Holiday Portrait Give Away

"Symmetry in White," acrylic on canvasboard, 6" x 12", exquisitely framed and ready for delivery to the 49th Annual Thumb Exhibition which opens later this week. Inquiries may come to me.

Ahh, summer's officially over. At least in these parts, since the kids got on their respective buses this morning and headed to school. The house seems empty, but it won't take me long to find solace in the studio. The dog certainly didn't waste time in finding a key napping spot and checking out for the morning.

I hope everyone had a glorious summer full of skeeter bites and bar-b-qs and late night laughter around campfires, for that's what summertime is all about in these parts. We did that and then some and then a little more. There didn't seem to be enough time to get to everything we would have liked, but we gave it an honest try, and had a darned great time in the process.

But now it's back to work, with a vengeance.

This week I'm volunteering at Starkweather Gallery, helping to receive artwork and facilitate the jury process for the 49th Annual Thumb Show Exhibition which opens this coming Friday. I've also been called up for jury duty at the tail end of the week. So despite my itching to return to the daily painting routine, it looks as though things will need to be held off for a little longer.

However, it's long past time that I share an opportunity with you, one that I've tweeted (follow ksantini) and facebooked (Kimberly Kelly Santini) about in the last couple weeks.

I'm giving away - totally for free, no strings attached - two portraits for holiday gift giving, approximately 6"x6" each, valued at over $250 each. I've scheduled these paintings for the week of November 2nd, 2009, which gives the lucky recipients the opportunity to have a painting created for someone special on their lists. I'll also offer the option of a gift certificate, should the winner(s) not have immediate access to reference photos or wish to involve others in the actual portrait process.

How do you qualify to win your own Dog-a-Day portrait? It couldn't be any easier - you sign up for a new subscription to the Painting a Dog a Day emails (sign up over here on the right). If you are already a subscriber, no problems either - just refer Painting a Dog a Day to your friends and family and receive one portrait raffle ticket for each new subscriber you bring on board (again, sign up over here on the right). You gotta do either of the above by the end of this month - September 2009.

I'll raffle off one portrait to a brand new subscriber, and one portrait to those loyal referring subscribers (both to be chosen completely at random, perhaps by a total stranger I pull off the street). Winners will be notified by October 7th, 2009. Portrait completion relies upon winners' ability to provide quality reference photos prior to November 1st, 2009. Obviously odds of winning are relative to participation levels, but you are pretty much guaranteed not to win if you don't enter.

This is my way of thanking all of you who have followed along and shared my journey. And to those of you who are just joining, consider it a warm welcome. A huge part of Painting a Dog a Day is the giving back bit - whether it's sharing information or donating to animal rescue/welfare, or now, bringing original artwork into your home and on your walls. It's always my pleasure.

On another note, I've gotten an email from a subscriber that she hasn't been able to read the Painting a Dog a Day emails as of late - that they are coming through as a blank email with a big red "X". I redesigned the emails in August and fear that she may not be alone. Please let me know if you are having the same problems - shoot me an email if you are, and let me know what your email program is and what your Dog-a-Day email looks like, and I'll see if I can't get to the bottom of this.

For that matter, if your emailed Dog-a-Day ever looks honkey, you can visit www.PaintingaDogaDay.com and see the real thing for yourself without having to rely on your email server or any of that other stuff.

Ok, think that's it for now. For now. There's always more to come.

Thanks as always for following along - and recommending!! - Painting a Dog a Day to your friends and family.

Talk very soon,

Kim

ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

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

Paintings With Soul

Search This Blog