Super Easy Über Tasty Vegetable Medley

My partner and I, for a variety of good reasons, decided to give up red meat about three months ago.

We’re also slowly moving away from poultry and I can sense that the world of Vegetarianism is probably just around the corner.

To date, frankly, we’ve not missed red meat. In fact, I rarely seem to think about it. Besides the obvious health benefits that come with giving up red meat, sometimes it’s nice to just to shake up your food routine a bit and try something different once in a while.

While the following dish may not classify as a food routine “shake up”, it is incredibly easy, wildly tasty and quite good for you.

It’s something that my partner threw together one night and it has quickly become one of my favorite vegetarian dishes. It’s also one of those divine dishes that only gets better when eaten the next afternoon for lunch.

I’ve even stuffed it into the middle of a cheese omelet on occasion. It transformed it from a pretty good cheese omelet to something that upon one taste makes you want to thrown a crown atop your head, march down your street and toss glitter into the air from your frying pan.

Though, it’s probably best that you don’t lest you end up in a padded cell somewhere.

George (my beloved partner and excellent cook) simply chopped up a mixture of our favorite vegetables (in this case, small red potatoes, fresh red bell pepper, mushrooms, a can of drained and rinsed black beans, fresh broccoli, baby carrots, and frozen corn), tossed them about with some olive oil, salt and pepper and placed them into a cast iron Dutch oven.

Place the lid on the Dutch oven and pop it into a 350 degree oven for about an hour.

What you’ll get at the end of your wait is a big hearty pot of something divine that smells so good, coyotes will howl.

We served ours on top of some brown rice which was generously sprinkled with Louisiana Hot Sauce.



As I mentioned earlier, the leftovers – should they exist – are even better the next day. Here’s an actual photo of the feast that I called lunch today.

I added a side of toasted whole grain bread smeared with roasted red pepper humus – and before you ask – no, I was not wearing a tied dyed t-shirt and shaking a tambourine while indulging in the deliciousness. Though, I have done that before and enjoyed the experience.

 
So, there it is. Easy, healthy, hearty and affordable.

Now, go eat your vegetables! 

Let’s, like, write it right Y’all!

I just came across this sentence being used to describe a product from very popular website geared towards digital design professionals - "All components was created on a 12-grid system, they like fit together like puzzles".

I’m including this actual screen capture of the sentence so you can be equally gobsmacked by its appearance.

The very fact that this sentence was not only constructed by a paid employee, but also - presumably - made it past an editor's gaze, given the OK, and then published on a very public (and heretofore professional) website shows that this is what now passes for professionalism in our culture. 

That ominous deep ringing sound that you are now hearing is the death knell of competency. Get used to it. Make friends with it. You’ll be hearing it more and more frequently as the weeks pass.

I’m not exactly sure how we have arrived at this point, but I have my theories.

I believe that there are several paths that have led us to the big Dumbapoloza complacency party. Complete reliance upon digital ink and the need to crank out snippets of copy at the speed of light in order to attract viewers, our crumbling public school system and the ocean of garbage that revels in ignorance while passing for entertainment are all factors in the dumbing down of America.

Make no mistake here, I’m not overreacting at the sight of one small, poorly written sentence, I’m responding to the clues that are becoming more and more prevalent with each passing day in this country. The public appearance of this one simple sentence (though you could pick from a plethora of others) shows you that the door to complacency and ignorance is now open and serving as a portal to it’s becoming an accepted way of life in this country.

You can see it reflected in American media, in entertainment, and perhaps most disturbing of all – at the voting booth. There are members of Congress that say absolutely moronic things. Smart people don’t vote for morons unless they have a plan to use them for some kind of purpose.

In that context, visualize the offending sentence as one of those loose threads that is pulled off of a suit in a slap-stick comedy routine. The thread is quickly pulled and the next thing you know, off comes the sleeve. Insert the comic slide whistle sound here.

