Paintings With Soul

I knew every dog in our neighborhood by name. I had read every dog book my library owned at least twice. I had a poster on my bedroom wall of AKC recognized breeds from which I sketched regularly. I begged my parents for a dog, preferably a collie (who didn't want their own Lassie in the 70s?!). And I loved relentlessly on this dog, Bridget, my father's hunting companion. This painting was done somewhere around 1978-1982, I think. It was a gift of some sort for my Dad. It's 15" x 20", acrylics on art board. I remember working on it with a tiny brush (Present Kim's toes curl when she thinks of Past Kim painting large pieces with a tiny brush - like nails on a chalkboard) and thinking that it was The Bomb. Now it makes me cringe a bit. Obviously it's from a flash photograph - that reflection on the bean bag chair is undeniable. And Bridget herself is literally white and orange - there is no nuanced or reflected color happen...

In process, "Family Outing," 16" x 24", acrylics on museum quality panel, depicting four sweet Cavalier King Charles Spaniel rescues. This is a commissioned piece started last week. It's getting closer to being finished (I'm hoping tomorrow, but I have a loooooooong to-do list for tomorrow already). You can follow along with it's progression here . Meanwhile, email me if you would like to talk about something equally special for yourself (commissioned portraits start at $399).

"Tucker," a small commissioned sketch, done in paint on paper, of a spaniel. Tucker will be heading home tomorrow. In May I offered painted sketches (simple, lower cost, commissioned portraits done loosely on paper) - originally only 10 of them - but as you may know, it's hard for me to say no. Especially when I heard all your stories and saw all the faces. I ended up accepting over double that, and have been working on them over the course of the summer months.  Tucker's here represents the last of those. Next it's on to some pretty exciting exhibition and gallery pieces, along with a couple large scale commissions.  Thanks, as always, for following along with my artwork, Warmly, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

    Patience, 12" x 12", depicting a beautiful tri-colored spaniel, done in acrylics on a museum quality panel. Patience is the  #PaintMeSantiniOctober  winning portrait, and SM is gleefully adding this painting to her collection. Reproductions can be ordered  here , and inquiries about getting a portrait done of YOUR dog may always come  to me .     It was a tough call,  narrowing down the #PaintMeSantiniOctober contest candidates to a handful , and then choosing from among them. Thank you so much to everyone who played along and so generously fed my muse - I do see more paintings in the works here!!   But this piece is our winning portrait - chosen because of the timeless mood/pose, the fabulous play of pattern against quiet negative space, and the riot of color in his face.   Thanks as always for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

      "Pippa," roughly 6" square on a 9" x 12" paper, commissioned portrait of a Brittany Spaniel, not for sale.   I grew up with Brittanys, and spent today remembering Beau, my first dog. Every so often I feel his head at my knee, nudging me forward when I'm most afraid. Even though he's been gone for 22 years, he knows when I need him.   In process views of "Pippa" were shared on the  studio Facebook page . You can find them inside  the Mobile Uploads folder . And by the way, you do not need to have a Facebook account to view either of those links.   I'd love to talk about creating spectacular original art for you -  email me  and we can talk. 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...

"Fall Foliage," 12" square, acrylic on canvasboard depicting two Cocker Spaniels. This painting is bigger and more complex that what I usually take on in one day, and I do still see some changes I'd like to make. But sometimes you just have to draw the line at a stopping point, and this is where I have to stop and clean my brushes tonight. Inquiries may come to me at  ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com .     This is the first of a handful of pieces I am working on starring these two Blue Roan English Cocker Spaniels. Aren't they darling? Once I complete the group of paintings, my client will get her choice. Any of the remaining paintings could be yours - I'll keep you posted as to what is available via this blog.   By the way, I really needed this painting today, full of hot colors and a reminder that, ultimately there will be something more exciting than 2 feet of snow to look at outside my front window. Guess it's the whole Groundhog-Day-hop...

FROM TOP: "Spaniel Study," 4" x 5", King Charles Cavalier Spaniel dog portrait , $114, SOLD . "Sheepdog Top-Knot," 4" square, sheepdog pet portrait , $99, SOLD . "Wrinkles," 4" x 6", mastiff dog portrait . Inquiries may always come to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . Today's paintings are another benefit for Animal Friends of the Valley Shelter in Lake Elsinore, California. Last week I shared their plight - their kennel building, a temporary home to 39 dogs and cats, burned to the ground, taking with it the lives of those little ones awaiting adoption. The shelter has about150 animals remaining in their care, and is in need of assistance as they work towards rebuilding and continuing their efforts for the homeless animals in their area. Many dog-a-day readers stepped up last week and contributed on their own - thank you so much for your generousity. The shelter can be reached at 951-674-0618. Individual contributions ...

