Stanley “Mouse” Miller

Stanley Mouse

(born Stanley George Miller – 1940-    )

On October 10, 1940 famous psychedelic rock poster artist “Mouse” was born. (That is Stanley “Mouse” Miller to you and me) The apple does not fall far from the tree. His dad was an animator for Walt Disney and worked on the picture “Snow White.”

“I grew up around the dinner table drawing pictures and cartoons with him” –  says the artist.  Not a bad breeding ground for things to come.

He got the name “Mouse” in Detroit grade school from a friend he used to exchange jabs with.  It was cool and it stuck. He would sign all his work that way and from then on was known as “Mouse” the class artist and cartoons guy.

In 1956 he started at the Society of Arts & Crafts school. This was important because here he excelled in life drawing and discovered Art Nouveau. (This is an obvious inspiration later on in the rock posters)

He then (after about 8-10 years of painting like that) actually got so good, you know people said that,it looked like advertising art, it could be used as advertising art.

Pin-Stripping, Flame Jobs, and Monster Cars.  It is important to note that, Mouse became famous and rich before ever making his first rock poster.  This was due to his success at painting T-Shirts and ads for Hot Rod magazines and shows.  So successful his parents went to work for him running the mail order and managing business for 8 years.

In 1965 he lands in San Francisco. According to Mouse “The parties got bigger and wilder with the psychedelics and bands springing up. The parties got so big, they started dance halls”.  When the dance halls started – that’s when the promotion began with posters, handbills and postcards. This was the dawn of a new art form – the psychedelic art rock poster.

Through Alton Kelley,  Mouse would meet Chet Helms of  The Family Dog and Avalon Ballroom. The rest is history. Alton Kelley and Mouse became partners and collaborators for life. They also would do a poster a week- said to be over 150 from that period. These are some of the most sought after, coveted and valuable of the famous 60’s rock posters.

Mouse currently lives with his wife in Sonoma, California. His career now consists of licensing the commercial rights to his rock designs. He also continues honing his skills to establish his reputation as a fine arts painter.