Of course, my kvetching won't change the ever devolving professional standard. I am simply here to shine the light of awareness on this situation. It is my hope that others will do the same – though I realize that each time I turn on my proverbial flashlight, I am moving deeper and deeper into the forgotten land of “old school”.

But so be it, eventually the pendulum will swing back into enlightenment. It always does. But I’m afraid there will be a very long – and dark – path to tread before it does.

CNN’s Yellow Journalism Slip Is Showing

I came across an article on CNN this morning that reeks of sensationalistic yellow journalism.

While I don’t like to spend my time - or fill the digital pages of my blog – with posts of a negative nature in general, some rationalizing part of my psyche suggested that by calling the article out, some person somewhere may recognize it as what it is and, in turn, they may be more wary of such schlock in the future – or better still – make someone else aware of the practice.

I know it’s a large order - but if the majority of people called out the many instances of yellow journalism/sensationalism/infotainment that the news media tries to pass off as news, then perhaps they will stop doing it.

Here’s a screen capture of the article on CNN that I came across this morning.



I actually saw this article “evolve” to its current state. Just yesterday morning , the article on CNN.com had a title that read something like “Rare Kennedy family photos released” and a sub-header mentioning that they were taken at Camp David.

They were very nice and innocuous photos of JFK, Jacquelyn and the children. Some were of Carolyn on horseback, other were of the couple and the children visiting with family and friends and a couple of them showed a young JFK Jr. in the cockpit of Air Force one.

And it is those two photos that some web news producer - desperate to raise the hit count on the article - rebranded the very next morning as “Eerie JFK Jr. photos released”. 

What??

As you can see from the screen cap above, they even used one of the two so called “eerie” photos to highlight the article. Ironically, you’ll find no mention of the word “eerie” in the actual article. In fact, it’s the exact same article as yesterday which consists of a slide show of about eight photographs with some short captions.

It’s total bullshit.

In this context, every photo of every person ever taken in a car that later went on to perish in a car accident can now be considered eerie. Or, perhaps any photo of a person ever seated at a table of food must now be known as eerie should that same person sadly choke to death years later.

My partner George said it best in my opinion when he stated that because of this 24 hour news cycle/circus that has been created, new media is desperate for stories to fill every second of the space that will capture viewers attention first. And that is what throws the doors open to the shellacked garbage that is now passing for news.

The trick is to be aware. Be circumspect. Be not so ready to swallow everything that comes across the screen as valid. Be ready to pass on the paper cup filled with Kool-Aid until you’ve read the ingredients.

The rebranding of the Kennedy Camp David photo story by CNN is the perfect example. There is nothing eerie about a photograph of a little boy excited to be sitting in the cockpit of a plane. Most kids would leap at the chance. Even if that same boy eventually died in a plane crash years later as an adult, it only make the photo a coincidence. What you have in that circumstance is the opinion of an editor being disguised as real news for purely sensationalistic purposes.

It’s an editor looking to lure viewers -  the same way a Venus Fly Trap lures its prey.

Whole Foods Market Says Know the GMO

An article in The International reports that Whole Foods Market has launched a new labeling requirement on all GM foods to take effect by 2018. This is the first national grocery store to enact a deadline for labeling, and the decision will affect its 339 stores in the U.S. and Canada.


While the FDA and most researches in the field have deemed GMOs as safe, the well written article (linked to below) does a good job of clarifying the controversy, with these three lines, "Growing resistance among weeds is forcing farmers to use larger quantities of herbicides and pesticides. A recent study published in Environmental Sciences Europe estimates that GMO crops have resulted in an additional 404 million pounds of toxic pesticides form 1996-2011, a 7% increase. This suggests that GMOs are not effectively reducing the need for pesticides, for which they are bred to do."

To learn more about the GMO debate and how it may affect your food purchases : Questioning the Necessity of GM Labeling — The International

Pope Schmope. Same World View. Same Politics. Same Funny Hat.

If anything, the selection of Argentinian Pope Francis was a very shrewd political move with worldwide consequences.