"Nino," 4" x 6", husky mix pet portrait , acrylic on canvasboard, $115. $22 from the sale of Nino's portrait will be donated to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kenab Utah. Inquiries may come to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . SOLD. Nino has been at Best Friends 10 years now. He shows aggression towards other dogs and did bite someone, although he loves people. I love his deep fur and the smoky whiskers - he has the knowledge of a kindly old gentleman in his eyes. "Simba," 4" x 8", beagle mix dog portrait , acrylic on canvasboard. $26 from the sale of Simba's portrait will be donated to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kenab Utah. Inquiries again may come to me at ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . Simba came to Best Friends from an overcrowded and understaffed shelter in New York, where circumstances provided very little contact with humans or other dogs. Since her arrival she has been busy learning socialization skills, and ...

"Brittany Study (Bud)," 6" square, commissioned pet portrait, acrylic dog painting depicting a brittany spaniel, private collection (THANK YOU!). When my client first contacted me last summer about painting Bud, she was a little hesitant. Bud was the dog she had grown up with, and finding photos was going to be a chore. COuld i work from old polaroids and other scanned images? of course! She came through with a handful of beautiful, albeit faded, photos, most taken in natural lighting. I was able to paint a portrait for her to give her mother from those. I cannot wait to hear of her family's reaction on Christmas morning, for even after all these years, Bud has a hold of them all. This has been a week full of rumination on the power of these sweet souls. How they tag our hearts for a lifetime, and leave us in their gentle wake. My oldest son and I visited the Oakland Pet Adoption Center today to shoot reference photos of adoptable animals for profiling during next we...

“Inseparable (Chloe and Sadie),” 8x16, commissioned Cavalier King Charles Spaniel pet portrait in acrylic on canvasboard. I haven’t gotten the final approval from my client yet (she thought she would be getting two separate portraits), so there is the possibility that this painting will be available for purchase. Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . SOLD. These two sweet girls were adopted from a shelter, having been rescued from a backyard puppy mill. They now are terribly pampered, complete with bling, but I preferred to paint them enjoying each other’s company, relaxed and clearly living a good life. I don’t usually paint two dogs in one frame – had, actually, scheduled two separate days for Chloe and Sadie. But one of the reference photos showed them curled up together on a quilt, lying on each other’s ears, and I was sold. There’s an exception to every rule, you know?! I’m starting to shift my color palette, which I think is a result of the class I’ve been taking. My p...

Today you get a double header. “Scrappy,” duly named pomeranian-pekenese-tibetian spaniel mix, 4x5, commissioned pet portrait in acrylic on canvasboard, private collection (THANK YOU!!) “Bobby,” shepherd mixed breed, 6x8, commissioned pet portrait in acrylic on canvasboard, private collection (THANK YOU!). The paint has been flowing easily today. Perhaps it’s the sunshine, so atypical of September in Michigan. Perhaps it’s the autumn color just starting to kiss the trees. Pehaps it’s the promise of a great weekend – Metamora’s Celebration of the Horse, and my Group Opening at Margot’s Gallery. Whatever it is, I like it. Hope you enjoy each of these paintings. I’m sort of in training for the holidays, when I’ve double booked the dog-a-days simply to meet the demand. I won’t always be posting each painting (some surprises might be ruined, and I also know that two paintings each day will fill some readers’ mailboxes too quickly), and I will try to squeeze in more non-commissioned pieces, ...

“Maggie,” 5x7, commissioned cocker spaniel pet portrait , private collection (THANK YOU!). Maggie has quite the personality. She’s always chattering away and you can count on her to hold center stage quite comfortably. I wanted to capture Maggie’s engaging spirit, and painted her as though she was waiting to catch someone’s eye, and start up a conversation. I also really played with color in her fur. Oranges, purples and blues, with some green in the shadows. The whole spectrum is in here! I love these sorts of paintings. I’ve received a couple of emails from readers wanting to see non-commissioned works, and possibly add to their own dog-a-day collections. Next week will be the answer to their predicament. Hard to believe, but it’s time once again for Shelter & Rescue Week. Next week I will focus entirely on the Oakland County Animal Shelter, and also highlight the Oakland Pet Fund ( http://www.oaklandpetfund.org/ ) – a great organization dedicated to ending euthanasia of homeless...

