Early Years: To escape a brutally strict and emotionally abusive childhood spent mostly in solitude, I turned to drawing and painting at the age of 13. In high school (1986-1990), I won some awards for my artwork, including a Certificate of Congressional Recognition, and sold my first pieces, which were portraits of the Sixties band The Monkees. No copies of these early works exist today.

I am originally from New York but grew up in New Mexico. Due a series of unfortunate events, I currently reside in Arkansas. It is my dream someday to move back to the Southwest. I miss the pine forests, and the desert, very much; and I have an ingrained fascination with the Native American culture of the American Southwest.

Interests and Influences: Some of my interests include poetry, Greek mythology, astronomy, and birdkeeping. My favorite food is Chinese, and my favorite movie (if I had to pick just one) is "Thirteen Ghosts". But I also really like "Men In Black", "Rosemary's Baby", "Hellraiser", "Strangeland", and "Alien"…well you get the idea. My favorite poet, second to Jim Morrison, is Edgar Poe; my favorite writer, Oscar Wilde. I deeply admire the artwork of Renee Magritte and Michelangelo. I have three cats and some pet and show quality chickens (see their website here). My taste in music varies wildly… The Doors are my favorite, and Alice Cooper my second, often trading with Marilyn Manson; but one day I could listen to Mozart all day, the next, some Ozzy Osbourne (love the Ozzman), the day after that, maybe Mercyful Fate, Dio or Savatage. I also like New Age music, especially space-themed soundscapes.

Music is fantastic, and I couldn't do my artwork without it. I have a simple set-up in my living room from which I do my work. I am a struggling freelance artist, and do not have a separate studio. My "studio" consists of my work-desk, and my stereo, which, besides my brushes and stuff, is the most crucial element of my workspace. I feel and interpret the karma and essence of my subjects, recorded right there with the music, a hidden track that most people don't hear or don't understand.

"What do you mean by a sympathetic listener?" asked Courtois, the stockbroker.

"A person with whom a current seems to establish itself; someone who feels, while listening, exactly as I do whilst I am playing, who sees perhaps the same visions as I do --" ~ Oscar Wilde, et al. Teleny or The Reverse of the Medal

My Jim Morrison Art: All of my paintings of Jim Morrison were inspired either by song lyrics, or by his poetry. I've made an effort to include the relevant quotes on the enlargement pages for each project; the lines from verse or poetry that really brought each portrait to life in my mind's eye. Through his written and vocal work Jim lives on, and definitely seems to be speaking to me.

I believe in accepting Jim as a whole package. I am equally annoyed by those who disregard his poetry in favor of his looks or songs, as I am by those who try to downplay his looks and dwell on the suffering poet bit exclusively. The thing that made Jim special was that he had the rare combination of all of the above. Looks, intellect, and a compelling set of messages. He was tortured, but he was also joyful. He was gorgeous, but he was also poisonous. That's what I sense from him, anyway, and this is what drives the artwork you see at my Morrison gallery.

And My Marilyn Manson Art: On my Alice Cooper website, I had stated somewhere that Alice was my Dorian Gray. Well if that be so, then Marilyn is my Rene Teleny. If anyone who is reading this owns a copy of Teleny, notice in the cover litho that Rene has a star on his left shoulder, similar to Manson's Baphomet tattoo. Coincidence? ...But I ramble.

Manson has brought to me a relief from an artistic hardcore gothic drought that I had been suffering on and off. Alice Cooper just wasn't inspiring me the same way anymore (see below), and I feel a connection with Manson that I either cannot or would rather not explain… Anyway, the resulting artworks are stark and daring, and are giving me a chance to really expand my skills with experimentation and more dramatic settings.

And you know, "when you look long into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you…"

The Deal With Alice Cooper. In around about 1992, I picked up Alice's then new album "Hey Stoopid" and was blown away. I thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. For years I painted Alice, despite local resistance, and general discouragement. I was lied to, conned, and manipulated by Cooper's personal assistant, and the managers of one of his restaurants as well. (Incidentally, to add to this delight, my last Alice Cooper art client stiffed me.)

Still, I kept up with the work; he was my hero, and I can be very stubborn; perseverance is probably one of my best traits. But the final blow came with Cooper's announcement of his becoming a born-again Christian. After that, the inspiration I felt seemed to lack some of it's previous zeal. Even so, I thought I would continue to paint the Coop from time to time, and keep the Love It To Death site active; but it really didn't work out that way. He just doesn't light my artistic fire quite like he used to, and I have now closed the site.

So now (and lucky for me) comes my MM invasion: pure, raw, unadulterated inspiration- you really can't beat that. Especially with a subject I'm pretty sure I can always take seriously, and who is likely to always be dangerous.

All of my illustrations are created traditionally. That is to say, by hand, without any digital and/or photo manipulation of any kind. They are hand-drawn and hand-painted, and each one takes a great deal of time to complete. This is a labor of love, for while I do sell my works, and I do accept commissions, I do not make enough to live on with it, but I am not concerned with getting rich anyways; I just want to get by and be able to keep these websites operating smoothly and be able to create that next big project. (If you would like to help me out, please click here to donate, or read about special ordering some artwork here.) I feel if I had to stop, it would kill me. So many projects, so little time. I've had some close calls, including having my internet service disconnected and my domain name suspended, due to lack of payment. Sometimes things are very difficult financially here. I also encounter bizarre random resistance sometimes, in the form of abusive emails or guestbook entries, and one time an internet stalker even began attacking me at a "Lizard King" forum and kept spamming the forum owner, demanding that my artwork display be removed. We never did find out who it was or why they were doing it.

I'm tougher than that though. Having found my real inspirations and regained my balance, I truly believe in what I'm doing and that I'm meant to do it, so I'll not be put off it. Come hell or high water, Sweet Tooth will be here, portraying and tributing my inspirations as they should be, as I think they'd want to be, and as I feel that I have to. Remember, "a picture is worth a thousand words…"

Michele E. Fusco, Artist/Webmaster, February 2008

...I'm sure you've gathered by now that I have more than one website, and separate Art Galleries. They all share this About Me page, so just click back to whichever Gallery you'd like to return to and/or check out…


Portfolio  ~ Jim Morrison  ~ Marilyn Manson  ~ Comments/Questions? Contact Me