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!

TV News

"TV News"
6x6"
Acrylic and pencil on Yupo

Sometime paint doodling results in amusing things. My ladders turned into TV news anchors...
Can you tell that I don't often watch TV news? :)

Beam Me Up Scotty....

"Beam Me Up Scotty"
7.5x5.5"
Acrylic and pencil on collage paper

I kept humming the "Jetsons" theme song while I was painting this.... :)
Another small one for my show next month... I'll probably be painting right up 'til the last minute because that's just the kind of girl I am....

Happy Easter!

"Think Pink"
11x15
watercolor on paper

A hippity hoppity happy Easter to all!

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!

Presto Chango...

"Come Climb With Me"
24 x 24"
Acrylic on canvas

As it so often happens when I see my paintings on the computer screen... all of a sudden there are things I want to change. The yellow parts weren't working for me... So, now they are blue.
heheeehe. I love acrylic.

Come Climb With Me

"Come Climb With Me"
24 x 24"
Acrylic on Canvas

This was just plain FUN! I had a good time playing with patterning within the dark values.

We are enjoying a sunny sunny day here in Michigan... Snow is melting quickly... Come on spring!

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."