Climbing Patterns.....


"Climbing Patterns"
6x6
Acrylic on paper

Another tiny one for my show this month... It will be hung Sunday...... Reception Friday evening.
This one feels like a quilt to me... a teeny tiny quilt.... a quiltlet. :)

Still up here in Honor Michigan... My mom got some better news at the Oncologists office yesterday... Things are moving in the right direction... We also had a good showing of the house .... and it was my youngest son's Birthday.... Happy Birthday Bobby! (yesterday)
A good day indeed...

Enjoy your weekend!

Earn Your Stripes....


"Earn Your Stripes"
6x6
Acrylic on Yupo

Another tiny one that will be at the show next month.

I'm up in Honor, MI... staying with my mom while she fights Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.
We went to Traverse City this morning for blood tests...and all the numbers are going in the right direction... Yay! For 2 weeks we thought she had gout in her wrist... and that the gout medication was making her feel puny... Sure wish that was the case. It was a shock to get the correct diagnosis to say the least. Thanks so much to all you well-wishers... much appreciated!

Framey Framey Framing....


Framed Paintings for my show next month....
Taking the High Road series

I am almost finished with my framing for my show at Flint St. Gallery. It really is fun to see the new ones all framed up and relaxing on the carpet together... :) They are a spirited bunch.


My mom's health update: She is supposedly going to be able to get home this afternoon. :) I know she'll feel much better out of that hospital...as nice as they are there. She'll be getting her chemotherapy as an out patient for the most part. We won't know her prognosis until the blood test results come back from Mayo Clinic some time next week. Thanks for all the good wishes and prayers... Much appreciated...

Mom's Poppies...


"Mom's Poppies"
Mixed media with a fabric pieced mat

Unfortunately, a different sort of post today.... My mom is suddenly very ill with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia... We are waiting on some blood test results to see what chemo options she might have. Good thoughts coming our way would be much appreciated. My posts will be a bit less frequent for a while. Thanks.

Space Climb



"Space Climb"
6x6
acrylic on collage paper

I'm quite possessed with these small compositions... Not a lot of time or materials are invested and I guess it makes them very freeing!

We have a showing of the house tomorrow morning... so a studio clean-up is in order... Lord, I wish I was tidy in my habits....
Have a great weekend!

It's a Spring Thing....


"It's a Spring Thing"
6x6"
Acrylic and pencil on Yupo paper (smooth plastic paper)
(c) 2009

I just keep churning out these tiny paintings... Hopefully I'll have a nice selection for my show next month. If you look closely, it does have a ladder or two in it. But my scribbles overtook them. :)

It is an absolutely spectacular day here in Michigan.... sigh. Finally, a bit of spring!

Small Paintings...Small Thoughts

I've been doing warm-up paintings on a very small scale (6 x 6") that will be available at my show at Flint St. Gallery next month. They will be matted and simply framed and very affordable! ($75)



"Baby Steps"
6 x 6
Acrylic on Yupo Paper*
This one reminds me of those black jack candies... Licorice and chewy and very sweet. Also gives off a bit of a quilt vibe.


"Partners In Climb"
6 x 6"
Acrylic on Yupo Paper*

I just don't know what to say about this one. LOL Are those googley eyes or boobs?


"Round the Bend"
6 x 6"
Acrylic on Yupo Paper*

This one seems like a bit of a new direction...pardon the pun (round the bend)... I can never resist. I must have a secret craving for those black jack taffees mentioned above...what's with the pink and gray and black??? Maybe the Easter Bunny will bring me some black jelly beans to scratch this itch.

*So, what IS Yupo paper?
It's a plastic paper...very slick and non-absorbent. Remember finger painting as a kid? Yup, it's kinda like that. George James is a master with the stuff... and has a couple of excellent videos that explore all of the things you can (and can't) do with it.

Have a hippity hoppity fantastic Easter day!!!

Susan Schiesser.... another new favorite artist.



These 2 fabulous paintings are by Susan Schiesser (shown here with permission)
Starting from the left:

"The Pink Bridge"
oil on canvas
18 x 36
(c) Susan Schiesser

"Trees at Luna Lake"
oil on canvas
15 x 30
(c) Susan Schiesser

If you go to her site, you'll find her paintings have realistic elements mixed with hard edged designs, almost like quilt patterns. I also loved the first paragraph of her statement:

"Art has always been a part of my life. I began eating crayons at an early age and later, when I was six, I got into Big Trouble for combining all of my father's house paints into a wheelbarrow and painting big grey spirals on the side of my neighbor's house. I also painted rings on their trees, a practice I still can't give up."