Though I was raised a devout Catholic (but wisely left the church over 20 years ago), I find the fact that he will be revered around the world by people who actually consider him to be some fast track conduit to God a sad and frankly, pathetic, plight in my humble opinion. Any person who "'Staunchly Opposes Abortion, Contraception' and 'Believes Gay Adoption Is 'Discrimination Against Children'" is just another moron in my book only this time with a silly hat.


That’s actually a Dorito, but you get the visual pun don’t you?

The pontification of this man will not only ensure continued discrimination against LGBT people around the world, it will increase it. And, please pardon the pun, God only knows what else may be up the Vatican’s big, puffy oversized sleeve.

I know that I have friends and family that will find my words here offensive, but no more so offensive/terrifying than having a group of about ten drunken rednecks chasing you on foot around a few blocks screaming faggot fully prepared to beat you to death should they catch you - an experience that I have had by the way.

Some folks have praised this new Pope's crusade for the poor. As an artist who has toured the inside of the Vatican, I can tell you that there are literally countless and priceless works of art in every nook and corner that could easily feed a village of hungry people for a few years.

It was the first time that I have ever been turned off by a wildly impressive art collection because the hypocrisy behind it was so crushing.

Maybe when the Pope begins listing ancient works of art via Sothebys with 100% of the proceeds going to the poor, I'll sing a different tune. But, I'm not going to hold my breath...

“The Delivery” Art Flashback Wednesday

“The Delivery”
acrylic on canvas
48” x 48”
circa 2001
©Michael Sprouse
____________________________________________________________________

Today’s Art Flashback Wednesday is “The Delivery” (acrylic on canvas, circa 2001, 48” x 48”.)

This has long been one of my favorite works. I think it’s because of the unmistakable intrigue and mystery that he work evokes both as a painting and in real time.

The “real time” mystery surrounding the work arises from the fact that, save for photographs of the painting, the work has simply disappeared off of my radar. Due to an unfortunate computer crash several years ago, I don’t know who purchased the work and where it has found a home since its purchase.

Truth be told, I can’t correctly remember what year I painted the work, though I have a nagging feeling that it was around 2001. I do know that it sold to a private collector, but as of now – as it is sometimes known to occur with art of a particularly compelling nature - it could be in anyone’s collection in any part of the world.

The only thing that I can remember about this work was that it was inspired from a face that I noticed in a crowd shot from the 1920’s taken in Berlin. In my recollection, the crowd was composed of merrymakers in some swinging Jazz spot. She was standing halfway in shadow slightly further behind the main figures in the photo.

Her slightly askew body language and expression implied that she didn’t want her photo taken at all and that she had failed to escape the scope of the photographer’s lens. Not for reasons of vanity per se, but it seemed that she didn’t want to be visually captured at that particular time, in that particular place with those particular people.

Maybe she held some kind of dislike for the photographer – or maybe – it was love, or even lust. Whatever the reason, when I noticed her face, the rest of the crowd vanished leaving only her and her penetrating and eternal gaze.

When I began the work, I really wanted to focus on that sensation of being part of something yet not wanting to be part of something and the way it might register on one’s face. Once the work was completed however, I felt that the entire backstory had changed.

I suddenly saw her as someone who has just received a mysterious package. It’s not addressed to her. It’s addressed to someone in her life, perhaps her lover or mate. The package may have even be delivered by the ex of the special person in her life, or even one of her own lovers from the past.

Whatever the reason, she is all at once intrigued, anxious, compelled and mistrustful at the same time. She has just opened the door to “The Delivery.”

Fascinating Early Color Film

Recently, an old friend of mine and a brilliant artist (George Vitorovich) turned me onto an amazing visual find that he came across on slate.com

It’s clip from a very early, full-color Kodachrome film made by Kodak in 1922 to test new film stock and color processing. 

Not only is it mesmerizing to view a color film from ninety-one years ago, but the gesturing of the actresses themselves are equally compelling.


A studio actress mugs for the camera 91 years ago

I’ve mentioned in countless interviews and articles over the years how influential early cinema has been on my work. From portraiture to abstract, whether via traditional imagery or collage, I either consciously or subconsciously incorporate narrative elements into the painting.

