Paintings With Soul

  Vernal, acrylic on panel, 24"x30" sold (thank you so much to my newest collector!!). Questions can always come  to me. This momma bear has been in process for quite some time. I think I started her last fall. My initial challenge was to explore what changed if the composition went from portrait to landscape and if I turned her gaze to the side. First off, the landscape orientation really softened her body language, and a molten effect settled into her form. And the averted gaze allowed the bear to become lost in her own thoughts. I took advantage of this shift to paint her as elements of the landscape, then fractured that further into bits of spring, which happens to be showing up (finally!) here in Michigan. I particularly like the echos of petals and leaf growth that flutter across the panel like butterflies and the warming sun beginning to peek out in the east, behind her right eye. You can see Vernal in greater detail  here . Here's a little  video  that s...

  Sprout, acrylic on cradled wood panel, 36"x24", 1" profile, no need to frame, $2000 plus s&h to   the first asking nicely . Questions can always come  to me. this painting began in February after a heavy ice storm   and was signed last week, while the earth has been busy coming back to life. Along the way I incorporated elements of the changing season (and moon) in her design. She's a compilation of the shifts that have happened in my little neck of the woods. I am intrigued by this combination, a painting made up of multiple moments in time - you can bet it's been added to my "what if's" for future exploration! Meanwhile, you can  make Sprout your own  or oogle at a larger image of her. Also, if you are so inclined, there will be a new Watching Paint Dry episode tomorrow (May 26th) at noon eastern. I'll be talking about commissioned projects and my stint as the official artist of the 2015 Kentucky Derby. You can tune in via zoom  here . T...

  Lisianthus, acrylic on handmade round cradled wood panel (by Bara Woodshaping), 30" in diameter, 1" profile, with cleated hanging system that allows the panel to hang flush against the wall (no need to frame), $2300 plus s&h to   the first asking nicely . Questions can always come   to me. lisianthus are one of my favorite flowers   there's something extra special about their twisted buds and delicate stems. I feel like they are little  fouette turns . Or maybe little party crackers. What do you think? Combining these florals with the fox was an exercise in self control. I think at one point there must have been 100 blooms in this piece - that was when I realized I needed to dial my enthusiasm down a bit! So instead of the actual flowers, I embraced mark making that felt like the lisianthus, and twisted my brush through marbled puddles of paint. Also, I cannot say enough about this substrate, a gorgeous handmade panel from  Bara Woodshaping ...

  Rose, acrylic on circular pine, roughly 23" x 23" x 1", $1800 plus s&h   to the first asking nicely . Questions can always come   to me. I started this painting on June 24, 2022 after hearing that the United States Supreme Court had overturned Roe v Wade. It was a day of very big feels, no matter which side one was on. I took my emotions to the easel ,as I always do, and started a momma bear soaked in tears. Over the next 9 months I would return to her, adding layers of marks when I felt my own emotional well being slip and slide. On a personal note she's carried me through the marriage of my oldest, our first post pandemic holiday celebration with the entirety of family, children moving out, children returning home, two reunions with my high school BFF and the mass shooting at Michigan State University. On a larger scale, well, the world has been rife with it's own victories and tragedies, too, and art is never made in a vacuum. Something in the air the la...

  Artemis, 36"x48", acrylic on a gallery wrapped canvas, sides painted with an extension of the surface design, $500 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. Link to purchase is   here .  Inquiries are always welcome .  This is a powerful painting - not just in scale. The air wafts about inside the painting, and it feels as though that breeze travels out into the physical space around the painting. The bear is a gentle thrust displacing the air and creating gentle eddies that are both seen and felt. I am offering Artemis for a limited time - if she has not sold by November 29th (next Tuesday) I will reserve her for a winter exhibition. So if you love Artemis and would like her to show up in time for the holidays, this is your personal invitation to purchase her now. Otherwise she will return in February 2023. Make Artemis yours   here . Thanks so much for following along with - and supporting - my art journey, warmly, Kim  

  Magnolia, 24"x30", acrylic on flat panel, $1300 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. Link to purchase is   here .  Inquiries are always welcome .  is the hair on the back of your neck standing up? how crisp is the air you are breathing? are you bathing in the moonlight? Inspired by the coyotes or wolves (not sure now what they were exactly) that serenaded us while camping in Maine last month, this painting just sings. The autumnal colors dance across the surface like the bird in flight (do you see her?), and the eyes gently follow you. This is a stunning painting to anchor a space with a strong architectural presence - perhaps over a fireplace or viewed through an arched opening. Make Magnolia yours   here . Thanks so much for following along with - and supporting - my art journey, warmly, Kim

