Green Eyes Likes Spam

Green Eyes Likes Spam
2008 - 11"x12" - Mixed media on wood.
www.ErikVP.com
(Not For Sale)

Sam wonders if his pet green-eyed snake would like to eat something else besides rats and mice. He brings green-eyed snake a can of Spam and tells him it tastes really good fried in a pan with a bowl of rice. Green-eyed snake likes Spam in a can. It tastes like rats and mice and he doesn't even have to catch it.

Say!
I like Spam in a can.
I do. I like it Sam I am.
I would eat Spam on a bike
or have for lunch while on a hike.

I would eat Spam in the rain
or riding home on the F-train.
And in Central Park sitting in a tree.
And even while I watch TV.
Spam is so good and yummy you see!

I like Spam with a bowl of rice.
It tastes a lot like rats or mice.
I will eat Spam in a box.
And I will eat it instead of a fox.
I will eat Spam here or there.
Say! I will eat Spam ANYWHERE!

I really like my
Spam in a can.
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam I Am!

It wasn't until after the drawing was complete that I added the Dr. Seuss, "Green Eggs and Ham" influences. I was thinking of a title and first though of "Green Eyes" since that's what I notice first when looking at the drawing. Green eyes, made me think of green eggs and ham. I like to eat Spam with a bowl of rice, so then the title became "Green Eyes Likes Spam". My wife saw the painting and I told her the title. She's a preshool teacher and knows the Green Eggs and Ham story well. She asked if the train was from the story. At that point, I decided to read the story and that's when I decided to mix my drawing with the story.

A few additions were then made to the drawing. I scribbled in the can of Spam with a rat and mouse in the pink section, added the rain drops over green-eyed snake's head, and the phrase "I am Sam" by the little guy on the bike. I referenced "Green Eggs and Ham" and made a few changes. I have an earlier painting called "Snake In The Garden" is also tied into the story where Sam is wondering if his pet snake would like to eat something else besides rats & mice.