MONTHLY RECAP June 2020

Wanna learn how to paint butterflies in flight? Then you want to sign up for the free Creative Retreat Weekend, which is THIS Saturday and Sunday, July 11-12th. This weekend (which includes my butterfly lesson along with 25 other classes from international artists) kicks off Make Create Express 2020, a year's worth of weekly lessons delivered to your email box . More details, including how to sign up for the free weekend's worth of instruction, are here.

Studio News from June 2020

I feel like I wrote May's newsletter last week. How is it that June has gone by already?

While we are still a household mostly in quarantine, we have gotten out a little the past few weeks. Always social distancing and with masks as needed, but we went rock hounding (I found so many beautiful treasures, and the sound of the water was so restorative), kayaking, and took some wonderful long hikes with the dogs. We also tore the back sunporch off our 100 year old home and rebuilt it ourselves, an unplanned project that became necessary when we found a good amount of dry rot. I'm convinced it's just the universe finding one more way to postpone the installation of my pond, lol!!

I'm working in the studio on commissioned portraits, filming lessons (for #journalthroughit, my online classroom, and some other upcoming ventures), and dealing with some unexpected network and hardware issues (if anyone has experience with router boosters, please let me know!). I've also been studying with a handful of artists as I refine my own creative practice. One wears all the hats when one is self employed. It's a good thing I like hats!

July promises more of the same (although let's hope that we are done with the sunporch!). I am building a Zoom classroom for my local journaling students, since it appears we will not be able to safely gather still for a number of months. I miss them too much to allow any more time to pass without us creating together. I'm considering sharing this Zoom lesson as an on demand video - if you are interested, let me know (It will be a much more involved/complex lesson than the #journalthroughit bits, although leveled for anyone regardless of arting experience). I have 10 commissions waiting patiently and a couple (online) exhibitions to create work for, too.

I continue to be grateful for my collectors, both old and new, who have purchased work during this time and sent me notes and letters of support. I feel as if we are a chosen family, and I know how special that is.

Here are all the ways you can see my artwork and invite a little beauty in your world:

See them in your inbox 2-3 times per week - subscribe to my newsletters.
See them on Facebook - like/follow and then comment on my threads so I continue to show up in your newsfeed - I post art-related content multiple times daily
See them on Instagram - please follow along!
Visit them in person at an exhibition or gallery (check with spaces to see if they are open/open by appointment prior to visiting)
They are on my website and blog (my blog even goes back to 2006, if you really want to binge!).
If you can afford to, buy an original.
You can bring prints (and other items) into your home, including a new gallery of B ees, Birds and Butterflies.
Leave a book of my artwork on your coffee table or nightstand.
Write or make art in my Reflections journal based on the Siren series of paintings
Attend a journaling class in person (not able to come to me? find a group in your area)
Take a class with me - online or in person, in a group or one-on-one - for as little as $5 a month

If you are wanting to start an art practice of your own, please check out #journalthroughit. The lessons are family friendly, can be adapted for for all ages, with no previous art experience needed. If you want something a bit more advanced, my online painting classroom might be for you (it's $5/month, about the cost of a double venti flip-whip decaf two pump special drink). And finally, I am also available for online mentoring and critiques, to help you move your art to the next level..

Feel free to respond to this newsletter, shoot me an email, comment on the blog or interact via Facebook or Instagram. Locals can join my journaling group that meets monthly (we are hopeful for July..... time will tell!). There's all sorts of ways for us to connect!

THANK YOU so much for making it this far, for reading all my wordy words, for buying my art or taking my classes or commenting and sharing things on social media. I am so grateful to share this journey with you.

Warmly, Kim

“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...

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...

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...

Paintings With Soul

Search This Blog