Paintings With Soul

IN PROCESS, WORKING TITLE "Cygnets," 11"x14", acrylics and graphite on stonehenge paper, $399 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. This piece will need to be framed and set behind glass by the buyer. I accept Paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Purchase inquiries can always come   to me . Every day I get at least one email or message, asking about my process. Which means I must not be doing a good enough job talking about   my online classroom,   where I share all the magic and more. This painting is being filmed as it progresses, and my students will get all the deets about my concept, and see the process from the underpainting to the finishing touches. Plus they get the added benefit of discussion, links to my sources of inspiration, learn what I'm reading and thinking about as I create. If this sounds interesting,   come on over   and join us! Meanwhile, Cygnets should be finished later this week, and ...

In honor of what should be Kentucky Derby Week, I am sharing my original equine work, which is something I've done this time every year since 2007. "She Bows Her Head and Honors the Light in All of Us," 24"x30", acrylics on panel, $899 plus s&h. This painting is cleated and wired on the backside, so the buyer has the option of hanging it floating-style on the wall. It can also be framed. I accept Paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Purchase inquiries can always come   to me . So what does one do after painting the official Derby art (scroll below to see that painting along with a short video about it's making)? Well, I sought a way to paint more expressively, more dynamically, to capture emotion and other sensory responses in my work beyond the mere capture of a scene or object. And that's pretty much what I have been pursuing in the last 5 years. I've studied with some extraordinary creatives, learned how to push my materials ...

"The Ancient Ones," 12" x 12", acrylics and graphite on museum quality panel, $449 ($49/mo payments) plus s&h to the first one asking nicely and from a proper distance. I accept paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. I can ship now (via Fed Ex, utilizing their porch pickup) or later. Please   reach out to me   with inquiries or questions. It's rarely difficult for me to title my paintings, particularly when I'm working with in a series. I think I'm at least 10 pieces (2 months) into the rabbits, and I'm still not entirely sure what these paintings are about. So I asked my Oracle Cards the other night what the rabbits meant. I pulled The Ancient Ones card, representing shamans of old who defeated death and escaped time. The Ancient Ones counsel and invite us to reach to the future and birth a new destiny. How's that for some mid-pandemic direction? Rather fitting, isn't it? I didn't have much of a painting mojo this aft...

At left, Bumble 5, at right, Bumble 6. Both are acrylic on panel, measure 6" x 6", and are $99 each. I estimate $15 s&h inside the US. I am happy to combine shipping on these, too. Simply   reach out to me   and we can arrange your purchase. I accept Paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. The last two bumbles went quickly, so I thought I'd try two more after signing a larger commissioned portrait today. It's fun doing these little studies, playing with color and line just for the pure fun of it. A nice contrast to the meticulous attention to detail required for portraiture. I'm entering the homestretch - three more commissions and I can tie that side of my business up for the year. After they are done I will pick up work again on   a larger painting   I'd like to enter in a competition, with a deadline of early January. And get to making gifts for those on my own list! Thanks, as always, for following along with my artwork journe...

Detail of "Anemone (Daydream 31)," 24" x 24", acrylics and graphite on panel $899 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. Full painting pictured below. I accept paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans.  Inquiries may always come   to me . Siren meets Daydream. I began   the Siren painting   in May 2018, but I couldn't figure out how to resolve her. That's because she showed up far too early - I hadn't yet learned how to do   this , with the glazes and lines. So she waited in the studio. Very patiently, I might add. Thanks so very much for following along on my art journey, Warmly, Kim Join My Virtual Classroom

"That is the Way it Was," 23" circular panel, acrylic on pine, featuring my rescued bunny Gertrude Stein, $999 plus s&h to the first asking kindly. Inquiries may always come   to me.  I accept paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Some days, I question my calling altogether. What's most important when this happens is to show up anyway, and continue to show up. Because the brushes won't pick themselves up and finish the piece for us. Thanks, as always, for following along with my art journey, Warmly, Kim

"Every Little Thing She Does is Magic," 24" x 36" x 1-1/2", acrylics on gallery stretched canvas, imaged painted around the sides so no need to frame, $1899 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. I accept paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Inquiries may come   to me . Magic has been patiently waiting here in the studio for about 2 months now. She showed up one day rather unexpectedly, trotting her way onto a canvas, and then, there she sat, unresolved. Whether she was telling me what to do next and I wasn't listening, I don't know. But suddenly, after signing "Not Little Red" yesterday, I saw her, and knew what I had to do. Yes, she's titled after The Police's song of the same name. It makes my feet move the same way her little hooves dance about. Thanks, as always, for following along with my art journey, Warmly, Kim

Protect, 15" x 30", acrylics on gallery stretched canvas, $799 plus s&h. Inquiries may come  to me . I've been playing with an acrylic based encaustic-like process - basically suspending my pigments in a translucent, pourable medium sharing many of the same properties as melted wax. This allows me to blend, scratch into, layer, suspend, dribble and do all sorts of delightful things with the paint. So much to learn!!

"Alice," 24" x 48", acrylics on panel, $1499 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. Detail below. Inquiries may come   to me . (yes, I would be delighted to put together a payment plan for you - please ask!) I actually signed a painting today! Not that I haven't been painting, mind you, but only a small handful of my girls are truly finished. Even though I've been working on them since September..... Alice is an homage to Alice in Wonderland (one of my favorites!). I imagine this is what exiting the rabbit hole first looked like. And then the mist cleared......  