  Harvest Moon, 24"x30", acrylic on flat panel, Private collection (thank you so very much!).  Inquiries are always welcome . Prints are available   here . my recent paintings feel like visual timestamps of what was playing out in my life when they were created. This one was completely impacted by the lunar eclipse a couple weeks ago and the unbelievable richly colored autumn we experienced here in Michigan. As always, I welcome your questions or thoughts about my work. What do you see in her? Interested in prints or other objects featuring Harvest Moon? here's   a link . Thanks so much for following along with - and supporting - my art journey, warmly, Kim

  the Talisman paintings from Fox Medicine are now available to purchase via   my website Atlas is 24" x 30"x 1-1/2", acrylics on a cradled panel. She will arrive wired and ready to hang in your home or work space. She is $1800 plus s&h to the first one asking nicely. Returning collectors, please reach out to me for your 10% off discount code. Atlas carries the weight of the world - all your troubles and worries - unflinchingly on her back. Rooted in a field of pink which is my color for hope. How could you not want this painting in your life? Atlas, along with her sister paintings, is listed on   my website under Paintings, Fox Medicine . The second image in this post identifies her sisters -  Goldie (upper left), Irish (round middle) with Portal below her, Vixen (upper right), Atlas (lower left), Leelanau (bottom middle) and Shrine (lower right). These are originals on cradled panel, with the sides painted (so no need to frame), some featuring added details on ...

  "Persimmon," 24"x30", acrylic on panel, $1300 plus s&h. You may purchase her directly   here,   or   reach out to me   for further details. momma bears and foxes abound in these parts  The Fox Medicine work is back in the studio! Many many thanks to Starkweather Art Center for hosting the show and to everyone who took time this last month to visit. I have been moved and so inspired by your support. Thank you. This weekend I was very busy behind the scenes, adding the pieces to my website and making them available for purchase. But first, can we give Persimmon a moment? this stunning and stoic bear deserves a celebration of her own. Inspired by autumnal walks in the woods and, in particular, a grove of lusciously colored bright red maple trees, Persimmon is readying for a nap with memories of past springtimes to keep her warm. You can make Persimmon your own   here . Now as to the foxes milling about her feet (perhaps that explains her p...

  "Nebula," 24"x36"x1-1/2", acrylic on cradled panel, private collection.  Reach out to me   for further details. she reminds me of the deep nighttime and stargazing and whipped cream light leaking from celestial bodies. There's crickets, the quiet hush of owl wings, distant calls of coyotes. This piece evokes all the stillness and mystery of the quiet hours and the vastness of our skies. Thank you so much to my newest collector - Nebula will bring such a beautiful grace to your home away from the barn. And that means that prints are available. You can browse   my shop of reproductions   or   order your copy of Nebula directly . Thanks so much for following along with - and supporting - my art journey, warmly, Kim

  "Shrine," 24"x30"x1-1/2", acrylic on cradled panel, when available, Shrine will be $1800 plus s&h.   Reach out to me   for further details. I am nearing the end of the preparations for my solo show "Fox Medicine." This has been a year's worth of reflection, rumination, and intense creativity. A cohesive body of work, approximately 70 new pieces, was created while continuing to paint and process a multitude of other subjects during the past 12 months. In other words, I didn't clear my calendar but rather folded the show tasks into what I was already committed to creating. It's been a challenging and busy time and seems a little odd that it will end on Monday when I deliver the artwork. But it won't end, per se. I am certain that she (the fox) will continue to show up on my easel - after all, I headed out of town last week expecting to paint other things, but she cunningly followed along and snuck into 4 of the 7 paintings done on ...

  "Amber," 24"x30"x1-1/2", acrylic on handmade cradled panel, $2000 plus s&h. You may purchase her here,   via this link . and another wolf quietly pads in Last week got off to a rough start. I couldn't shake the sensation that I wasn't prepared or capable, for whatever reason. It was unsettling.  I recalled   the powerful dream   I had a couple weeks ago where I regained my footing by leaning into the essence of a wolf. I decided to paint her again, this time as a beacon, a reminder that I have everything I need inside of me. Creating Amber did the same thing as the dream, it gave me strength. Doesn't she feel like an ancient oak tree, wise and sheltering? Like   Honeysuckle (the first wolf) , Amber is also on a handmade oak panel from   Bara Woodshaping . Their panels are akin to finely made furniture. The graining in the surface is subtly exquisite and I have left the sides unpainted to further highlight the quality. The...

  "Honeysuckle," 24"x30"x1-1/2", acrylic on cradled panel, $2000 plus s&h. You may purchase her here,   via this link. Monday I dreamt of a wolf and Tuesday I started painting her. By Thursday she was done. Here's a video tutorial outlining her process. Yeah, I know. I should have been working on foxes. But when an image shows up with this much power, I was afraid if I didn't settle in right away, the vision would fade, and the resulting painting wouldn't be as strong. In my dream, the wolf was like a vaporous cape that I stepped into. She contained all the voices and bits of things I have pulled strength from in my life. When I wrapped the vestiges of her around me, my body absorbed her and I felt....capable, wise, alive. My cells were filled with everything that mattered. We were one and yet also a million vibrating sparkley bits. Every time in my dream that I became afraid or uncertain, I would look over my shoulder, encounter her again, and ...

