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."

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