Renaissance Munster

You may remember the 1960's TV show, The Munsters, but I'll bet you didn't know that Fred Gwynne—the actor who played Herman Munster—also wrote and illustrated children's books.

Who knew: Herman Munster—Renaissance man!

Here's an interesting documentary about the multi-talented actor, artist and author: Fred Gwynne – More Than a Munster. And here's a documentary about The Munsters TV show.

Fred Gwynne died in 1993 at the age of 66. As his NYTimes obituary explained, his career 'also included a stint as an advertising copywriter on the Ford account for the J. Walter Thompson agency, where he devised the slogan, "The world's most beautifully proportioned car."'

Speaking of beautifully proportioned cars, here's a drawing of the Munster Koach — a favorite of mine when I was a kid.

It was designed by George Barris, who also created many other memorable automobiles, including the original Bat Mobile, which is now worth over $5 million! Here's an interesting article about George Barris. Visit his website.

By the way, here's some excellent advice from old Herman himself. <--Watch!

Forward

If you haven't heard of sculptor Ray Villafane, be sure to read my Artist's Spotlight post about him, which includes links to his work and some of his pumpkin carving tips and techniques. As you can see from the sample below, he's insanely talented.

Each year I try my hand at a 'Villafane-esque' Jack-O-Lantern. He makes it look easy. (It's not!) Here's what I came up with this year…

I think I may have improved a little from last year, but what I find interesting is that all of my attempts so far look vaguely like the same person! (Click here to see last year's attempt.)

The highlight of this year's pumpkin carving challenge for me was that my middle daughter—who happened to be home from school for an all-too-brief weekend—and my son, both joined in the fun.

I reluctantly conceded defeat when I saw their creative designs…

…but I just downloaded an instructional video from Ray Villifane, so watch out! Time permitting, I intend to give it one more shot this year… with this greenish-orange behemoth I picked out at the patch last weekend. In the words of The Terminator himself…

…I'll be back !

Happy Halloween, everyone!

"And I might as well tell you the truth. I love old Herman Munster. Much as I try not to, I can't stop liking that fellow."
–Fred Gwynne

1. It's alive! Dutch sculptor Theo Jansen creates kinetic sculptures out of plastic pipes. They're a little creepy… and the artist says he's created a new form of life.

2. 10 Terrifying Ghost Stories from Real Police Officers and 10 Disturbing GHOST PHOTOS That Cannot Be Explained. And here's the Mystery of the Ghost Blimp. See this retro 'Ghostbusters’ trailer transformed into a terrifying horror flick.

3. New York's Island of Lost Souls: The largest mass burial site in America where more than 1 million nameless people are laid to rest in trenches dug by inmates.

4. If you suffer from arachnophobia (fear of spiders), you might not want to read this: The world's spider population weighs 29 million tons – as much as 478 Titanics. Not only that, but spiders could theoretically eat every human on earth in one year.

5. Turns Out, Spiders Have Tiny Paws, And It May Change The Way You Look At Them.

“No living thing is ugly in this world. Even a tarantula considers itself beautiful.”
―Munia Khan

Welcome, new subscribers to The Happiness of Art! Click here or on the image below to see past issues.

If you enjoy The Happiness of Art, please share it with friends. It's easy: just click one of the buttons below. Thanks!

Forward

Subscribe to this newsletter!

“Tis the night—the night
Of the grave's delight,
And the warlocks are at their play;
Ye think that without,
The wild winds shout,
But no, it is they—it is they!”
―Arthur Cleveland Coxe

“Halloween is a day in which some people choose to wear a mask… while others finally feel safe to take theirs off.”
―Steve Maraboli

Each month I give away one hand-signed, limited edition Giclée fine art print to a lucky newsletter subscriber. These small 'heart' prints are both matted and framed. Winners are notified via email at the beginning of each month.

Forward this Email to a Friend

“What could be more exciting than an October day? It's your birthday, Fourth of July and Christmas all rolled into one.”
―Peggy Toney Horton

Until next week…

There's only one way to sign off on this issue: Listen to The Monster Mash, by Bobby 'Boris' Pickett and the Cryptkickers! (That's weird: While doing a web search on a completely different topic, I discovered this exact song was the number one song in October of the year I was born. Look up the number one song on the day YOU were born.)

Subscribe to this newsletter!

Previous Newsletter Issues

Click here to read previous issues of The Happiness of Art.

If you like this newsletter, please share it with a friend. Thanks!

Forward

Are you unable to see the images in this email?

I'm more of an illustrator than I am a writer, so if your email client blocks the images in The Happiness of Art—you're missing out. This quick tutorial tells you how to enable images in most of the popular email clients, including AOL, Yahoo and Gmail.

About Me

Hi. I’m D.E.Uhlig. I’m an artist, author, husband and father.

For as long as I can remember, I have loved to draw. Years ago I gave my wife a hand-drawn card for our anniversary, and she loved it so much she made me promise to ALWAYS hand-draw her cards. Then our three kids made me promise to do the same with their birthday cards. And when I posted some of my drawings online, people began asking how they could purchase my work—so I created this newsletter. I believe in something I like to call “The Happiness of Art” and I hope it makes you smile.

Official Bio

D.E.Uhlig is an award-winning illustrator whose work has appeared in numerous publications including the Kansas City Star, Christian Science Monitor, University Daily Kansan, Editorial Humor Magazine, and World Policy Journal. Commercial illustration and design clients over the years have included Samsung, Sprint, and the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, among others—and his Starbucks RedCup illustrations have been featured on the company's Pinterest and Facebook pages. In 1989, Mr. Uhlig co-founded Uhlig LLC, a leading provider of cross-media publishing and communication services in industries ranging from residential housing to book publishing to cancer care. Mr. Uhlig is married with three children and resides in Kansas City. He is currently working on children’s books, ebooks and apps.

Follow me elsewhere…

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram