Said the Night Wind

#18 "Said the Night Wind" 7x5 acrylic

Happy Christmas!

Major and Why I Love Him

#14  "Major" 7x5 ink

I like this idea, but it misses the mark a bit.... stay tuned for more in this vein...

Bursting Bouquet

#16 "Bursting Bouquet" 7x5 acrylic

Of course I posted these out of order... I am consistently, inconsistent. :-) The vase is tipping, but it's because these blooms just can't be contained.

Modigliani's Mom After Her Thursday Wash and Set

#17 "Modigliani's Mom After Her Thursday Wash and Set"
7x5 acrylic

Hehehe... And she's not too thrilled with the new girl... there's a dent on her right side. My husbands mom was a lovely lady... A very dedicated elementary school teacher. Each Thursday after school, she would go for her wash and set... and make that "do" last until the next Thursday. Amazing.

Snow Day

#15 Snow Day 7x5 watercolor and acrylic

Well.... we got a tiny bit of snow last night... not near enough for my tastes but it's nice to see the white. This started it's life as a gesso primed piece of watercolor paper... then I painted the blue in watercolor, and lifted out the snow flakes and softened some of his edges. (If only it were that easy with some people I know... ;-) )

Compliments

#13 Compliments 7x5 watercolor and acrylic

My first inclination was to paint the background black... but the dark brownish red seems to work pretty well. Those funky edges in the tulips?  Achieved by letting the paint dry for a while then washing it off in the sink. Cool, eh? (Thanks Nick Simmons for explaining your technique)

Blue Matter

#12 Blue Matter 7x5 watercolor and gouache

This was completed last week... but I didn't get it posted until right now. A study in transparent vs. opaque. I can't decide if the transparent passages come forward (because of size) or recede (because of transparency).

I'm finding that the painting part of my challenge is coming along just fine, but the photographing, and posting is nagging at me. :)

In case you are just tuning in... I'm challenging myself to paint or draw (any medium) six 5x7's a week. I created a Facebook group of like minded folk... If you want to challenge yourself to do something, and need a bit of accountability... come and join us! Here's a link.

#10 Red Pine

#10 Red Pine

Here's a Facebook link to all of the paintings so far in the challenge... :-)

#9 The Red Headed Dot Dasher

#9 Red Headed Dot Dasher

I'll admit it. I made this up.

In the Spotlight... #7 in the yearlong challenge

#7 Pear in the Spotlight

#7...  Plugging away!  Feels good to be painting, and thinking about painting.

Fill in the Blanks and One Slice Gone,

#5 "Fill In the Blanks"

#6 "One Slice Gone"

On with the year long challenge I've started... These were finished on time, but not photographed and posted. You just have to trust me on that. :) Week one is never very hard... it's weeks 25, 37, 41, etc. that can be a bit more difficult.I'm kind of chuckling at my choice of painting pizza... Have you ever painted pizza?  Maybe you've never painted it... but I'll bet you've enjoyed a slice or two, right?


The electricians were here most of the day today... coming back tomorrow morning to finish up the wiring of the studio... I. Can. Not. Wait.

#4 I'm a Little Tea Pot

I had sketched out a bunch of silly ideas in one of my sketchbooks... And because I was procrastinating with packing, I HAD to flip through a couple of them. (Sketchbooks are a great source of inspiration....they are my idea magnets.) hehehehe.

#3 Spruce

#3 Spruce  Watercolor and pencil

I'm packing the studio to move it downstate... I really have a lot of art books.... REALLY a lot.

#2 Washington DC

#2 in my challenge... Love quilts... and doodles. Watercolor and ink on card-stock. Frivolous fun.

year long challenge begins today....

I've been in the midst of a studio move... Waiting on plumbers and electricians, and I have one more BIG load to pack and move. I decided I was whining about it entirely too much. I'd rather make art...so that's what I'm doing. And to keep me motivated, I've decided to challenge myself to the following:
1. 6 works per week (not necessarily daily...6 in one day works too)
2. 5x7 size
3. any medium or subject
4. begin on Dec. 1, 2012 and continue for a year (minimum)
ta daa!

Mr. Party Pants and friends....

I had some of the small collage paintings printed as post cards.... My friend Greta, at Maxwell's on Main (327 Main St)  in Frankfort, MI, offered to sell them in her shop. I ordered just a few of each, since I had no idea if they would sell or not... Guess who had to re-order last week. Yes... it was me! Mr. Party Pants seems to be the favored postcard so far. :) 

Queen anne's lace

For some reason it's extra beautiful this year.

Berry-licious

From our walk this morning... Love the blue and bright green combo.

Life is better with fun hair.

"Life Is Better With Fun Hair" (c) 2012 L. Everett Finn (sold)

It truly is.
She is tiny... (4x4) but makes you smile big! You can come and see her in person (and lots of her friends) at Art Walk, in Frankfort, MI... this Friday evening from 6-9pm.  I'll be at Maxwell's on Main.... (there will even be refreshments!) :D

The Better To See You With My Dear...

"The Better To See You With My Dear" (c) 2012 Lauren  Everett Finn

I'm having some fun now... :D  Come to ArtWalk in downtown Frankfort, MI... this Friday evening!
My silly characters and I will be at Maxwell's on Main. Artist's will be set up in many of the shops... Hope to see you!

Ms. Shortcake

Ms. Shortcake  (c)2012 L. Everett Finn

I have about 25 (or more) of these going at the same time... Paint is a flyin'!

Party Pants...

Party Pants... 4x4  collage and acrylic (sold)

Making lots of 4x4 faces and figures. I'm having fun with with collage and paint... results being slightly creepy... I love slightly creepy. Come to ArtWalk in Frankfort next Friday in Frankfort, MI, and you can see the entire cast of characters. 

Red Sky

Having fun with these small color studies in watercolor... They are painted on Strathmore "mixed media" paper, which is very smooth and absorbent. It's forcing me to put the paint down and let it be. It's a good exercise for a over-worker like me.

lucky ducks

Little warm-ups with watercolor.... This is the kind of day we're enjoying here in Michigan.... Aren't we the lucky ducks?

subject jumps.... hop hop hop

I've been skipping from non-representational (abstract) to representational,and back again. Keeps me on my toes.

 I'm downstate (Michigan) and sort of enjoying the limitations I have here. For example...I'm using the table as a studio space and only have watercolor, gouache and colored pencils. Wonder how long I can resist the art supply store that is a hop skip and jump from here. 

hop hop hop       hop hop hop        hippity hop. :)

watercolor...nothing quite like it

I'm down in Rochester through next week... No acrylics here at the condo... traditional transparent watercolor only.... well... not counting the colored pencils and oil pastels. I'm having fun getting reacquainted with watercolor. I just love how it does it's thing.

Between Worlds... color play

"Between Worlds" 6x6"
acrylic on canvas panel; (c)2012 L. Everett Finn

I taught a color workshop last week...and all that color mixing inspired me here. Unusual for me... not counting on strong value contrast to carry things.