Happy Birthday To Me

As of this day, I have been in existence in this life on this planet for 40 years.

I entered into this existence in this life on this planet on Monday, May 17th, 1965 at 12:30 in the afternoon.

My Sun is in Taurus, rising in Leo and moon in Sagittarius.

On many levels, I don’t feel any different than I did when I was 20 or 25 or 30 or 35 - though I know I am.

For a very strange experience, go to Google, put in the year you were born and click on the Images link. This will make you feel very strange when you see a visual representation of other things that have occurred or came into being the same time you did. For example, check out the May 1965 cover of the The Saturday Evening Post,



It is Brigitte Bardot under the headline "I Want To Live Forever" ( strangely appropriate) Of course, she was 30 then. Here she is now -



I wonder if she still wants to live forever? I’m not sure I do. A long time yes, forever… no. That’s what my artwork is for.

There are obvious pros and cons to turning 40. I’m going to focus on the pros as long as I possibly can. Tonight, I intend to gather with my friends and guzzle down booze like a man out of prison, today, I intend to be very self-reflective.

Best,

M. Sprouse

www.sprouseart.com

Be positively chipper about your birthday...or else

Today is Monday, May 16, 2005. It's the day before my 40th birthday and the 12th anniversary for myself and my partner George. It's a very strange time for me right now and it isn’t easy for me to put into words my thoughts on all of it - so , for now , I won't.

Perhaps I'm still just fuzzy from last Saturday night, which consisted of guzzling back an ocean of booze from many different locations, all within walking distance.

The trio, myself and George, and our neighbor ( who goes by the name of T - he is in the air force and recently back from an extended stay in Iraq), took ourselves on a little "bar crawl" into Rehoboth Beach proper. We visited everywhere from The Blue Moon ( the area's largest and most popular gay bar)



to Hooters ( T only agreed to go to the Blue Moon if I agreed to go to Hooter's ...ahem)



We also hit “Cloud Nine”, Purple Parrot, Obie’s By The Beach and more….

Needless to say - Sunday was very foggy indeed. And now - here tis, Monday - my anniversary and the day before my 40th birthday. 40 is indeed a “milestone”
but I’m not too strung up on it. I mean when you think about the alternative to aging……



It makes you positively chipper about your birthday.... Besides, I don’t want to be one of those people who gets bogged down in age. I have a close friend now in his late 50’s. Every time he has a few drinks in him, he starts down the “I am so old” path. It becomes very tedious.

Well, in closing I will leave you with this breathtaking Pre-Raphaelite
image by artist John William Waterhouse (1849-1917) entitled “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” -



My beautiful friend Mandy would have been an ideal Pre-Raphaelite model as the artists were particularly drawn to models with long flowing red hair.



One of the favorite models used by the Pre-Raphaelite painters was Elizabeth Siddal. She was the wife to Pre-Raphaelite painter and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti who was obsessed with her by all accounts.


She was a beautiful and troubled woman. Mandy and I have always been told about a past life connection that we share. I just had a thought - perhaps in one of them, she was Elizabeth Siddal and I was a Pre-Rapheliate artist - perhaps even Rossetti himself…wouldn’t that be something?

You can read more about Elizabeth Siddal here:
http://www.victorianartinbritain.co.uk/muses/siddal.htm

And see other images of her here:
http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/7371/pictures_siddel.html

"If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun" - Katharine Hepburn

Happy Birthday Kate - you will never be anything less than brilliant…
May 12, 1907 - June 29, 2003.

New drawing....

It's been a very productive day for me artistically. I got back into the studio for the first time in months and started working on one of my commissions and I also set aside some time to draw in my sketch book. This is a quick and small drawing I did based on a photo of my amazing friend Mandy. It's been a very productive day for me artistically. I got back into the studio for the first time in months and started working on one of my commissions and I also set aside some time to draw in my sketch book.