I feel that I can trace this current in my work to my experiences as a young child be absolutely captivated by the imagery from the silent films that were shown on the local PBS affiliate.

In the early days of film, actors had a completely different way of interacting with the camera than we are used to experiencing today. Every movement and facial gesture held meaning.

Whether this way of gesturing and posturing before the camera arose organically from the stage or whether it came forth via instruction being shouted through a directors megaphone, I can’t say.

But, it’s undeniably there captured on film.

One can’t help but be pulled into the performances by the actresses. The line between a color test and a surreal voiceless yet visual message from the past becomes blurred when watching the clip. 

These performers seem to be reaching into your psyche and tapping you on the shoulder with a soft celluloid touch. In essence, these women with their fluttering eyes, fragile smiles and vamping longing are colorized ghosts from a distant cinematic past beckoning to connect to your emotional essence.

Perhaps, the non-vocalized  emotions are buried yet even still deep within our being. There must be some connection as it is easy to identify what the characters are emoting in the clip even without scripted words. That recognition arises from internal knowing. This clip is emotionally akin to blowing off the dust from the cover of an old book found on the back of a forgotten shelf.

The pages may be dull and yellowed, but the words are still crisp in your mind as you read them. The only difference here - there are no words to read…

View the clip here and you’ll experience the odd, surreal and potentially magical sensation for yourself… 




While the first “talkie” film appeared in 1927 and the majority of studio films followed suit by the middle of 1929, the manner of interacting via exaggerated before the camera continued for several years until actors began to reevaluate to the new technology and their relationship to it.

Eventually, the ever evolving relationship between the actor and the camera has taken us to where we are today. Though hard to believe, eventually, our current cinema will inevitably fade into the past and prove to be the fascinating fodder for distant generations. 

Until then, we can feast upon this treasure of a  clip which indeed truly is “bewitching”.

The full length article on salon.com can be found here:

This 1922 Kodachrome Test Footage is Strangely Bewitching

Another one bites the fairy dust…

Spotlight.

Center stage.

A man is standing on a soapbox. He clears his throat.

Man (with gusto and gesturing) : "Surely there must be more important news items in the world for CNN to cover as their lead headlines on their website other than the suicide of a troubled, faded country music artist with a one-hit-wonder ribbon from twenty years ago and a South African Olympian now on trial for murder.

In my humble opinion, this once worthwhile news source has gleefully skipped over the line into “infotainment” and tossed rose petals in the air while doing so.

It's a small wonder that so many citizens here in the states are so uninformed and care so little about truly serious issues. They are lulled into complacency by an American Idol mentality that has tinted almost every major news source in this country. To deny this is to shove one's head deep in the sand."

I don’t know how to fix this massive problem in our culture, but I do know of a good way to start. Stop giving in to the yellow journalism that has been re-branded as news.

Stop being a deer in the headlights of every bright, flashing, rainbow colored unicorn bearing, candy-coated news item that taps you on the shoulder.

The next time you find yourself drawn into the beam of blissful ignorance and complacency – channel your inner-Cher and try a little of this action on yourself.



What you will eventually start to realize is that there is a much bigger world around you that needs your true attention – and not only that, you’ll feel better not taking on the energy of those stories.”

Spotlight dims.

Man steps off soapbox.

Exit stage right.

Artistic Flashback Wednesday…

Today’s featured work “Espy” -

"Espy", acrylic on canvas, 42" x 42", circa 2005 was one of those works that began as one thing and then evolved into something else.

Initially, this was to be one of my traditional portrait paintings and not a work with text, large planes of color or drips. While I was applying an initial color glaze to the work, I accidentally used too much purple.


