Skip to main content


“Louisiana SPCA #1440,” 6x8, dog tag still life painting in acrylic on canvasboard, $120. (Myra, if you are reading this, please check in with me – you have the right of first refusal, but I do not have an email address for you!) Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com .
SOLD.

This is the second installment in The Dog Tag Series. I set it up this afternoon, not wanting to clean my brushes after finishing Kizzy’s dog-a-day portrait, and not having enough time before school busses arrived to get into something larger.

I was immediately drawn to this tag. The bright green color, the rusted links of chain, the bold numbers. After reading the note that accompanied the tag, I learned that Ginger, or the original #1440, led a long and happy life. But I liked that the viewer can bring their own interpretation to the piece.

There is a lot of soft, beautiful color in here. I tried to model the chain and tag with color temperature changes, and not just shifts in value. The biggest challenge was the diffused flow of daylight in the studio today – it’s great for even illumination of my palette and easel, but it did not create a bold shadow off the still life, which led to lots of puddling glazes around the links. I guess those softer edges add an aura of hope to the piece, so all is not lost.

Even after posting only two dog tags, I have already learned quite a bit about painting from life. And about setting up a still life properly. After I invest in a clip-on light, I’ll be able to create pieces with more dramatic light and shadows. Perhaps next week…….

Stay tuned!
Thanks as always,
Kim

PS Tags, collars, and other dog ephemera are welcome submissions for this project. Please include any contact information, as well as a means of returning your treasures (self-addressed stamped envelopes). Materials can be sent to 346 N Anderson, Lake Orion, MI 48362. Thank you in advance for sharing.



Kimberly Kelly Santini
http://www.turtledovedesigns.com/
distinctive pet portraits
& 4-legged paintings

http://www.paintingadogaday.com/
come. sit. stay.
enjoy the art.

Founding member of the Canine Art Guild
http://www.canineartguild.com/
the gateway to canine art on the web

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Picture Book "A Dog Named Blue" - now available!!

The cover of "A Dog Named Blue," now available from Blurb publishers. When I first painted Amelia I never imagined that she would be re-christened "Blue" and inspire a book. In her defense, Amelia had a number of other partners in crime - animals who's portraits seemed to fall into a specific color category and prompt color-centric names. In typical ADD fashion, my brain started spinning 100mph. What if I turned those muses' paintings into a picture book for animal loving kids? I shared my idea with three friends in the industry, and they eagerly offered their expertise. I am truly indebted to them. Illustrator and author Matt Faulkner and children's book author and literacy expert Kristen Remenar edited an early version of the draft. They suggested key plot/conceptual changes that made it oodles better. Designer Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson worked her magic, pairing the images with perfectly color

Tabby Kit

"Tabby Kit," 5" x 7", acrylics on a museum quality panel, depicting a tiny little orange striped guy from Morgue File . This painting can be yours for $289, which includes s&h inside the US. And in case you didn't see it, a little doodle of him is also available for sale here . Inquires may come directly to me .  Although it certainly doesn't FEEL like spring here (snow and ice and wind chills, brr!), I can tell that spring is coming. The mercury is rising a wee bit each day and the days are getting longer and brighter. Over the weekend we drove with the moonroof open just to feel the sun's meager and oh-so-very-welcome warmth (although the heat in the car was cranked, too, in the interest of full disclosure!). I wanted to work with spring-like colors today, and this little guy was still on my mind , so I grabbed a small panel and got to work. Of course, I also have Poppy to finish and some changes to make to another po

Dear Copyright Thieves

Dear Copyright Thieves,   Just because it's on the internet doesn't mean it's free for the taking. So let's just stop pretending the internet is a free-for-all.   Don't play the card that you didn't know - that's insulting. And don't also tell me that you meant to follow up and get permission but never got a chance to. That's insulting too. And by the way, don't you have a copyright protection notice on your own site?   And don't even try and point the finger at a third party who commissioned you to make a copy of my painting - again, an insult - you and I both know the difference between a reference photo and a painting.   And don't tell me that I asked for it because I share my artwork on the internet. I share my paintings and ideas and the stories behind them so as to encourage others to pursue  their own passions . I do not share so that those lacking integrity and morals can copy and market the images as their own