Fine Art, Vintage Photography, Spiritualism, Applied Taoistic Theory, Early Jazz, Classic Film, Film Noir, Tarot, Old Cemeteries, Gourmet Foods, Early Deco Art Pottery
Chet Baker, John Lennon, Amedeo Modigliani, Robert Capa, Jack Kerouac, Chuck Close, Ma Rainey, Edward Hopper, Laozi, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, Marilyn Monroe, Jesus Christ, Zoraster, Sophia Loren, Jackson Pollok, Patsy Cline, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson, Shirley McClaine
I have no idea where to begin - though as each year passes I find myself drifting closer to the Great American Songbook and the legends that performed them, i.e., Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Mel Torme, Judy Garland, Chet Baker. I also enjoy the contemporary vocalists in the same genre: Madeleine Peyroux, Michael Buble, Stacy Kent
ARTIST STATEMENT OF MICHAEL SPROUSE
As an artist, I find that the most memorable art, regardless of its style, all share one common characteristic - it’s ability to successfully tell a story.
Since the birth of communication, humanity has been connected to the “storyâ€. We are lulled to sleep by them as children, enthralled by them on the stage and screen as adults, and are compelled to share our own with the young as we drift into senior-hood.
I have always been fascinated by the imagery of early silent film and vintage photography and the "stories" they portrayed. It is the same focus on silent communication, delivered only by expression, that motivates my work today.
I use in-depth expression in my work to relate interpersonal stories of lost love, hope, fear, desire, dedication, wistful remembrances and more. The faces I paint are symbolically reminiscent of vague and vintage dream landscapes which focus on the metaphoric mood and flow of each person’s individual story.
Most Recent Work
"Due Sorelle"
36" x 36"
acrylic on canvas
"Moonlight and Fog"
36" x 48"
acrylic on canvas
"Eyewitness"
36" x 48"
acrylic on canvas
This work is currently available.
For purchase info and to view
this work and more at in greater detail visit
www.sprouseart.com
and select the "gallery" link.
See this little button?
What's the first word that pops into your head when you see it?
I wear mine everyday. Why? Because war sucks.
As an artist, I believe in creating beauty - not destroying it, and life is beautiful. The PEACE symbol is incredibly powerful. Most everyone that sees it automatically hears the word PEACE in their head. Instantly. Whether you believe in PEACE or not, your consciousness has uttered the word PEACE into your being.
If you believe in the beauty of peace, then do what I did and visit www.peacebuttons.net and order your own. You can order one for a dollar - cheaper than most cups of coffee anywhere anymore. FYI: I don't work for, nor am I connected to, www.peacebuttons.net in any way. I just believe in peace and as a professional artist, I know the power of visual information.
"As I Lay Dying" - William Faulkner
"Trout Fishing in America" - Richard Brautigan
"Revenge of the Lawn" - Richard Brautigan
"The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966" - Richard Brautigan
"The Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster" - Richard Brautigan
"No Exit" - Jean-Paul Sartre
"Them" - Joyce Carol Oates
"Wonderland" - Joyce Carol Oates
"What I Lived For" - Joyce Carol Oates
"Zombie" - Joyce Carol Oates
"We Were The Mulvaneys" - Joyce Carol Oates
"Blonde" - Joyce Carol Oates
"On The Road" - Jack Kerouac
"The Stranger" - Albert Camus
"The Plague" - Albert Camus
Favorite Visual Artists
This list is in no particular order and is far from complete...
Amedeo Modigliani
Robert Capa
Chuck Close
Edward Hopper
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni
Jackson Pollock
Diane Arbus
John Singer Sargent
Richard Diebenkorn
Kate Kollwitz
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein
Pierre Bonnard