Hope you enjoy drooling over her work as much as I have!

GO GREEN!


"Go MSU"
A block S (well, sort of) in our front yard. Yup, I'm that much of a dork.

I love the NCAA basketball tournament...
Especially in '79 (my graduating year from Michigan State) Spring Break with my gal pals at some bar on the way home from a camping trip in Texas...Watching Magic Johnson do his .....MAGIC! :)
I can't even remember what state we were in.... But we got most of the bar to cheer our Spartans on that year. (Obviously, we weren't in Indiana)
I met my husband at MSU... and our oldest son is a graduate too, as was his grandma, and his Uncle! So we have always been GREEN, even when it wasn't fashionable. :)

I obviously want a victory Monday night... but mostly I want a great game....
Go MSU
Go Detroit
Go Michigan

Coordinated Effort... doneish


"Coordinated Effort"
12 x 12
Acrylic on canvas

I think this one looks better in real life than on the screen... Can't figure out why exactly. It is certainly more decorative than what I've been doing recently. Really looks sort of charming and bright tucked in a small spot. Bouncy and fun.


Giggly Thing:
"Want to Make $$$$ with your Computer? No Risk! Simply press shift-4 four times in a row."

Jumping Through Hoops


"Jumping Through Hoops"
12 x 12"
Acrylic on acrylic paper
(c) Lauren Everett Finn 2009

Kind of a fun one for me... Though I felt a bit constrained by the smallish size.
With all that's going on here (selling our house, spring yard clean up, going through things to prepare for a big yard sale this spring, smallish solo show in May, etc. etc.) I'm having trouble focusing! Especially the finishing steps for some of the paintings that are almost there.

Quote of the day:
"The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up."
~Mark Twain

Coordinated Effort


"Coordinated Effort" ~Work in Progress
12 x 12"
Acrylic on Canvas
(c) Lauren Everett Finn 2009

I just stopped with this one... need to go make dinner.

It's almost finished but I want to look at it a bit before I sign it. There are a couple of awkward passages... It has a fun springy feeling though, and I'm kind of liking that....

Again, I'm not quite sure where or if this one fits in with the High Road series... Hmmmmmmmmm

Battling Resistance


"Battling Resistance" ~work in progress
12 x 12"
Acrylic on canvas

This is a pretty early stage of this one... Only a couple of layers of color so far. I love the patina that gets established with layers on layers of colors and adjustments. My note to myself while painting is: "Battling resistance and going through to the unknown."

I am hooked on Mighty Leaf Organic Spring Jasmine tea... It tastes like spring. :) The daffodils are poking up in the back, so it's starting to look like spring too.

Go Michigan State Spartans!!! Don't you just love March Madness????
Have a great weekend!

It's Complicated...


"It's Complicated" ~Work in Progress
12 x 12"
Acrylic on canvas

This piece evolved from "Complications" I have a bit more to go in the cream colored layer... I want that completely flat color, all hard edged, and there are still spots you can see through. There is some "ladder" imagery, but not at all like the rest of the "Taking the High Road" series, so I'm not sure where this will fit. ... It's complicated. (hehehe)

We are going to the Lake Orion Hockey banquet tonight (My husband is one of the coaches)... Pasta, salad and CAKE! What's not to like!? :)

Large Stones First....


"Large Stones First" Work in Progress
12 x 12"
Acrylic on canvas

I'm working on a few of these circular compositions at the same time. As I was painting it reminded me of a lecture that I read about quite a few years ago... (here is a link to the lecture)

I used different techniques with this one... painting, then drying it partially (with a hairdryer), then taking it to the sink and scrubbing off the damp paint. Guarantee you'll end up with some surprises if you work this way! There are a few things to resolve, but I think it's moving in an interesting direction.

We have 2 showings of the house tonight... Thank goodness for kind friends that will take us in to chat for a couple of hours... By "us" I include our 100 lb. mutt, Ivan. These are really kind friends! LOL