This is a quick and small drawing I did based on a photo of my amazing friend Mandy. What this drawing can’t show you is her incredible naturally red hair which is the envy of all who meet her.

You should visit her blog: http://madmadday.blogspot.com/
When you get a chance.

You Can't Escape The Mark Of Satan's Claw!

Aaaaiiieeee!!!!
Remember that word? If you read horror comics like I did as a child, you saw that often. It was usually the last word that flew out of the mouths of the unfortunate victims of heap big trouble in the horror comics.

For example (and these are some that I actually remember), it was the last word of the sinister clown seconds before his hideous clown head was ripped from his clown body by the ultra-massive gears of a giant clock a la London’s Big Ben (he had been thrown into the gears by the undead body of his wife, a one time circus trapeze star whom he “accidentally” forgot to swing the correct swing to in their act without a net). She of course, rose from the dead with noting but vengeance on her lips - she was VERY pissed off.

They were also the traveling salesman’s last words when he awoke in the middle of the night to find the demon possessed ax wielding farmer’s daughter that he had deflowered early in the evening.
As well as the last words of the career focused scientist hell bent on creating the missing link…..I could go on and on.


Truth is, the clown story scared the crap out of me and I would wake up screaming with terrible nightmares. My mother, from whom I had carefully hidden my reading material, was not too pleased when I informed her of the fodder of my nightmares. Of course, I had to spill the beans, because when she sweetly asked me what my dream was about and I blurted out still in a state of shock that it was about a “sinister clown seconds before his hideous clown head was ripped from his clown body by the ultra-massive gears of a giant clock a la London’s Big Ben”. This, she instinctively knew, was far fetched even for a 6 year old artistic child given to flights of fancy. SO, out the comic books went. I wish I still had them as they seem to be quite collectable.

While I’m still on the subject of clowns ( which - probably due to my childhood reading pasttime - I still loathe, fear and despise to this day). I did happen to run across a very interesting clown photo online…

This was labeled simply “Buddy. 1970”

Hmmm - not too shabby for a disturbing clown eh? Even if his name is “Buddy” and even with the long flowing stringy blue hair, unsettling oversized ruby red lips, and hyper -disturbing empty black voids where his eyes should be. This is the type of fella that operates the ride at your own risk “Mighty Mouse” at the state fair when it comes to town every summer.

Except this guy usually has a cig hanging from his mouth and a big oversized rainbow colored comb in his back pocket with which to “part and feather back” his turquoise crepe paper hair.

"Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese."

This is for all film freaks like myself out there…do you recognize the lovely young lady above? I found this image on line today and I just couldn’t stop staring at this incredible image. I must admit that I had no idea who it was at first until I read the name attached to the image - at which point I kept saying, “Really? It just can’t be”.

This happens to be none other than Billie Burke - best known for her role as Glenda The Good Witch from The Wizard Of Oz. I had always read that she was renown for her beauty and for a while she was the total toast of Broadway. Even the famous Florenz Ziegfeld fell head over heels for her and they were married in 1913 until his death in 1932.

She was 54 when she played Glenda the Good Witch and had a long stage and screen career behind her then. To read more about her amazing life - go here: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000992/bio

Monday, Monday....

It’s Monday morning. The image above is a drawing that I started last night and finished this morning. I have always liked Mondays actually. I was born on a Monday - Monday, May 17, 1965 at 12:30 in the afternoon in St. Anne’s Hospital in Fall River Massachusetts. That makes me Taurus with Leo rising.
Snort. Snort. Roar. Roar.



I was told by my mother (and I have no idea if this is true or not, but it seems like it could be) that the doctor told her that I was growing “abnormally fast” and that they would have to set a date and put her into artificial labor because it would be dangerous for her and my unborn self to wait full term which would have been in late June I believe.

