Paintings With Soul

An untitled Daydream on my easel, along with a handful of studies, in a relatively clean studio.  All things are relative, right?! Am feeling very full this morning - and no, I've not started eating already!! Just sitting in the studio, thinking about all the beauty that you have allowed me to create for the past 19 years. Whether it's been with a purchase, a referral, a social media share or comment, or simply encouragement, I'm here today because of it. I am so very grateful - thank you. There will be pie, in your honor, across the United States tonite. Thanks, as always, for following along with my artwork journey, Warmly, Kim

My new studio space was the perfect setting for a mandala crafted from treasures by my art journaling group.   Share Tweet Forward It's hard to believe that (American) Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Thanksgiving heralds in two birthdays (in this household), holidays split between two families (one in Michigan, the other in Canada) and a quiet us-only end of year celebration. After tomorrow the days will become a blur of preparation, anticipation and celebration. I am so lucky to be in this moment, surrounded by family and loved ones. We have a warm and dry home, clean running water and plenty of food. I do not take any of that for granted. I am also lucky to have your support enabling me to paint. For 17 years now YOU have supported my family through the purchase of my paintings. We thank you for that, and wish many blessings and love for all.

In addition to the paint pushing happening in the studio these days (I am so excited by the new pieces in the works!), there's a lot of soul searching going on as I examine the practices I've refined and look at how they might - or might not - get me to where I want to be. Certain habits are simply not conducive to reaching my goals. Like checking email first thing in the morning. Over a dozen years ago, this particular habit originated from a desire to offer great customer service and a quick response time. But what I didn't see *until now* is how email often eclipses my intended goals for the day.  Additionally, my greatest painting energy is in the morning, and that gets lost when I sit down at the computer first thing. So why am I doing this still?! There's so much I want to accomplish with my life, and that means buckling down and being effective, Now. Looking at my goals and cutting out those habits that distract or postpone or even interf...

A new-to-me vintage plate rack is the perfect desk top hold-all for studio treasures - including an orchid from my Grandmother (I hope it'll be happier in here than it was in the kitchen), a Pillsbury Doughboy painting by The Princess, and my ever handy voodoo doll. Now my desk is spiffy clean. Once I've shipped my last painting for the year, I do a happy dance and enjoy some really good chocolate. Then I roll up my sleeves and give the studio a deep cleaning. A couple vintage discoveries made this morning, one of which is pictured above, prompted major reorganization along with the dusting. I'm delighted with the fresh look my work space has taken on and excited to pick the brushes up later tonite and make some magic happen in here. Thanks so much for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com 2013 Stats Created 154 paintings (got one more holiday commission left) Shipped 121 paintings (thankful...

In process detail of a much larger mixed media piece intended as a gift for a friend. I've been so busy making everyone else's holidays happen that I hadn't even started on my own until last nite. So today I got to work on a few handmade gifts from the heart of the studio. And tonite I just might start baking. Hope your season so far is warm and welcoming, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

My easel, prepped with a 10" square panel carrying a blue underpainting.   I am often asked about my easel board when it's included in photos like the one above. This is an 18" x 24" piece of masonite I've been using for years - I duct tape my panels to it, and anchor the masonite into the easel trays.   This allows me greater freedom with my brushwork, especially near the top and bottom edges of my panel. It also provides sturdier support for a variety of panel sizes, more so than merely locking them into the trays provides. This means I can use aggressive brushwork and not worry about the panel shifting or, worse, falling to the floor. I can also tape multiple smaller panels up at once, and work on a series of pieces simultaneously.   I write inspirational phrases on the board and they are slowly buried under layers of marks - the most recent was added last week, courtesy of  Lisa Daria Kennedy , a daily painter I greatly admire: ...

Today's the day - been saving up your questions for me? A few months ago I started up Q&A Days (actually, I "borrowed" the idea from another artist, Karin Jurick ). They seemed like a great way to address the volume of emails I receive asking about various elements of my process. So, the last Friday of each month I set aside as a Q&A Day, a sort of informal way for you to visit my studio and hang for a bit (don't panic - today is NOT the last Friday of the month, but is actually November's Q&A that got pushed back because of the US holiday last Friday). So, go ahead and post your art related questions as comments to this, and I'll respond to them in the order received. Because of those annoying spammers, I've had to activate comment moderation, but don't worry - I'll get them reviewed and published for you! Today I'm also finalizing my third book, "Come Sit Stay," for publication, so it looks like it'll be a day spent ...