  "Goldie," 24"x36"x1-1/2", acrylic on cradled panel, $2000 plus s&h when available, but first she is (hopefully) heading out to a juried exhibition, where her eligibility mandates she is for sale.   Reach out to me  or sign up for   my First DIbs club   if you are interested in Goldie and I can keep you in the loop. she got the thumbs up from my critique group today which means I came home, photographed her for this newsletter, and placed her on the varnishing table. Then tomorrow I will do the entry form for the juried exhibition I'd like to see her be a part of. This piece both gives me goosebumps and elicits one deep, cleansing breath. Like I mentioned, she is headed to out (hopefully to a juried event in September and then, if she remains unsold, to my solo show in October). She has to be for sale at both of those installations. Should she come home to me from those outings, she will be offered to my collectors club (the First Dibbers) be...

  "Vixen," 30"x40"x1-1/2", acrylic on panel, $2400 plus s&h when available, but first she is heading out into the world for a bit (ie exhibitions).   Reach out to me   if you are interested in Vixen and I can add you to my First Dibs Collector's Club. First Dibbers receive priority purchasing when it comes to my new work. this piece started out as a demo for my online students and then she took on a life of her own. Sometimes demos go sideways and wonky. It's the nature of having to articulate what one is doing while one is doing. That makes it more difficult (for me at least) to hit the flow state and really let loose, and I believe that it's here in this magical state where the roots of some of my best paintings lay. So I was super excited to see all the promise Vixen still held   after two hours of painting and talking . And the following painting session, when she grew stronger, I created   another lesson video of her,   just to ...

  "Terra Cotta," 24"x36", acrylic on panel, $1300 plus s&h when available.   Reach out to me   if you are interested and I can add you to my First Dibs Collector's Club. First Dibbers have priority purchasing when it comes to my new work. the Momma Bears are evolving   and this one seems to be particularly powerful. I feel elements of my prior works in here - she is   sirenesque , carries some   daydream like passages , and is rooted in the   Talisman pieces . I also see her reflecting some of my more recent interests relative to brushwork, earthy color, and skies. Don't forget about   her sister bears that will be available on Friday at noon eastern.   And if you are looking to add more than one to your collection,   reach out to me   for a collector rate and combined ship costs. Thanks so much for following along with my art journey, warmly, Kim

  "Dusk," 24" in diameter, acrylic on cradled panel, $1800 plus s&h when available.   Reach out to me   if you are interested and I can add you to my First Dibs Collector's Club. First Dibbers already have access to purchasing Dusk. There are also 5 other paintings currently in the First Dibs space.....  a tornado siren in the middle of last night    brought me outside to skywatch. It was dry and not yet eerily still, so there was no immanent need to take cover. The clouds slid across the night sky and I marveled at the moon, glowing calmly while threatening lightening painted the sky opposite the full moon and a constant roll of thunder moved across us. We had a good 20 minutes or so of this before the rain ushered us back inside. This morning when I came into the studio, Dusk greeted me. I had started her yesterday, working with the idea of densely tangled growth such as what I pruned away over the past three weekends. Life in...

  "Ether," 24" in diameter, acrylic on cradled panel, $1800 plus s&h when available.   Reach out to me   if you are interested and I can add you to my First Dibs Collector's Club. First Dibbers get advance access to new work like Ether, before she is offered publicly. I currently have 6 paintings in the First Dibs space.....  she took me for a ride, this one   as a painting that pushes the boundaries should. I try to do something new with each piece - I call these explorations my "what ifs" - and there were a number of them in Ether that sounded fantastic to ask, but were bears to resolve. Like what if the dandelion flowers and leaves were of differing scale? and what if I allowed the pencil lines to become as prominent as the brushwork. And what if I push the idea of an equine shape into nothingness (like air) - how far can I go without losing the sense that she is a horse? What ifs are a key component of my teaching style. I encourage m...

  "Sanctuary," 24"x30", acrylic on panel, $1300 plus s&h when available.   Reach out to me   if you are interested, as I am in the process of putting together a special first dibs program for my collectors both old and new. Those who are part of the First Dibs group will get access to painting sales before the general public; if you are seriously interested in acquiring a piece or you have purchased an original from me within the last 3 years, you will have the option to join this group. Collectors please watch for an email in the next few days. a few weeks ago I invited this painting back to my easel   because it was time to add to her story. Things had played out in the world, and with fresh eyes I saw that I could make some powerful changes to her design.  I believe I have finished her - at least for now. Who knows when the next chapter will show up (and if she's no longer here in the studio, I'll have to start a new one, lol!!) T...