Skip to main content

Rusty

"Rusty," 8" square, acrylic and collaged papers on Ampersand Gessobord, pet portrait of an Irish Setter. Inquiries (including booking your own pet portrait, from miniature size [4" x 4"] to larger than life) may always come to me.

Rusty, my Grandparent's dog, had personality. The stories were flying this past week, and he populated his fair share. My favorite was when Grandma left the Christmas dinner to cool on the countertop while she enjoyed a sherry with Grandpa. They returned to find that Rusty had served himself a rather generous portion of ham, leaving nothing for the family.

I didn't have any photos detailed enough that would allow me to paint Rusty's true likeness. Which gave me the chance to try my hand at a more stylized method, something I've been wanting to try for a bit now - paper painting, or collage, inspired by the artwork of Elizabeth St Hilaire Nelson.

I began with a panel, painted it a dark, deep blue, and then layered tissues to create the green ground. Another layer of paint went down, a nice and loose depiction of the dog's face, to which I added more papers. Then more paint and more papers and the process continued.

It looks as though a bomb's gone off in the studio, but I don't mind cleaning up this mess. I just might try my hand at another collage before sweeping up.

My sincerest thanks for your emailed condolances. I cannot respond to all of them, but each one is just as precious as the other. I cherish your thoughts and prayers very much.

Thanks, as always, for looking at - and sharing - my artwork and musings with your friends and family.
Kim

TWITTER: ksantini
SHOP ORIGINALS & LIMITED EDITION GICLEES: at my Etsy shop
ORDER CUSTOMIZED NOTECARDS & REPRODUCTIONS: at Imagekind
COMMISSION A PET PORTRAIT: contact me
GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE: contact me
READING MATERIAL: Preview and order each of the Dog a Day books at the publisher's website: The First Year (2006-2007) and That's 14 in Dog Years (2008). If you would like your copy personalized, order them through me.
Labels:

Comments

  1. Unknown4:39 PM

    This is a beautiful portrayal of an obviously well loved dog! I love the technique you have used, it is inspiring to me. I am just beginning a piece where I will add other material than paint.
    I hope creating this helped in the passing of your Grandfather. Although I lost mine quiet a while ago, not a day goes by that I do not think of him. He and my Grandmom have become my moral compass. My thoughts are with you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. martinealison12:30 AM

    Je ne sais pas comment est votre atelier, mais toujours est-il que votre setter est simplement superbe... j'aime cette magnifique harmonie de couleurs...
    Pyrrhus mon mâle dalmatien serait bien venu aider votre charmant setter...
    Amitiés

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kimberly Kelly Santini8:28 PM

    Martine and Evelyn, thank you. Art can be healing and thoughtful, in the worst and best of times. I am so lucky to have it!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“Katie’s Moustache,” 6x12, pet portrait in acrylic on canvasboard, $90. Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . One glimpse of Katie’s face, and I was hooked. Not only did she fall into my beloved “black & white” category, but she came with a full moustache and doe-like eyes. I first covered the canvas with a variety of blues and purples, using a (mixed) light green and pink for the highlights. (Right now my palette has been expanded to include the following: pthalo blue red, azurite hue, cad red dark, alizarine crimson, cad yellow dark, and then for graying/hazing out I use light green yellow and ultramarine purple.) I lighten with titanium white and darken with one of the blues and a touch of one of the reds. As a side note, at this time last year I was really struggling with my limited palette (I went from about 60 pots of paint to 3), but I have lived the benefits – I am so much more familiar with what I can mix given just this handful of colors. My paintings are also m...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
33 comments
Read more

Golden Open Acrylics

I get all sorts of process oriented questions. Most recently I've been getting asked a lot about my paints and palette, which made me realize what a nice blog topic this would make! I use a Masterson Sta-Wet Premier palette box . This is comprised of a box (think Tupperware) with a sponge liner and a slice of palette paper that work together to keep my paints wet. This setup allows me to work with the same palette for about a full week, having the box open for multiple hours every day. You can see what the palette looks like at the beginning of a new session above - below the exact same palette after this week's work. For the last 25 years I have used Golden brand acrylics, mediums, and varnish. I love the overall quality of these paints and the fact that, when I have a question, their customer service department is made up of artists who actually use the products. Until last year, I used their Heavy Body paints exclusively. They have a buttery consistency, a little loose...
11 comments
Read more