So, they picked the date of May 17 and I was born at 12:30 that afternoon. I weighed 10 pounds, 6 oz at birth ( supposedly if the story is true, a month and a half premature). My mother was a tiny woman, only 5’3”. I guess it’s possible. It’s funny when I think about the “late June” thing because, with the exception of my sister ( born December 18), my two other brothers were born in late June ( 30th and 20th). I proved to be the exception no matter how hard the fates tried.

I was also informed that St. Anne’s hospital eventually burned to the ground along with many records including all of the records related to my birth. Fortunately, the County Courthouse had what is called a “birth record abstract” on file ( fancy talk for birth-certificate lite), since my original birth certificate managed to “disappear” as well from my parents collection of documents. Of course, if you had ever seen this “collection” you would understand that it was a miracle that any document came out alive once it was entered into the collection. I think that it was compressed under the weight of so many other “documents”, that it was forced into some other mirror universe, or perhaps simply disintegrated into paper and inky baby footprint dust.

Whew. It’s only 8:30 AM and it is a beautiful Spring morning. I think I will head to the beach and look for sea glass after I have my oatmeal. I will return later today with more fascinating stories and events.

Smoke em if ya got em.....

Can you believe that some candy companies STILL make this revolting, evil insidious candies?!!!! I have vivid memories of my childhood growing up in Kentucky about the little corner grocery store that was about two and a half blocks from our house. Most of these little places don't exist any longer as they have been replaced by huge mega-food stores ( Safeway, Krogers, etc..). But this was the early 70's and you could still find them. My father would give my older brother and I dollar and ask us to go up the the store and bring back a pack of Lucky Strikes. Cigarettes at that time were somewhere between 50 to 75 cents a pack. Whatever the cost, there would be change which we were allowed to keep and we usually purchased candy. You could get quite a bit of candy for 50 cents then.

One of my favorite sweets to waste my money on were those freakin candy cigarettes! They were nothing but ultra-white sugar sticks that had had the tip dipped in some sort of neon colored cancer causing red food dye. Some of them would actually blow out powdered sugar smoke!

So, not only was it bad enough that a 7 year old boy could walk into a store in Kentucky then and buy a pack of Lucky Strikes ( I actually did know kids who were smoking on the playground in elementary school!!!) , but we could also take our change and buy or own kid friendly versions of the same treat that we were bringing back home to our father!

Looking back now, I realize that the whole experience was a continuing circle of addiction spread from factory to worker to worker's child. There was a public service announcement that was very popular when I was kid called "Like Father, Like Son" which you can actually still view here.

http://www.littlemoviesinc.com/work/likefather.html

Oddly enough, I can't even watch this now without tearing up. My mother died in 1989 at the age of 52 from complications from breast cancer. She didn't smoke, but she did live with my father for 25 years who was a heavy smoker. A new report from March of this year suggests a strong link between second hand smoke and breast cancer in women. SOme versions of this report state the risk as 90% higher than for those who aren't exposed to second-hand smoke:


http://www.komen.org/intradoc-cgi/idc_cgi_isapi.dll?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&ssDocName=smoking

My father died from cancer a little over 10 years later. He was 63.

I can't tell you how devastating the cancer deaths of my parents at such young ages were for my siblings and myself. I actually think that there are still many unresolved issues connected to their deaths and life without them that haunt each of my siblings and I that we may never be able to address. We were so young ourselves ( and actually we still our - the oldest of us at this writing is 41 and the youngest is 26), when they died that, at least for myself, I can't help but feel some empty void in my life at times. I could go on and on on this subject, but that would be best saved for a later date -

My real point is that smoking is total bullshit. Each of my brothers and I were sucked into the smoking circle ( I for 15 years easily - until I was finally able to quit over a year ago - however the craving never really goes away). My sister thankfully doesn't smoke, but is married to a man that does. I can't help but wonder if there isn't some connection in there somewhere...