(2) in process Siren paintings, each 24" x 48", acrylics on panel Inquiries may come   to me . I'm figuring things out through all sorts of trial and error. My figures must be rooted in the atmosphere of their painting(s). Their movement and gesture are key. Color harmony is all the more elemental given the simplified compositions. Drawn line vs modeled form fascinates me (via the computer you cannot see the delicate drawings woven into the layers of paint). The vertical format highlights the power and strength of these figures. I absolutely love my job.

Tiny Dancer I, 24" x 48", acrylics on panel, $1499 plus s&h. Inquiries may come   to me . I have no idea what I'm doing in the studio anymore. I mean, I know I am painting, and obviously I'm painting figures, but other than that, it's a crap shot. I start with a certain idea in my head, like a little girl in a white tutu, and the rest of the composition reveals itself as I go along. This is entirely different than painting portraits and working directly with clients who expect a certain thing. When I'm painting a commission, the end result is predetermined and my progress (including knowing when the piece is done) is measurable. With my girls, it's not so obvious. I take them so far, and then wait to see what they have to say about it. Often it takes weeks before I realize, aha!, there isn't enough contrast/my color is too saturated/the ground and figure need to be more fully integrated/something else altogether. I'm learning to be ok ...

The black horse is a uniquely powerful amulet. 24" x 20", acrylics on panel, sold (thank you!). Inquiries may come to me. I was asked to paint a black horse, and somewhere along the way I was seduced by her magic. It's not the first time she's done this - Shadow was destined for another fate altogether when her current owner bought her from a kill pen. And as often happens with rescued animals, they reciprocate by rescuing their new owners.

The Spirit Within. 16" x 20" x 1/2", acrylics on gallery wrap canvas (painted around the sides, so no need to frame). Inquiries may come to me. I have been trying to get this sort of surface for YEARS now, and I've finally figured it out!! At one point today I got so frustrated that I walked away, only to return after mowing the lawn to find my desired effect had occurred - it just took some time to set itself up. The acrylic paint appears to be melted wax, marble.moves like watercolor, and scumbles like oil. Some of these effects occur simultaneously. I wish you could see it in person!

This Dose of Tall Dark and Handsome is Much Stronger Than Xanax, With The Added Bonus of No Nasty Side Effects 24" x 36" x 1", acrylics on gallery stretched canvas (with image painted around the sides), featuring a matched pair of Friesian horses, $1699 to the first asking nicely. Inquiries may come  to me . Please and thank you. I got up early this morning, excited to put the finishing touches on this one. The drips/focus bleed down the canvas, from right to left, creating a mesmerizing curtain which the horses gently part.

She Bows Her Head and Honors the Light in All of Us 24" x 30", acrylics on panel, featuring a draft mare cloaked in all the color of the world. $899 to the first asking nicely - inquiries may come  to me . Please and thank you. "The light in me honors the light in you." Regardless of the color of your skin, the religion you practice, your sexual/gender orientation, and so many other factors. Always.

The Knight in Shining Armor Was No More Than Eye Candy, So She Left Him Behind When She Had Serious Work To Do  24" x 30", acrylics on panel, featuring a ghostly mare emerging from an enchanted woods. $899 to the first asking nicely - inquiries may come  to me . Please and thank you. SOLD (TY) This mare is on a quest for equality, dignity, safety, respect and love for all beings. She's got no time for distractions. Unless they are peppermint coated.

"Pearl," 9" x 12", acrylics on panel. Available to the  first asking nicely , $249 (includes s&h inside the US). Thank you so much. I can't stop painting mices.......I may need an intervention..... Thanks for supporting my art, Warmly, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com   WORKSHOPS:  May 17-20th, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Please contact Betty Klenke for more information.  June 21-23rd, Montague, Michigan. Please contact Korrine Rogers for more information.

"Maybelline Occasionally Over-Accessorizes," 20" x 20" x 2, acrylics on cradeled panel, painted around the edges, so there is no need to frame. Available to the  first asking nicely , $799 (includes s&h inside the US). Thank you so much. We all have friends like Maybelline, don't we? they just don't know when to stop...... Thanks for supporting my art, Warmly, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com   

ABOVE: "Cheep," a 12" x 9" oval, acrylics on gallery stretched canvas and painted right around that edge (no need to frame!), $249.  BELOW, FROM LEFT: "Chick 1" and "Chick 2", 8" square, acrylics on canvasboard, $75 each. All inquiries may come to me , and thank you so much. NOTE: Chick 1 has sold, thank you. Today's goals included befriending yellow (she can be a miserable wench at times) while learning more about chicks, which, as you know, I am newly obsessed with. These studies aren't as detailed as my other pieces, but they have a certain je ne sais quoi, so I've priced them specially just for you. Thanks for supporting my art, Warmly, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com  

  "Peep," from The Beribboned Series , 16" x 20", acrylics on panel. Available to the  first asking nicely , $649 (includes s&h inside the US). Thank you so much. Can you see Peep and Chickie hanging together (pictured below)? Like in a toddler's room, a nursery, a powder room, a bright hallway...... the possibilities are endless. I would love to see them go together, which means special pricing for one lucky collector - $999. We can put a payment plan together, too (that applies to any purchases of original art) - message me if you are interested. Thanks for supporting my art, Warmly, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com