Paintings With Soul

"Paul Anka," 8"x10"x1", acrylics on cradled wood panel, private collection (thank you very much!!). Inquiries can always come   to me . It's been 19 years since I hung out my shingle and officially began a new career as a pet portrait artist. With 3 children aged 6 and under, I started painting at the dining room table while they napped, moving into my own studio two years later. My daily painting commitment,   www.PaintingaDogaDay.com , started 4 years afterwards. There have been well over 1000 faces gracing my easel in this time, and I fall in love with each and every one of them. Here's an added bonus for you - I started Paul Anka's portrait   via a live feed on Facebook . You can   watch it   on the studio Facebook page, or if you are boycotting social media like so many others, it is currently uploading to   YouTub e (and taking forever, I might add, so  message me and I'll send you a head's up when it's ready!). It would be re...

"Airplane," 9" x 12" x 3/4", acrylics on Raymar panel (all 5 sides so no need to frame), depicting a friend's Golden Retriever, photo used with permission from Team Husar Photography . This painting is $629, which includes special delivery to your doorstep (inside the contiguous US). Inquiries may come directly to me . In process photos  here .  I Have a Confession You might not have seen it on the surface, but the last couple years have been very difficult. My Grandmother passed away, suddenly but peacefully, in March 2013, and that ushered a string of immeasurable losses - pillars of my family, dear friends, mentors, a friend's child, mothers of my kid's friends, one of my daughter's teenage friends. It was (and is) never ending. Life does that sometimes. Not only was I feeling unrooted in my personal life, but there was an emptiness in my painting process that began to loom and gather momentum. I had been battlin...

"Cooper," 8" x 10", a commissioned portrait of a dearly beloved golden retriever who recently crossed the bridge. This is done in acrylics on a museum quality panel. Cooper's painting has been spoken for, but I'm happy to privately discuss painting something like this starring your dog (or cat or horse or rabbit or guinea pig or whatever). Inquiries may come  to me. In process images are on  the studio Facebook page . Signed Kim, who was delighted to open her palette up today, even if it did smell rather skunky and had a bit of a science project growing over the cadmiums....... ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com The Lure of the Easel It's been 2 weeks since I painted in my studio. It's been nearly a year since I did a deep clean in there. This week my goal was to do a wall each day - pull things down, wipe every surface, purge and reorganize. A great concept, but not terribly realist...

I spent last week in the clutches of Saratoga, one of my most favorite places in the world. Attached are just a few of the photos I snapped that capture the sights and sounds.....   Fondly, Kim, who will never get enough of the front - and back - side of a racetrack. Or Mrs Londons (pastry shop). ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com        

      Just a couple of the sketches I've been working on this week. I accept a limited number of commissioned sketch projects each month (these start at $99) - inquiries may come  to me .       I took a break from the large horse racing painting to do some deskwork today. It's alarming how quickly those sorts of tasks pile up when I am distracted by the easel.   I fielded a number of new inquiries, did some work on my website, started paperwork for taxes, worked on gallery correspondance, and squeezed in sketches and the blocking in of double portrait.   And it's Friday already - how did that happen? Enjoy your weekend!! Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com Draw!   I am asked all the time what sort of advice I have for artists who want to improve. And it's pretty basic advice. Draw.   Draw everything you can.   Carry a sketchbook with you, set aside 10 minutes a day just to sketch.   Sketch with differen...

  "Gray (Stanley's Profile)," 6" square, done in acrylics on a museum quality panel, one of two paintings starring this sweet little muse (the other one was shared  yesterday ). Inquiries may come  to me .     I wanted to point out that while the nature of my subject matter dictates that I primarily work from reference photos, I make certain to also use artistic liberties to create a piece that is entirely new.   For instance, the background in the photo for "Gray" was dark and flat like the picture in the sidebar. Softening that background allows the viewer to notice all the other edges inside the painting, not just the profile edge. It also turns the eye into the focal point (since the eye now contains the largest area of the darkes dark).   I also relied on my visual memory to add details to the painting that were not present in the photograph. Hints of color inside the iris, a wash of pink underneath the lighter fur to warm up and refer ...

  "Stanley," 4" x 8", done in acrylics on a museum quality panel, one of two paintings starring this sweet little muse. Inquiries may come  to me .     I was commissioned to paint Stanley here, and I had the best sort of problem. That being that my reference photos were TOO good (this is a rare problem, but one that I absolutely love to encounter).   The photos were SO VERY good that I couldn't choose just one to paint.    I tried. I worked from my client's favorite one, creating the portrait above. And yet I wasn't ready to put my brushes down.   So I decided to start another. And shot an email off to my client that she would have a decision to make. And picked up my brushes a second time.   And I nearly got it finished. Took a break for ballet class. Then a basketball game. Then a band concert. Then dinner. Then a glass of wine. Then some chocolate.   And then reality kicked in full force.   Things will just have to...

  "Dinnertime (Duchess)," A Gratitude Painting, 6" x 8", done in acrylics on a museum quality panel, $329 to the first buyer  to ask "pretty please. " As with all other  Gratitude Paintings , proceeds from the sale of Duchess's portrait will benefit animal welfare groups - please continue reading for more details.     Duchess hailed from the no-kill group  Animal Aid Society in Virginia, a group I got to know through a Dog a Day collector.   She was a long term resident - and a favoriite- at the shelter. She survived two surgeries (to reduce her hip pain) before developing an inoperable tumor near her heart. She was buried at the shelter.   This is how the volunteers remember her - Duchess loved to carry her food bowl around. It is my honor to add her painting to the Gratitude Project and my portfolio.   The Gratitude Project, for those of you who are new to Painting a Dog a Day, is a series of paintings starring once homeless pe...

  From  October of last year , this is "Sigh," 10" x 6-1/2", acrylic on panel, portrait of a Great Dane puppy who was in foster care, available for purchase ($449), proceeeds going to  Ohio Great Dane Rescue . Inquiries may come  to moi.     In the States it's a holiday, a day when we remember Martin Luther King Jr. So much progress has been made, yet there's room for much, much more. Many businesses are closed and schools on holiday in his honor.   Meanwhile, I've got three kids off school ("A right delayed is a right denied," but watching television is not a right it's a priviledge, and the laundry cannot be delayed any longer, so get your grubby clothes into the laundry room now before you lose some priviledges!!**). An orthodontist appointment and a trip to the library is in order, so the odds are great that there won't be any easel time until later this evening.   Which means I'll share one of my favorite unsold Grat...