Many people, including myself until this morning, thought that candy cigarettes were outlawed in the US. They are not. The companies were only forced to change the name to candy sticks - a lot like cancer sticks only different...

http://cardhouse.com/a/candy/candy.htm

I Hear And Obey

My friend Mandy has posted a wonderful little tale about Derby Day - which is tomorrow, the first Saturday of May. It really is a special event for those who were raised in Kentucky (like myself). Even if a Kentuckian chooses to ignore it completely, it is still burned into the memory banks of their psyche in one way or the other from childhood.



Here’s the official drink o’ the Kentucky Derby:


However, after those run dry, I’ve seen some dedicated Derby Day partiers use whatever may happen to be close at hand to make that lovely Julip taste continue…..


Or

Or


I have actually never seen such drastic measures, but I do remember my school’s guidance councilor from the early 1970’s. He was ancient and wore his pants unbelievably high. He was a brimstone and fire preacher on the side and he told stories about the evils of alcohol. In particular, the one about the man who would strain Aqua Velva through a loaf of Wonder Bread for the squeezins.

Hmmmm….amazing what a kid will believe eh?

I hear and obey…I hear and obey….I hear and obey…..

This is what happens when your eyes fly open at 4:00 AM. You get out of bed and sketch. This is a Pen and Pencil study of Claudia Cardinale. An incredible Italian actress and one of my favorites. She was absolutely stunningly beautiful


And she still is



I was first turned on to her in the original "Pink Panther". But then, later, I saw her in one of my all time favorite films, Fellini's 8½.

So, I will name this day "Claudia Cardinale" day - since I woke up at 4:00 AM and thought, I'm gonna draw Claudia. Over all - not a bad way to start the day...

Wilde

It's been a very quiet day here...( said with my best "Salad Finger voice"). I've spent most of the day finishing the web page ( litteraly one page) for my friend Sharon's new bead shop called "And The Bead Goes On". Check it out here: www.andthebeadgoeson.net


I also completed a pen and pencil study for a portrait of Oscar Wilde that I have been commissioned to paint, which you see above.

SALAD FINGERS!!!!

David Firth, creator of "Salad Fingers" - wherever you are - I think you
are a genius!

Read an interview here: http://www.semantikon.com/firthInterview.htm

And watch the disturbing yet completely inspired "Salad Fingers" on these
links. There are currently 5 that I am aware of. Have speakers, high speed connection,
a flash enabled browser, and open mind for best experience.

http://www.fat-pie.com/salad.htm

http://www.fat-pie.com/salad2.htm

http://www.fat-pie.com/salad3.htm

http://www.fat-pie.com/salad4.htm

http://www.fat-pie.com/salad5.htm

Is that who I think it is???!!!

Let me begin by stating that I was saddened to learn of the death last week of actor Mason Adams. He was a key player in one of my favorite televiosn programs from the late 70’s/early 80’s -” Lou Grant”. . That’s him in the photo above seated. It is obvious by the fact that he is the only one seated at the desk, that his role was an important one. Another interesting fact about Mr. Adams was that it was his voice that was used for the Smucker Jelly ads - “With a name like Smuckers….” You can read his obit here on CNN.com

As stated before, “Lou Grant” was one of my favorite shows when I was a kid. True, it is odd that while other little boys were busy with fantasies about putting the pedal to metal on both Daisy Duke and the General Lee...

I was fantasizing about owning my very own desk and electric typewriter at the busy newspaper publication company where Lou Grant worked, sweating out deadlines and fighting for freedom of the press. Ah youth…..


Here is another very interesting story that I came across today - researches have uncovered a 2,300-Year-Old Mummy Unveiled in Egypt stating that they may “have revealed what may be the most beautiful mummy ever found in Egypt,". Read about it here.

I must admit though, that I was taken aback when I realized that the mummy that they describe as “the most beautiful mummy ever found in Egypt," actually turned out to be the following obnoxious celebrity:

Those crazy popular culture starved researchers!

