Paintings With Soul

Boo!, 6" x 8", acrylics on museum quality panel, portrait of Mona's sidekick daVinci, available to the first one asking nicely for $329.  Inquiries  may come to me!!     In process photos are  here .   This little painting was a practice piece - even though I was alone in the studio, I talked my way through the whole thing. Just some of the mental preps I do when getting ready to teach a workshop.   Springfield Art Museum, here I come!!   Thanks for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

    "Striped," from the "Cherished" series. A portrait done to celebrate Mona Lisa's 2nd birthday - tuna sandwiches for all!! This is 12" x 16", acrylics on a museum quality panel, and $629. Inquiries may come  to me .   (Mona's first birthday portrait, "You Are My Sunshine," is here . Her "official" kitten portrait, "Tiny Kitten, Big Dreams," is  here .)   There are many, many, many, many in process views of "Striped" on  the studio's Facebook page . This painting was a bear to finish - taking me 4 days instead of the usual one. But I wasn't going to give up!   It's a great feeling, to look a demon in the face and tame it. Even if it does take 4 times longer than usual!!   I suppose if everything in life was easy, we would have no adventures.   Thanks for adventuring along with me!! Kim  ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com     ...

      You have to give me credit - I bid my time patiently before sneaking Mona into the calendar rotation! This painting was the portrait I created to commemmorate her first birthday. In the next week or two, I'll be painting her 2nd birthday portrait...... not that she's grown in stature. Just attitude. But she IS a cat, after all.....   To implement July's desktop calendar, simply download the calendar file  directly from my website . I've set up a couple different ways to do this, either via the photo album or a direct link.   I am by no means an expert on the variety of operating systems, so I highly recommend that if you don't know how to change your desktop wallpaper, don't email me for advice. Instead consult your computer's help files - they will be more concise, more knowledgeable and more responsive than I could ever hope to be.    Mona is sized to fit a standard screen height of 768 - I ...

      "Little Man Mirk," a painted sketch, of a rescued corgi mix. This image is approximately 4" or so, roughly centered on a piece of multimedia artists paper. I think this piece is sold, but if you are interested,  let me know !!   I've got lots of emails to answer today, so will keep this post short and sweet, just like our little man above.   Happy weekend!!   Thanks, as always, for looking at and sharing my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com    

ORDER NOTECARDS/REPRODUCTIONS HERE "Nuzzling Hope," 6" x 8", done in Golden Open Acrylics on a Raymar panel. Commissioned portrait of a paint mare and foal, the latest painting in my  Gratitude Series  (paintings of animals who were once homeless). Hope (the mare above) and Lucky Star (the foal) were 2 of a dozen horses rescued in Arizona this summer. Abandoned, malnourished, some injured, most suffering from foot problems/abcesses/serious infections, the horses were in rough shape. They were moved to a clean and safe facility,  Hoofbeats With Heart , where they received proper veterinary care and nourishment, among other things like feet trimmings, baths, and TLC (You can see photos on  a Facebook page  dedicated to the 12 horses' recovery). All 12 have all been adopted out - what a fabulously happy ending to the story, right? Yeah, I agree! My client, who was involved in the rescue, commissioned Hope and Lucky Star's portrait. She is donating t...

  ORDER NOTECARDS/REPRODUCTIONS HERE     I painted Mona's birthday portrait a couple weeks ago (remember? it was  a lesson painting  in early July), and was pleased with it at the time. But as the days went by, I saw things I thought would make the painting better.   So out came the edges of the window frame's shadow and in went lavender and cobalt glazes on her body (the image above is the reworked painting).   What do you think? Is it now a smidge better?    If paintings hang around in my studio for long enough, I nearly always find something I want to change. It's a horrible habit.   Thanks, as always, for looking at and sharing my paintings with your friends and family, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com     Share the dog a day love and forward this email to a friend     Lesson Paintings   I've created a  one-stop spot  for you to follow along with this year's lesson paintings.  ...

Shall we recap? Yesterday, in celebration of little Mona Lisa's 1st birthday, I began a kitten lesson painting. You can see what was accomplished in  my blog entry from Monday . Picking up where I left off, I began laying glazes* down on the background/floor. (*A glaze is a transparent layer of paint which allows the layers underneath to peek through, while also creating an illusion of "floating" brushwork.) Multiple layers of glaze have reduced the color saturation of the yellow and orange without reducing any of the "shimmering" effect they created. I also started putting more color into the kitten, molding and sculpting her form with my brushwork. Working from a 1" flat to a smaller 1/4", I finished Mona out with a handful of carefully placed whiskers and fur. There's no need to paint all of them - the viewers eye will fill in the necessary details. And here she is, all finished:  "You Are...

To properly celebrate the kitten's 1st birthday, I thought I'd take one of my demonstrations from the recent workshop and finish it off as a lesson painting. Enjoy!   One of the first things I talk about with my students is taking artistic license, modifying reference photos to improve on the composition AND make the image more lifelike (because photos will chromatically flatten the scene and make highlights and shadows exaggerated and dull). Here are some of the changes I consciously chose before laying brush to canvas: I plan on contrasting the blue and lavender tabby with the honeyed orange floor. I am tilting her head just a bit towards the viewer to create an oval/round shape out of her tail and body. I've also shifted the grain of the wood to run at a diagonal, thus creating a balance to the angle of her body. I will remove the distracting elements in the background. I will further separate the far ground shadows from her own, creating a sliver of lighter space...

        "Ipo," 6" x 8", Golden Open Acrylics on Raymar panel, depicting a sweet and silky mixed breed. "Ipo" can be added to your collection - just  email me ! SOLD   This is one of my favorite combinations, the inky blues and purples combined with the firey oranges. It's a great way to depict energetic and clever souls like little Ipo here.   Thanks for looking at - and sharing - my artwork with your friends and family, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com       A New Muse   I bribed the kids with the promise of ice cream, and we hit Cook's Dairy Farm today.    The weather wasn't very ice-creamey-ish - things were a little cool temperature wise - but the overcast day made for some very nice photo opportunities.   You might best appreciate this photo accompanied by the soundtrack of The Princess, who was thoroughly disgusted by a puddle of bovine urine.   In her honor, we brought home a ga...

ORDER NOTECARDS/REPRODUCTIONS "Piggie Pie," 6" square, done in Golden Open Acrylics on an Ampersand Gessobord, $299 to the first one asking "pretty piggie please." Inquiries may come to me . This reference photo came from a collector who is very actively involved in rescue. I've earmarked the proceeds from the sale of "Piggie Pie" to go to Piggie Paradise , the pig haven at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. I know she'll be pleased, and Piggie Paradise can do something special for their residents with the funds. Thanks for sharing my artwork with your friends and family, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com PS This painting is titled after one of my all time favorite books, Margie Palatini's "Piggie Pie." Check it out from your library and read it to a special kid! Pictured above are just a few of the props I've accumulated for the project Sweet Tooth I confirmed today that Poppyseed Deli and Fountain in downtow...