“Espy”
acrylic on canvas
42” x 42”
© 2005 Michael Sprouse All Rights Reserved

The result was garish and very difficult to remove from the work (anyone who has worked with purple pigment can attest to its staying power). While contemplating the now very purple addition to the work and how to take care of it, I suddenly had the concept of rain running down a window pane. Like falling dominoes, my thoughts went back to a wonderful old brownstone in DC that I lived in many years ago that had spectacular and original stained glass from the 1890's. When it would rain, the patterns and the colors that would form on the walls during the process were quite impressive.

It was then that I decided to work the painting with a backstory of a young woman staring through a stained glass pane of a doorway during a rainstorm. She is intently watching someone or something and she is lost in a flood of memories which are represented by the journal entries that have been superimposed over the portrait. The dripping is symbolic not only of the rain, but of the passing of time and the mutable nature of memory.

This work was sold to a private collector out of The Arts Company in Nashville, Tennessee.

Eatery of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

This sobering news item gives new meaning to the phrase “eat your heart out” with a side of hand hewn, seasoned irony fries to boot.

Apparently, A regular patron and unofficial spokesman for the Heart Attack Grill has died of an apparent heart attack, the restaurant's owner said on Monday.



http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/heart-attack-grill-spokesman-dies-apparent-heart-attack-162858075.html

Art Flashback Wednesday–“Airwave”

Flashback Wednesday : I've decided that each Wednesday morning, I'll feature and earlier work of mine in a post along with a few lines about the artwork's back story.

First up - "Airwave"


“Airwave” circa 2000 - 2005. Acrylic On Canvas, 36" x 36", Private Collector. ©Michael Sprouse All Rights Reserved

I've always had a soft spot for this work because it marked the start of a point in my painting process where I began to incorporate the title of the work as important element of the work itself. Prior to this, I titled most works rather organically based on whatever popped into my head after the work was completed.

The face in this painting was loosely modeled after a still from a WWII era film staring Sylvia Sidney. I can't recall the film, but I was taken with her expression in the still. I recall pondering over what I thought her character may have been doing in the photo.

And that's when suddenly I had a mental image of this woman listening to a broadcast from some underground German resistance radio station.

Just like a scene from one of those great WWII era films about resistance groups, I envisioned her and her team standing in an old battle bruised shed, gathered around a glowing radio intently listening to the crackling broadcast for the latest information and instructions.

I wanted to create an expression on her face of excitement and expectation as if she were listening to the words she had been waiting for. I added the distressed elements of the work to emphasize the underground, clandestine aspects of it all.

And that's how "Airwave" came into being.

By the way, like my work? Then, please stop by and ‘like” my Facebook Fan page.

Thank You Tom Tomorrow

Thank you Tom Tomorrow for your truth, your wit and keen insight and your acid-dripping sarcasm.

15 Scientology Revelations from Lawrence Wright’s ‘Going Clear’ - The Daily Beast

While I find most organized religions of the world ultimately nothing more than a roller-coaster ride of ever changing myths and laws used to empower those who practice them over those who don't, I frankly can't comprehend why anyone with even just a whisper of common sense want to be part of something so clearly deranged and so easily debunkable as Scientology.

This article, which references the new book by Lawrence Wright titled Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, is down-right shocking and almost too incredible to believe. In fact, I probabbly wouldn't believe the majority of it were it not for Scientology's completely loony history.

In the hard drive of my mind, it's going into the sub-directory labeled WTF.

15 Scientology Revelations from Lawrence Wright’s ‘Going Clear’ - The Daily Beast

The Work of Artist Carrie McGee

 
An extremely talented artist, a great friend, and fortunately for me – a fantastic sister-in-law – , Carrie McGee has made quite the mark on the contemporary art scene throughout the South, the Mid-Atlantic and New England.

Her compelling work – whether installed or suspended, upon first view, are elegant and deceivingly simple – yet don’t be fooled. A closer inspection of the panels reveal a visual realm of complexity and depth.

Like individual cells from film strip, each panel offers its own unique aspect of a story. When grouped together into one work however, a beginning, middle and end of a story is revealed. While it’s up to each viewer to determine the storyline based upon their own interpretation of the work, there’s a Zen quality about Carrie’s art that is undeniable.