Speaking of being taken aback…would you say that the following photo looks like a photo of Prez. Bush taken in his well documented wild and crazy youthful days?

If so, then you MUST see and read about the rest of the photo - hell, even if you don’t think so, check it out - click here for the scoop!

By the way, guess what I got in the mail yesterday? My very own, "I Did Not Vote 4 Bush" black rubber bracelet.

It‘s very cool, very chic, and, in my case, very honest. If you didn’t vote for him either, then visit www.ididnotvote4bush.com and get your very own bracelet and let your voice be heard!

Every office has one......

In Kentucky, where I went to High School, books were few and far in-between. Here were two of my favorites from the High School library. I had to pick one for my senior thesis. I choose "OfficeTramp" because I liked typewriters at the time, and of course, because I was one.

Needless to say, none of this is true, but I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to use these great images. You can find these and a lot more here: www.pulpcards.com

Let he who have no tread......

Here’s a surreal exchange that I witnessed today at the tire store. The following conversation took place between the only three people behind the counter.

OLDMAN 1: (loud enough to be heard by all in earshot) They say that Social Security will be bone dry by the year 2020.

OLDMAN 2: ( equally as loud) They do, do they?

OLDMAN 1: That’s right. That’s what they said alright.

OLDMAN 2: Well, I’m not worried, I’ll be dead by then

OLDMAN 1: Well, what about our grandkids? Won’t be nothing left for the young uns.

OLDMAN 2: (replying to Smiles but staring eerily directly at me) It won’t matter anyway because the Lord will be back. He’ll be back and start the 1000 year war and he’ll take care of everything.

OLD WOMAN: What was that song that I used to sing with my grandmother? (begins humming and then breaks into a song describing the day that the Lord will return - presumably to save then from the woes of an empty Social Security chest. ).

It was then, that I realized that my tires were purchased at Jesus’s Tire Shack. And that they would probably outlast Social Security.

Day trip to Philly....

Hmmmm…What could it be?

The sun that rotates around planet 1412 every 38 years? No.

A new breakfast cereal called “Spike” intended for consumption for unruly children? - “Curb your Tyke with Spike” - No.

Perhaps it’s something that will appear on every television and video screen known to mankind at exactly the same second and telepathically communicate with and eerie and echoing voice, “I am Zorthac. Prepare to worship me”.

Probably not.

It’s POLLEN - and it is what has been making my breathing a miserable hell for the last couple of weeks.


How can something so hideous come from something so lovely as this?


Cruel wicked nature…..alas.

Besides that however, today I am off to Philadelphia

to pick up my artwork from my last exhibit. The weather is supposed to be lovely, and if we don’t have a flat tire like last time….

All should be well. The exhibit went as well as could be expected - considering the curator FORGOT TO SEND OUT ANY PRESS RELEASES AND POSTCARDS!!!!

But he's new to the biz - and forgiven. I did get some very good press in Philadelphia Style Magazine from my work at Metro Living however. So that is a good thing. By the way, www.ionone.com picked me as their American Artist of the month for April. Now that was cool.....

Joan....Gotta love her

My incredible friend Mandy (who’s blog you can find under my links to the right), has an acute fondness for Stevie Nicks. While I am a big fan of Stevie as well, most of my fondness would fall towards big stars of the silver screen - and one of the biggest of them all was Joan Crawford.

It is true that she was bit whacko, especially towards the end when she was trapped in a self-illusionary world where she still considered herself to be the beauty siren of the stage and screen living in a world where any man would fall to her feet in praise. (as seen in this ghoulish still from one of her thankfully last films Beserk!").

That young fellow is actually supposed to be Joan’s lover and he has just killed the beautiful blonde trapeze vixen to prove it to her. Uh huh. It doesn’t hurt that Joan’s character in this film just happens to own the traveling circus where the blonde himbo works.

