got all my shopping done yet" I may go running and screaming into the path of the next bus. Ask yourself how many times you've been asked that, have asked that yourself, or have overheard others asking that question and then tell yourself that Xmas (at least here in the States) isn't about consumerism.

A recent friend of mine,who happens to be a wonderful artist, made a brilliant table top sculpture work that she showed me the other day. It consisted of Santa Claus being crucified on a cross. It was amazingly realistic. She told me that it was a statement about the consumerism of Christmas and I thought it was brilliant.

Of course, I no longer consider myself to be a Christian , so the whole religious aspect isn't there for me in any case at this time of year. But, I was raised a Catholic, so I do appreciate the beauty of the story of Xmas in an artistic sense at least.

What I do enjoy however are the lights. For the last few years I've considered myself a spiritualist who celebrates the "season of light". You don't need gifts for that. And also, it isn't about me getting gifts, it's about me being able to give them. Which, this year I can not. That's what sucks for me on a personal level because I love picking out special things for special people. Since I can't give gifts this year, I don't want anyone to give any to me.

So, what have I been doing rather than shopping and throwing money at a tree? I've been painting! That I love year round. And who knows, maybe someone will actually buy one or two of my works before the holiday which may tempt me to put up a light or two.

Here are my last two works. By the way, these are an AMAZING bargain at $350 each. But, desperate times you know....


"Unchanged"
acrylic, faux-finished color fields, ephemeral and vintage photographic mixed-media collage on canvas.
6" x 12"
2007
© Michael Sprouse


"What Kind of Star?"
acrylic, faux-finished color fields, ephemeral and vintage photographic mixed-media collage on canvas.
6" x 12"
2007
© Michael Sprouse

Is Traditional Painting Dead?

So, I've been up since about 5:15 AM. Frankly, that isn't unusual for me. But it didn't help my morning to run across this little article online. Check out the ( in my opinion) CRAP that was chosen for this "MYARTSPACE NEW YORK, NEW YORK 2007 COMPETITION" by clicking here... http://www.myartspace.com/contestresults/nyny07/

Now, let me get the record straight here - I didn't enter the competition, so this isn't a question of bitter grapes. This is, in my opinion, a case of "the emperor's not wearing any clothes". It never ceases to amaze me how many no talents there are out there that consider themselves to be "artists" simply because they love calling themselves that and are smitten with the "idea" of being an artist ( I've met countless numbers of them). Plus, the fact that there is always a cadre of artistically brain dead, overtly intellectualized, smug "in the know" cultural elitist ready to proclaim anything art (and purchase such) in order to keep this puerile movement afloat blows my mind!

You know, I've always found that the more you have to convince someone that something is something other than what it appears to be upon initial review, the more you need to re-examine it yourself (if it walks like a duck...).

Enough already!

Fading Monday....

It's the end of a rather long and uneventful Monday. Well, perhaps not uneventful, just not as enjoyable as the previous weekend. I'll have quite a bit to fill up this week however with meetings and studio work. Here's the last work that I finished this afternoon. It's titled "What Kind of Star"


"What Kind Of Star"
acrylic, faux-finished color fields, ephemeral and vintage photographic mixed-media collage on canvas.
6" x 12"
2007
© Michael Sprouse


So, the day wasn't unproductive by any means. But, by the time I drove the little over 2 hour drive in from the beach this AM, I just seemed a bit out of it - somewhat behind the schedule a bit. Though, the only schedule that I use is one of my own being that I am self-employed. It did seem though that by the time I made and took part in the phone calls that were on my list, read and send the emails, run errands in, around, and away from the house, the day had passed like morning fog.

In any event, perhaps I'll find the time to finish my new work that I started this afternoon after finishing the one above.

In Memorium: Dan Fogelberg

I was a huge fan of his music in the 70's and 80's and was just singing a song of his when I was working in the studio the other day. His songs and voice were so touching and heart felt. Many of them held, and still do, a very special inner-personal meaning for me. That will change somehow, I think, now that he is no longer of this plane. I had no idea that he was ill so this came as quite a surprise to me as I'm sure it will to others. A true loss on many levels...


In Memorium:
Dan Fogelberg
August 31, 1951 - December 16, 2007

Ugh...can one get by on 4 hours of sleep...

I just got my internet access back after not having such since last Sunday morning. I've also have been sleeping for only about 4 to 5 hours a night for the last week or so. Who says hallucinations can't be fun?!
At least I have been a very busy boy in the studio....



Recently completed work incorporating, acrylic paint, faux-finished color fields, ephemeral and vintage photographic mixed-media collage on canvas. Click on image until large version appears for detail.
"Pleasant Doors"
6" x 12"
2007
© Michael Sprouse

Hey, as of last week, you can now find my original works at this very hip place in Philadelphia...
Philadelphia Home Art Garden aka P.H.A.G.