Couch Potato (Sophia)

"Couch Potato (Sophia)," 12" x 7", Golden Open Acrylics on an Ampersand Gessobord, commissioned Yorkshire Terrier portrait, one of 4 Yorkies I'll be painting this week.

I've added some new colors to my palette. For those of you new to the Dog a Day project and my artwork, I paint with what's referred to as a limited palette. This means I set the exact same colors out for every single painting.

One of the benefits of working this way is that because I am always working with the same ones, I become more intimate with the properties of specific colors, leading to a better understanding of mixing.

It also ensures perfect color harmony every time. I'm continually using a balanced selection of pigments that compliment each other, and never introducing a new color that might throw that harmony off.

And now, after working this way for 4+ years, I can almost mix color without having to look at my palette.

However, I found myself wanting to improve my understanding of darker shadows and deeper colors. So I decided to mix things up and add some new colors (darker pigments/values) to what I laid out.

This week I'm working with (the asterisked colors are the new ones):

Titanium White

Ultramarine Light*

Prussian Blue*

Anthro Blue

Pthalo Blue Green

Dioxazine Violet

Jenkins Green*

Terra Verte*

Green Gold*

Van Dyke Brown*

Quinacridone Scarlet

Cadmium Red Dark

Cadmium Red Light

Light Magenta

Raw Sienna*

Cad Yellow Dark

Cad Yellow Medium

Hansa Yellow

Can you see the difference in the colors from this week's paintings and ones I did over the summer?

Now I won't necessarily keep all these paints in my palette, but I will work with them over the coming weeks and decide which (if any) are my favorites and which (if any) are worth keeping.

Thank YOU for looking at, and sharing, my artwork with your friends and family -

Wishing you a very happy holiday season -

Kim

ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

The Third Book!!

Over the weekend I completed - and published - my newest book, "Come Sit Stay." This volume summarizes all the Dog a Day paintings from 2009 and has lots of other extras.

I've gotten many requests about ordering personalized copies of the book. I do regret that my workload precludes the offering of signed copies this year - I can barely stay current with email!!

In past years, the inscribing, wrapping and shipping of well over 100 personalized copies took up 3-4 full days. This December I needed that time for painting and planning a January exhibition (and staying on top of my emails)!

However, I CAN inscribe a card which you may tuck into the book. Let me know if this is something you would be interested in - and of course, with holiday gift giving, time is of the essence.

Meanwhile, you may order your copies directly from Blurb. (and I have a coupon code for free shipping on 3 or more copies to the same address - email me your destination and I'll get the code to you!)

Softcover, $44.95

Hardcover, $59.95

Image wrapped hardcover, $64.95

I also kept last year's price structure, just to make it a little bit easier for you.

Thanks so very much!

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

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