If you do happen to catch this mind-numbingly bad film one late night, make sure that you have sufficiently prepared your brain with your favorite drug of choice beforehand in order to capture and savoir every nuance. Like this scene where Joan confronts the blonde (soon to be dead) trapeze artist - who happens to look like an albino Flip Wilson.

Just one glance at Joan in that outfit with that stance means trouble! Check out the very upset pretty boy in the back - you know what he’s thinking - “that dame’s gotta big mouth alright, and if she keeps shooting it off, I’m gonna loose my meal ticket”. Alas. The blonde, by the way is palyed by Diana Dors - who actually did have an amazing life. Read about it here:

But this is all besides the point. When she was in her prime, Joan was just so “it” that she couldn’t be touched. Mandy also shared with me a hilarious story about when she went trick or treating in the 8th grade dressed as Joan Crawford. Brave little girl! Perhaps she will post it on her blog. I must beg her. It’s a story rife with idol worship gone astray and the vengeful punishing spirit of an icon from yesteryear. Perfect Halloween fodder! Yikes!

The Timeless Question of the Day - What have I DONE??

Gosh. Don’t you just hate it when the words in the image above come flying out of your mouth? Seems like it happens all of the time. I ran across this image on the net and I just couldn’t pass it up. So, of course, I had to come up with a few “situations” where someone would ponder that question…..like

• Throwing your fiancé’s wedding dress in the wash with your oily overalls
• Confusing the box of vintage Hustler magazines with the box of new comic books earmarked for the Toys for Tots campaign.
• Placing your new eco-friendly recipe “Sun Chicken” ( a lot like Sun Tea - only different ) on the buffet line at the annual 4th of July family reunion.
• Celebrating your promotion to Vice President at the software development company where you work by becoming so drunk at an investor appreciation party held by the board members of the company that you pass out on the dance floor and urinate upon yourself while your wife screams “I knew this would happen - you do this every fucking time!”.
  

Ouch. That one I have seen happen with my own eyes. Poor chap.

Well, there you go. Fill free to comment or email me any more additions to the timeless question of the day.

Damn those crazy dreams.....

The above image is a detail of a pen and ink image found on page 3 of my Visual Journal. Click it to see the entire image.

But that isn't the point of this post. This is about dreams. In particular,those freakin' dreams that wake you up screaming in the middle of the night.


If you've had them, then you know what I'm talking about. If not, then consider yourself lucky.

Think of the one horror flick that you have seen that frightened you beyond belief. Now, take that same film, multiply the fear and horror by about 20 and cast yourself in the lead. What fun! That's what they are like.

I usually only remember the dream that comes right before the scene that wakes me up screaming vaguely, but the scene itself is totally vivid, in complete brilliant color. They don’t happen as often as they used to, but they still occur on occasion.

So, the scene from last night goes like this. I’m in my old bedroom (circa 20 something years ago) in the house that I grew up in. I’m just hanging out in bed daydreaming. Suddenly, my younger brother and an unidentifiable friend of his come rushing in the room. They have very stern and serious expressions on their faces. I of course ask them what’s wrong.

“We have proof now” they say, now their expressions have changed into, lets say, someone who happened to accidentally stumble into little Regan’s bedroom during a moment of possession and levitation.

(Oh…I’m sorry - I thought this was the bathroom…)
So, he whips out a digital camera and takes my photo, spins it around to show me the image and says “See” - very ominously.

Of course, in the photo is myself on the bed, and about 5 inches behind me is the contorted face of some ghoulish demon man straight from hell ready to suck out my soul as some sort of macabre appetizer before the goat sacrifice. What fun!

Aieeeee!!!!!

Quick - Wake up screaming!!!! Wake up screaming!!!!

I don’t know why I had such a dream and I don’t want to know. I do know that I’ve had about what seems to be 45 minutes of sleep and 8,000 things to do today. Alas. What is the lesson here: Hmmm… the next time your brother wants to take a quick snapshot of you with the digital cam - just say no.

You’ll sleep better.