30 Dogs 30 Days - Puppy Butt

Puppy Butt, pictured above, is one of my all time favorite Dog a Day paintings because it provided a critical Ah-Ha moment. It's a little piece, 6" square, that hammered in a big lesson. He sold right away, but you can order reproductions and other items through my FineArtAmerica storefront.

I remember painting it - keep in mind that after more than 1300 Dog a Day paintings, I don't recall actively creating too many of them. I remember being excited to start, so excited that I jumped right in, sweeping the background in with a wide brush I hadn't bothered to clean or wipe off. My color became grayed out and muted color. I cursed myself for being lazy (it's my greatest painting vice), but then I said, hey, lazy girl, you might have just done something pretty cool.

Laying the background colors down with a dirty brush mucked them up (I work in layers, and paint the entire background first before putting the dog/foreground shape in). They were grayed out, and not as pretty and bright like when mixed on the palette. Which actually was a cool thing, because those mucked up colors immediately receded into the background, building a sense of depth/space in the painting from the very beginning. This was my first conscious realization of something I had known all along - that gray color recedes and bold color moves forward.

You can read everything that is written about painting and you can study with the greats, but for me learning mostly boils down to showing up and doing the work. What if I did this? what happens when I do that?

That's why I am a huge advocate of daily practice. Picking up your tools, even if it's just 10 minutes a day, is the best thing you can do to grow your skills. I would not be the painter I am today were it not for 18+ years of showing up, brush in hand.

So do yourself a favor. Commit a small window of time to creating every day. Pianists weren't born knowing how to play Liszt, nor were painters born with an innate understanding of color.

And stay tuned, because I have some exciting news in the coming weeks about this painter sharing bits of what she has learned over the years.

Warmly, Kim

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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

“Rapt (Shadow),” from the Larger than Life series, 16”x22”, acrylic black lab mixed breed pet portrait on gallery wrapped canvas, $699. Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . SOLD. This is Shadow, who went missing on Sunday night. He belongs to a friend of mine, and has been a fixture in our community for many years. Errant fireworks scared the silly old guy into running off, and his family is busy searching for him. (If you happen to be in the Lake Orion/Oakland County area and have seen Shadow, please call 248-391-0867 or 248-391-6817) I’m confidant that he is safe (somewhere!) and awaiting discovery, but meanwhile, couldn’t help myself from posting his portrait as today’s dog a day painting . He’s constantly on my mind, and probably will remain so, until he finds his way back home. Hug your four legged guys while you can! Thanks, as always, for looking. And for sharing these paintings with friends and family, Kim Kimberly Kelly Santini http://www.turtledovedesigns.com/ dis

NEW! Etsy Store

One of my favorite unsold paintings from 2008, "Lashes & Corkscrews," 5" x 8", acrylic on canvasboard, depicting a tobiano buckskin curly horse, $289. Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com (but read further on how you can get a special deal on this painting!). Now it's ridiculously easy to browse my painting archives. All you have to do is visit my Etsy store . Etsy has a Shopping Cart (so you can pile it high with purchases from a variety of artists), is integrated with Paypal (although you may still pay by check if you prefer to), and is terribly simple to navigate. When the week has ended, I will have listed almost 100 of my favorite (UNSOLD!) paintings here, grouped loosely by subject matter. During 2009 I'll update the shop regularly, and add non-Dog-a-Day pieces as a bonus, thus making it easy to search for that perfect gift. Watch my daily postings for announcements, promotions and discount codes. If you do not receive the Dog-a-Day emails (

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