Paintings With Soul

"Freedom," 9" x 12", Golden Open Acrylics on Ampersand Gessobord, available for purchase. This painting is part of my August 2010 exhibition at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary , a show that will focus on rescued animals of all sizes. "Freedom" will be framed in gorgeous custom molding properly be-fitting an equine of such elegance, and you may purchase the piece through the BFAS contact for $649. 20% of all show sales will go to BFAS, another reason to add original artwork with meaning and value to your personal collection. SOLD. The "Happily Ever Afters" show will include paintings like "Freedom" along with text - I encourage you to submit your own experiences (and photos) via email for consideration. I've already completed 2 dozen new works and will continue to paint until I run out of time (my cut-off date is mid-July, after which I'll be busy framing and crating and arranging the logistics of getting the artwork to Utah...

"A Stiff Wind ," 4" x 8," dog portrait in acrylic on canvasboard, $249. Proceeds from the sale of this painting will go to my local shelter, the Oakland Pet Adoption Center. Inquiries may come to me . I would love to slip this painting in a deep frame and delight at the illusion of the little dog straining on tip-toe, trying to peek out at the viewer! Thank you to Paige at The Equinest for a great article on my art. If you have the time, browse through her interviews with other artists - they are wonderful! I finished the Brittany painting today too, and added the image and some notes to yesterday's posting . You can view the in process and final versions here . Thanks so much for sharing my art with your friends and family. See you tomorrow, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

FROM TOP : in process and bottom completed painting. "Cody," commissioned 8" x 10" portrait of a Brittany Spaniel.   I love my wet palette box - it works wonders with acrylics. The setup is a shallow plastic box with a sealed lid. A thin sponge rests across the base of the box, and you lay a piece of specially prepared paper overtop that, upon which you can then lay out your acrylics and mix your paints.   The beauty of a fresh palette is inviting, with the neatly lined up rows of color waiting to be introduced to each other. But there's also an incredible lure to a palette that's hosted a wild party, with hues and tints racously lying about.   It's hard for me to roll up that piece of palette paper and say goodbye to the remnants. I can see the next 12 shades I'm going to mix right in front of me. And I don't want to waste the paint. Yet I should have done that tonight.   My paint was forming a skin on it, and while the puddl...

"Purpose," 8" x 16", terrier portrait in acrylic on canvasboard, $529. Inquiries may come to me . SOLD. It's gray and miserable and damp and downright yechy outside, but here in the studio, all is aglow from the light emanating from this little terrier. She has set the tone for the week - despite the weather, I, too, will step forward with purpose and get much accomplished (I'd better, as there's a lot on my plate in the coming days, and I ain't talking turkey, either). Did you remember the painting I am auctioning off for Best Friends Animal Sanctuary ? It is an octo-portrait of the pit bull Theresa who you might have met via last week's television episode of Dog Town. The painting is on ebay , and the sale ends tonite. Please please please share this ebay link with any animal lovers you know! One of my goals is to work on improving my writing and earn the opportunity to be published. I've already had one article picke...

Meet Puff, beloved little troublemaker #2, from a busy household here in Lake Orion. I haven't titled this painting yet - am trying to figure out what she might be thinking - but it is 10" x 12" and on a beautiful Raymar artist's panel.   This is the beginning of a number of new paintings starring Puff. The day we did her photo shoot, she played hard to get, lounging in the sunshine and paying very little attention to the camera. I got marvelous shots of her stretching, preening and pretending she had absolutely no interest in getting her portrait painted.   I am especially drawn to Puff's shape and how it plays out across the sun and shadows. The next paintings will contain lines of mullions and repeated windows motifs. However this first piece was essential because it allowed me to step into Puff's mindset, focus on her little face, and better learn her lithe body. Puff's family may choose this painting as a companion piece to hang alongs...

"Sly Guy," 8" square, commissioned border collie dog portrait, acrylic on canvasboard. If you would like to commission a pet portrait of your own, please email me !   I have been working with a new color system (those of you who are curious, check out Elin Pendleton's website for her ideas on color), and I see lots of improvement in my recent pieces. Working in a different fashion slows down my process tremendously (a BIG challenge when one's creating a painting a day), but it allows for more careful decision making and more conscious effort. I think those are part of the reason for the strength of this week's paintings.   Tomorrow I will start a series of paintings starring a dear little siamese kitty. They will put all I've learned to the test, as I plan on pushing my knowledge of light and shadow and purrs to an entirely new level.   Thanks as always for sharing my paintings with your friends and family. See you tomorrow! Kim ksanti...

BOTTOM'S UP: "Mmm, Good Stick! (Abbey)," 8" x 10" and "Bleached Blonde (Abbey)," 6" x 8." Both portraits of a Yellow Labrador Retriever done in acrylic on canvasboard, both headed to a new home. It's super easy to commission a pet portrait of your own - inquiries may always come to me .   Sometimes I get so caught up in the actual painting process that I lose sight of consciously striving for that physical likeness. It's tougher for me to gauge this when I'm working from compellingly gorgeous photos of a dog I've never met.   That was the case today - I started with the smaller landscape, and became absorbed by all the lavenders, oranges and blues in the shadow of Abbey's neck and shoulder. I love the atmosphere in the painting, but the painting itself seemed more about the setting and not as much about the personality of the dog. I wasn't certain this was what my client wanted.   That's ok, I thoug...

"Hah! (Arly)," 6" square, commissioned pet portrait, depicting a mixed breed dog in acrylic on canvasboard. (And  yes, Arly does have a funky blue-violet streak on his tongue.) My client's on vacation for another couple of days, but I suspect Arly will be headed to his new home shortly. Meanwhile, inquiries on how you can commission your own special dog (or cat) painting may always come to me .   And remember, return clients get 10% off newly booked portraits - so don't be shy, seize the moment and flaunt your collection! I spent a good amount of time this morning going through my references trying to find a Portuguese Water Dog class I photographed years ago at some dog show. I couldn't find any shots I hadn't already painted (see above Dog-a-Day painting "Bumblebee," from last July, which is available for purchase through Etsy ). Alas I am stuck with Porties on my mind (I wonder why?). That creative itch is lingering.   So, if a...