For more information and to view other examples of McGee’s work, visit her website at www.carriemcgee.com

A National Moment of Silence

I, for one, am a true believer in the unmistakable power of a moment of silence. I'll never forget in DC, during the moment of silence for the victims of 9/11, when I stepped out of my art gallery onto 7th street NW with a lit candle, joining hundreds of others up and down the street doing the same thing in complete silence at the moment as bells all across the city rang for the victims.

The entire street, normally wildly busy, both traffic and pedestrians - came to a complete stop as we stood silently over our candles in a brief moment of shared humanity. It was one of the most moving moments of my life, and today, I can scarcely think of it without a wave of emotion drifting across my mind.



Today, at 9:30 AM, EST, there will be a nationwide moment of silence in memory of those killed at Sandy Hook. Out of the 28 states that have officially declared this moment of silence by the Governors, I am glad to say the the state in which I was born, the state in which I was raised and the state in which I now reside are all taking part.

I strongly urge you to do the same. Regardless of your stance on gun legislation, your religion or political mindset - or any of the other many differences that we are so quick to point out and wear on our sleeves in this day and age - come together for a moment at 9:30 AM EST in memory of these victims and in the celebration of your humanity - the one shared experience that we all do have.

Use the moment to reflect - yes, but also use it to release. Use it to release the sadness, the pain, the energy and - perhaps most importantly - the spirits of these victims back into the cosmos.
And do it with love.

The Brother’s Grimm

First - Visit www.google.com today to scroll through their entertaining and wonderfully illustrated visual presentation of the story of Little Red Riding Hood created in honor of the 200th anniversary of the first publishing of Grimm's Fairy Tales.


Then, click the link below to learn about the back story of the Brother's Grimm - The real Brothers Grimm were stranger than fiction - CSMonitor.com

Asking Questions : Learn from the pros how to do it right.

100 years ago when I first arrived in Washington, D.C., my first job was that of a field canvasser for the national office of a long standing environmental non-profit lobbying organization.

The office at that time was on Capitol Hill and every week day afternoon, and one Saturday a month, I and my fellow canvassers would load into a large van and then be driven to one of the many suburbs of Virginia and Maryland outside of DC. 

Once there, we would go from door to door soliciting donations, signatures on a petition and getting concerned folks to write letters to their elected officials.

I was in my early twenties then and it was a time in my life when I found the work rewarding. It was for a cause that I believed in (and still do), it was certainly challenging work and – at the end of the day – it was actually fun. 

I stayed with the job for a few years and I made some wonderful friends with whom I am still close to today some twenty plus years later. I also can honestly say that I spent several years of my younger days working for a great cause.

Today, when the conversation turns to “jobs I once had” and I mention my door to door experience, many simply can’t fathom going up to the front door of a total stranger, ringing the bell and asking whomever answers for a donation and a signature on a petition.

Despite their aghast expressions, I tell them that out of the many important things that I learned how to do - and how to do well - from that work experience was how to communicate.



Trust me when I tell you that you’ll have little success walking up to a complete stranger’s door and leaving with a donation check from that person unless you know how to engage them. That means learning how to ask the right questions in the right manner, how to listen to their response and how to recognize visual clues that will lead you to the results you seek.

To this day, whether I’m working with clients, brainstorming with other creative professionals or simply chatting with peers, the lessons that I learned from those years spent going door to door have a very present and positive influence upon the way I communicate.

I promise that I’ll expand upon those methods in a future post, but in the interim, a great start would be to read this well written article that I came across this morning via a tweet from Fast Company titled “The One Conversational Tool That Will Make You Better At Absolutely Everything”.

It contains some very good points about what to do and what not to do when asking questions. These pointers will serves you well no matter what kind of Q and A session in which you may find yourself engaged.

In fact, it was the reading of the article that sent me on my little trip down memory lane this morning when I recognized that I used to use some of the very same methods referenced within it when I was working as a canvasser.

And I still use them today.

If you have any upcoming situations where asking questions and listening to answers will become a major factor, do yourself a favor and read the article.

