An Evolution in Abstract

June 28, 2015

Growing up, Lauren Everett Finn was more likely to be holding a golf club than a paintbrush. "As a kid, I liked to draw, but it wasn’t something I did all that often," recalls Finn. "I was an active tomboy in Rochester, Michigan. After high school, I went to Michigan State and graduated with an advertising degree, but worked at an industrial design firm, hand-drawing the precise detail parts of machinery, back when that stuff was all hand-drawn."

There were no artists in her family, so art wasn’t on her radar immediately. She got serious about her creativity after taking some watercolor painting classes.

"If it’s a challenge, I’m attracted to it; I want to figure it out," explains Finn, who does many of her works at the family’s cottage on Platte Lake. "And those classes were a huge challenge, but I had some great teachers and just kept at it."

After about seven years of painting, Finn began to win awards at community art shows and that inspired her to keep creating.

"It was exciting for me to get those awards at the local shows. It was like, "˜Wow, they liked it!’" Today, Finn works mostly in acrylics, creating eye-catching abstract works that combine color and clarity in a compelling fashion.

"With abstract works, you have a million ways to go. You have to have a goal, a thought, an intent. And you try to make it pleasant to look at. The hardest part is stopping. You have to know when to stop, when to say "˜Enough.’" This summer, Finn will be teaching classes at the Oliver Art Center in Frankfort and at the Old Art Building in Leland.

HOW I GOT STARTED

My husband’s job kept us moving every year, so I began doing commissioned pen and ink house portraits because of the flexibility. When we lived in Milwaukee, I was commissioned to do two large pen and ink posters, one of the Milwaukee shoreline and the other the water tower. I was pregnant with our first son and the detail work of the pen and ink made me nauseous. Those commissions just about did me in. To this day, detail pen and ink work makes me a bit queasy! We ended up back in Rochester and I started taking watercolor painting classes at Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center. Fast forward to today, and I’m doing mostly acrylic work and teaching classes and workshops myself, dividing my time between Honor and Oakland townships.

THE STORY BEHIND MY ART, MY INSPIRATION

Currently, I’ll think of a subject I’d like to explore, for example, committees. I’ll paint my idea of a committee in an abstract way using circles. Some of the circles will be leaders, some will form alliances, some won’t be paying attention, some will be wishy-washy in their opinions and easily swayed, some won’t listen or compromise. I try to give the circle shapes these characteristics. I never know if anyone else will get it, but it sure is an enjoyable process.

WORK I’M MOST PROUD OF

Moving from more realistic work to nonrepresentational or abstract. I find abstract more challenging. If you are painting a subject realistically, when the painting looks like the subject, basically you are done. With abstract, it’s all about emotion and design and endless choices. It’s like putting together a 10,000-piece jigsaw puzzle and all the pieces keep changing color and shape.

YOU WON’T BELIEVE

I work on five to six paintings at once. I’m impatient and find even fast-drying acrylic can dry too slowly for me. I also like switching from painting to painting because it tricks me into seeing the work with fresh eyes. I have been known to take five hours to paint something – but over a period of seven years. Walks with my dog along the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Shoreline are my inspiration and meditation. I don’t mind making art that matches your couch. I am an art book-a-holic. I played on the golf team at Michigan State. I haven’t picked up a club for quite a while and doubt that I could break 110.

MY FAVORITE ARTIST

Today? Wayne Thiebaud. He’s most famous for pieces of cake. His palette is light and bright and upbeat, but not saccharine. My favorite is constantly changing. I’m also inspired by my artist friends"¦ I love social media because I can keep up with what they’re working on.

ADVICE FOR ASPIRING YOUNG ARTISTS

Try to establish good, consistent working habits. Don’t wait to be inspired – get in the studio. If you don’t have any ideas, just play around with your supplies. You’ll find yourself inspired before too long.

MY WORK CAN BE SEEN/PURCHASED

Synchronicity Gallery in Glen Arbor, Detroit Custom Framing in Grosse Pointe Woods, the Oliver Art Center gift shop in Frankfort and at www.LaurenEverettFinn.com.