“Rembrandt,” 4” x 6”, mixed breed acrylic pet portrait on canvasboard, private collection. A special thanks, too, to the Schalk family for their second dog-a-day commission. (All morning long I was asking myself why I didn’t give my dog a great name like Rembrandt. The name truly fits this guy, too, with all those curls and feathering mirroring the brushwork of his namesake.) My Rembrandt is full of layers of richly colored violets and blues. He had dark skin from which grew merled waves of fur (merled fur is a dark undercoat punctuated by white hairs, much like liver coloring one might see on a pointer), which created a smokey effect around his muzzle. I used the brushwork to model the loose, curly fur, and allowed color shifts and highlights to build the shape of his skull. This is one painting that really is best appreciated in person – the density of the glazes simply does not translate well to the computer. Commissioning your own dog-a-day painting is simple – send digital images ...

It’s Friday and the sun is shining, both which influenced my choice of dog today. He had to be laughing. So here is Cooper, one of my father’s brittany’s, and a favorite model of mine. Cooper’s mask stretches right down to his muzzle, which always leads to nice violets and pinks in that area. And his wide blaze frames that backlit profile nicely. “Brittany Study II,” 5x7, dog portrait in acrylic on canvasboard, $60. Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . SOLD. I’m always looking for new models to star in dog-a-day paintings. Digital photos can come to me ( ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com ). There’s a lot of events on my calendar in the coming months, and I was planning out entries this morning. I’ve had 3 dog-a-day paintings juried into various exhibitions already this year - I would love to showcase your dog in such a fashion! Feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions at all. Thanks, as always, for looking. And for sharing these dog paintings with friends and famil...

This painting is from a photo sent in by a Dog-a-Day reader. This loveable little face showed up on her friends’ doorstep, stayed for a handful of years, and then took off on her own again. I was drawn to Blackie’s spaniel eyes (which belie that independent nature, don’t they?) and the silky quality of her ink-blue fur. I bet Blackie’s curled up in front of a cozy fireplace right now, planning her next move…… “Black Dog Study (Blackie),” 4”x6”, acrylic on canvasboard. Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . Thanks as always for looking. And for sharing these paintings with friends and family. Take care, Kim Kimberly Kelly Santini http://www.turtledovedesigns.com/ distinctive pet portraits & 4-legged paintings http://www.paintingadogaday.com/ come. sit. stay. enjoy the art. Founding member of the Canine Art Guild http://www.canineartguild.com/ the gateway to canine art on the web

Today’s painting is another commissioned dog-a-day. This is Shadow, a cocker spaniel mix. Cockers have the most soulful eyes, and Shadow is no exception. I cropped in real close to his face, so as best to show off those eyes. And his cute little violet nose (yes, it really is violet!!). Shadow, 5x7, acrylic on canvasboard, headed shortly to his new home. And thus we finish up yet another week!! Thanks, as always, for looking. And for sharing these paintings with friends and family. Stay warm this weekend – Kim Kimberly Kelly Santini http://www.turtledovedesigns.com/ distinctive pet portraits & 4-legged paintings http://www.paintingadogaday.com/ come. sit. stay. enjoy the art. Founding member of the Canine Art Guild http://www.canineartguild.com/ the gateway to canine art on the web

Today’s dog started out as a portrait, but then I got carried away with color and feathering, didn’t pay enough attention to proportion, and ended up with a squatter and orange-er version of the dog. Doesn’t matter, for I’ll try my hand at her another time, and this painting has merit of it’s own. Here she is, an orange and white Brittany, tucked into a 4x5 canvasboard, but still busy scenting the air. All inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . This is my last dog-a-day for 2006 – number 51. Thank you for coming along these last few months – I’ve had a blast, and find myself growing as an artist with each painting. I am eager to continue this project through all of 2007. Let’s see what the new year drags in…… ! Thanks, again, for looking. And for sharing these paintings with friends and family. Wishing you a happy and safe New Year celebration, Kim Kimberly Kelly Santini http://www.turtledovedesigns.com/ distinctive pet portraits & 4-legged paintings http:...

"Beau (Brittany Study)," 4x6 dog portrait in acrylic on canvasboard. This one isn't for sale - Beau was my first dog, my best friend during those tumultous teenage years, and for whatever reason I hadn't painted him since he died over 15 years ago. It's nice to have a small bit of him back. I wish you could see the stash of commissioned Dog-a-Day paintings I’ve got going on here in the studio. They are holiday gifts, getting wrapped and sent out to their respective new homes, so I will not be able to share them until the new year. The paintings have been sailing off my brushes the last few days, so again this week I can say that I am able to accept a handful of commissions for completion (and delivery) prior to the holidays. Please email me ( ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com ) if you are interested – I do need reference materials by this coming Friday (the 15th). Thanks, as always for looking. And for sharing these paintings with interested friends and family, Kim ...