The wise words will serve you well.

Now That's A Swinging Tree...

Hey Folks - My tree wishes thee a Happy Holiday Season!

Created with cinemagr.am

Photo Restoration Joy

It will come as no surprise to those who know me and know my work that I have a definitive weakness for vintage and antique photography. In fact, I have several hundred in my personal collection that I have amassed over the years.

Some of these light captures of the past I have purchased, but most have either ben given to me or the photos have simply ended up in my collection by a chance find here or there.

What some of you may not know is that I have spent many years working as a specialist in photo restoration and colorization.

With the holiday season upon us, I thought now would be a good time to publicize the awareness of this skill and offer it as a service for those looking for a unique gift and/or the opportunity to restore, enhance and preserve the esthetic beauty and importance of treasured photographs of family and friends from days gone by.

Here are some examples of recent projects. The “Before” image is placed first followed by the “After” (or restored) version.


Portrait of Young Man circa 1899. Before.

I purchased this photo in a Curio Shop in the Shenandoah Valley several years ago. As you can see, the photo has faded and has several small tears as well as discoloration from a red fluid that had been spilled on the image at some point in the past.

Portrait of Young Man circa 1899. After.

This is the same image after I digitally repaired the tears and the stains. I have also added color and eliminated the fading.


Portrait of Young Man circa 1890 - 1899. Before

This is another image from my collection. Clearly, close to 125 years of time have taken quite a toll on the studio portrait.


Portrait of Young Man circa 1890. After.

This is the same image after the digital restoration job.


Two Sisters and a Dog circa 1890. Before.

Also from my collection, this is an early Kodak Brownie Camera photograph taken somewhere in Philadelphia between 1890 and 1900. This photo is just over the size of a postage stamp.  It has faded greatly and there is quite a bit of fading and discoloration.

Two Sisters and a Dog circa 1890. After.

Here is the image after the restoration. It’s has been enlarged, enhanced and colorized.


Two Sisters circa 1950 - 1960.  Before.

This is an image that I came across online. The condition of the original photograph is quite bad as it is faded, creased and torn in several places.

Two Sisters circa 1950 - 1960.  After.

Here, I have removed the creases and the tears, enhanced the contrast and levels, cropped and straightened the photo, removed components that threw off the balance and added color.

Q: Can you do this magic for me and save my old torn, faded forgotten photos that I would simply love to have for myself and to use as gifts and future heirlooms to ever-thankful family and friends?

A: Why yes I can.

Q: Is it expensive?

A: Goodness no. I charge $35 an hour and most jobs take about one to two hours – sometimes 3 for very damaged photos. I have a one hour minimum. It’s a small price to pay really to become the toast of your next holiday gift giving celebration and the honor of your family for having the insight and vision to rescue the imagery of your ancestors.

Q: How does it work?

A: You send me the original photo and I’ll make a scan of it. I’ll work from the scan so your original photograph will be mailed back to you after the job is completed unharmed. Once the job is complete, I will email you a link where you can access the digital file as well as one complimentary professionally printed 5” x 7” paper photograph of the restored image ready for you to frame.

For nominal additional costs, I can easily have other prints at a variety of sizes created. Matting and framing is also available or printing on canvas and much more – including books of photographs, or prints on tile and other interesting materials.

For more information – contact me at michael@sprouseart.com or via cell at 202-643-2278.

Recent Work

"Winter’s Onset"
Original Digital Photograph and Vintage Ephemera Collage
©2012 Michael Sprouse | All Rights Reserved

This is composed of an original digital photograph that I took in the Shenandoah Valley Halloween weekend in 2011. Though no comparison to Sandy, a super-storm had blanketed the area with several inches of snow.

The snow in the area only lasted a day but it presented some wonderful photography opportunities. I’ve collaged the photo with an image of a boy from a circa 1850’s daguerreotype and some dramatic sky from another one of my digital photographs.

Archival pigment prints of this image can be purchased in my imagekind.com gallery here.