Paintings With Soul

"Listen," 12" x 16", acrylics on museum quality panel, $499 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. I accept paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Inquiries may come   to me . I have been very frustrated lately, both creatively and personally. Today I realized it was all relative to the idea of listening - or not listening, as the case my be. In the studio, I was forcing my paintings to conform to my process, and not paying attention to the simple construct of formulating a concept and responding to the work as it evolved. I wasn't LISTENING to what the piece was telling me it needed. In the real world, I was encountering so much noise that I couldn't retreat into my own head to complete a simple thought. I was LISTENING to more sources at a given time than my brain could sort out. Which also adds frustration in that the amount of noise was restricting my ability to hear, think, and respond thoughtfully. I think the answer is to allo...

"Peppermint," 16" x 20", acrylics on panel, featuring a lop eared rabbit crowned with a delightful candy cane striped bow. Many thanks to Cornelia K for allowing me to use her bunny as inspiration for this painting. Peppermint needs a home - she can be yours for $749 - the first asking nicely gets to adopt her! As always, inquiries may come to me . Not much to do while the snow flies but sling paint. Who should I crown next? hmmmm...... Thanks, as always, for following my art, Warmly, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com   

"Easter Brunch," 9" x 12", acrylics and mixed media (pencil, charcoal, pastels) on museum quality panel, depicting a lop eared bunny and a tasty assortment of blooms, $549 (with complimentary s&h inside the US) to the first asking nicely . Easter Brunch is an older painting I freshened up with florals. The online class I'm taking is still ongoing, and I'm learning so much about layering marks and staying loose - I love learning and playing with my tools! Thanks for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com  

"Apollo, The Sun God of Rabbits," 20" in diameter, acrylics on gallery stretched canvas, depicting the same black lop-eared bunny from yesterday, but this time in all his true splendor. Apollo is $1499 to the first one asking nicely, and that includes complimentary shipping inside the US. (laugh if you must at my Photoshop skills, but I couldn't figure out how to get a clean circular crop, but trust me, this is a clean circular gallery wrapped canvas with a very crisp, non-ratty edge unlike my photograph above) Again, many thanks to CC from House Rabbit Society for allowing me to paint from her photo of Luna - I am so pleased to have added this rabbit to my portfolio, not once, but twice! Tomorrow I'll get to working on the giant race horse that's currently in the studio. And maybe I'll bake something, like Starbucks chocolate cinnamon bread.  Because let's be honest, painting is always easier with chocolate. Thanks for your...

"Sir Bun," 6" x 8", acrylics on panel depicting a lop eared bunny found in the archives at www.PaintMyPhoto.ning.com . This bunny would love a home - just $299 will get Sir Bun delivered to your doorstep (inside the contiguous US). Inquiries may come directly to me . In process photos   here (thank you for peeking!).  More Experimenting I find the most satisfaction lately working on non-portrait pieces, allowing them to grow their voice and steer the end result of the painting as it progresses. Sir Bun here, in the earlier stages , was pretty sinister looking. I realized it was because I was trying to force my agenda of high chroma and contrast, instead of listening to what he was saying. "Layers, my dear, gently layer that color. And drizzle it with a tender line. Take sandpaper to the entire surface and scumble things into a grainy softness. Be generous with those lost edges, too. And then will you just sit quietly here with ...

You can download the 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 not an expert on operating systems, so if you don't know how to change your desktop wallpaper, please don't email me - I will indubitably steer you wrong. Your computer's help files will be more concise, more knowledgeable and more responsive than I could ever hope to be.    I've sized this to fit a standard screen height of 768 - I realize there are lots of variables that could impact how the file displays on your screen. Let me know if, once you get the file installed, there are display quality issues (keep in mind, too, that options such as "stretching to fit," "tiling" and "cropping" will impact your display, so check those first!).   Thanks, as always, for following along with my artwork, Kim

From last April, "Easter Bunny III", 10" x 10" (my scanner only grabbed 10" x 9", but the missing sliver is a continuation of the darker ground and whiskers), acrylics on museum quality panel depicting a sweet lop eared rabbit. This painting is yours for $539 and proceeds from this sale will benefit bunny rescue at my local no-kill animal shelter. Inquiries may come directly to me . SOLD (thank you!) The pace of the week is carrying into my weekend. We have a lacrosse game and team dinner, a friends and family drumline performance and fundraiser, winter percussion State Championships, and a 3 day dance competition that starts in 2 hours. I'd best get moving! Enjoy your weekend! Thanks, as always, for following along with my artwork! Warmly, Kim   ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

Easter Bunny III, 10" x 10" (my scanner only grabbed 10" x 9", but the missing sliver is a continuation of the darker ground and whiskers), acrylics on museum quality panel depicting Rimbomba, a lop with Italian style. This painting is yours for $539 and proceeds from this sale will benefit bunny rescue at my local no-kill animal shelter. Inquiries may come to me. SOLD (thank you!) Another muse found via #bunnylove. It's like match dot com for bunny lovers! When The Caped Crusader's lacrosse game was called due to the weather and The Princess's dance cancelled because of a power outage at the studio, I found myself with an unexpected few hours at the easel yesterday afternoon. Rimbomba's portrait is the result. Thanks, as always, for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com 

Flopsy, original painting 9" x 12", depicting a lively and larger than life lop eared rabbit, gorgeously framed for $679. Also available as a reproduction, print sized 15" x 20", only one print and only via an online auction benefitting  Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary .     I donated a reproduction of Flopsy to the Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary in memory of Lily, our sweet little rescued dwarf rabbit who passed away last winter. Lily - and Clover, who we still have and love on every day - were adopted from our local shelter years ago, but at the time we had also been talking to GLRS about the possibility of adopting from them.   They do a fabulous job rehoming those in their care, and it seemed fitting to help other buns out in Lily's name.   The auction runs through this Sunday (September 22nd).   So Bid Here For Flopsy's Print. And View The Other Auction Items Here.   And thank you SO much for supporting their efforts...

  I cannot believe it's nearly here!   ArtPrize  opens in a matter of weeks, and the final preparations have begun.  Elizabeth St Hilaire Nelson  and I are delivering our work to the  MVP Metro Club  in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan on September 19th.   My "Cherish" series will compliment her "Noah's Ark" pieces, along with a pairing of koi and bunnies that we created in our own style specifically for ArtPrize. (Pictured above is my "Flopsy Bunny," a 9" x 12" portrait on panel, which will be joined in Grand Rapids by Elizabeth's  "Flopsy." )   There will be over 1500 artists showing their work within a 3 square mile area of Grand Rapids. In addition to juried prizes, the viewing public will choose award winners via texted votes, a la American Idol style. It promises to be exciting and inspiring for both artists and visitors.   For more information, visit  the ArtPrize website . And s...