Paintings With Soul

In process detail view of "Incredulous," 18" x 24", acrylics on panel. This one is currently unspoken for - inquiries can come to   me . On the eve of American Thanksgiving, I am feeling enormously gratefu to be living a creative life. And this is a life that you, the reader, has made possible.  "Thank you" can't possibly sum up the entirety of what I am feeling. Regardless of whether you celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, know that I will be celebrating your presence in my life. Love, whether delivered in person or across the miles, is coming your way from Michigan. Thanks, as always, for following along with my artwork. Warmly, Kim PS I have gotten SO many Black-Friday-Markdown-Buy-Now-and-Buy-Lots emails the last couple weeks that I've become numb to them. It saddens me, my culture's seemingly total focus on consumerism vs a focus on joining together around a table to share a meal. I hope that your hearths and hearts are overflowin...

"Selfie 1-1-16," 19" x 24", acrylics on bristol board, not for sale. NOTE:  When I first shared this on Facebook, I got flack because I wasn't smiling/people thought it wasn't flattering. But Glamour Shots wasn't my goal. Yes, I look tired here, and that's because I am. Holidays are emotionally and physically exhausting and I'm owning that outright. In my jammies, with wild hair and my favorite warm scarf. So there. I spent yesterday making a killer ginormous breakfast for my family. Then we all enjoyed quiet time with our own goals and wishes for this coming year. (Someone also chose to binge on Netflix but I'm not judging) For me it was both personal and professional - it's important (to me) to understand the difference, although they both inform each other. Part of that involved meditation and a review of my numerous journals, where I discovered a predominance of self portraits. I thought, "Self, what are you tryi...

It's been a couple years since I shared my palette system and paint choices, so I figured it was time for an update! Above is a recent photo of a setup from a demo done this fall. The paints have puddled together a little bit due to the car ride/transport, but I think you can get the idea. Pure pigment on the edges, mixtures in the center. And the mixtures are further lumped into a yellow-ish area, an orange-ish area, etc. This helps me keep mixtures clean and bright (if that is what I want!) You'll also see how I mix one mother-puddle and push and pull that into various combinations. I also arrange with lightest values on the left and darkest on the right. My paints always go in the same place and I always use the same colors. This is a Stay-Wet Masterson Palette and I'm using exclusively Golden Heavy Body Acrylics. My colors: Titanium White Naples Yellow Cadmium Yellow Light Cadmium Yellow Medium Cadmium Yellow D...

My easel, prepped with a 10" square panel carrying a blue underpainting.   I am often asked about my easel board when it's included in photos like the one above. This is an 18" x 24" piece of masonite I've been using for years - I duct tape my panels to it, and anchor the masonite into the easel trays.   This allows me greater freedom with my brushwork, especially near the top and bottom edges of my panel. It also provides sturdier support for a variety of panel sizes, more so than merely locking them into the trays provides. This means I can use aggressive brushwork and not worry about the panel shifting or, worse, falling to the floor. I can also tape multiple smaller panels up at once, and work on a series of pieces simultaneously.   I write inspirational phrases on the board and they are slowly buried under layers of marks - the most recent was added last week, courtesy of  Lisa Daria Kennedy , a daily painter I greatly admire: ...

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...