Paintings With Soul

"Harry," a painted sketch, roughly 4" x 5" centered on a 9" x 12" mixed media paper, acrylics, private collection (THANK YOU!). As always, inquires may always come directly  to me .  As if it's not enough pressure, having to paint something pretty much every day AND share it via my email blast and blog, tomorrow I have raised the bar on myself. Yes, I am a glutton for punishment. I will be joined in the studio by a videographer. Her assignment? To film the creation, start to finish, of a painting. God I hope I sleep tonite. Nobody wants to see me with major bags under my eyes, all crabbing out at the easel, because I can't make the paint go where it's supposed to. Let's hope things don't play out that way! Thanks, as always, for following along with my artwork! Warmly, Kim   ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

  "Steffi," 5" x 7", commissioned portrait of a much loved and dearly missed Westie, acrylics on museum quality panel, private collection (THANK YOU!!). Inquiries may always come   to me .     Who would have thought the ratty doll I picked up at a flea market would elicit such great conversation?!   Does art HAVE to be comfortable or easy to look at?   Why are dolls creepy for so many and yet for others the keystone to a sentimental memory?   How does scale impact our comfort zone with respect to certain objects?   And most importantly, is she an evil talisman or just a sweet little thing?   Please chime in!   And she needs a title, too. I'm drawing a complete and total blank. She must be sucking my brains out in my sleep......   Thanks so much for following along with my artwork! Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com   This poster was created specif...

"Caddie," 10" square, commissioned Westie portrait, done in acrylics on a panel. I am so very grateful for my newest collector and the opportunity to work lifesize! (For those of you who don't know, prior to starting the relatively small daily paintings, I specialized in larger than life pet portraits.) Painting Caddie was a blast - I worked on her over the course of two days. I photographed the progression, which you can see and comment on via  the studio's Facebook page . There's something to be said for working with larger brushes and gestures - it makes for more dancing at the easel, and a lot of smiles along the way. While working, I listened to a fascinating interview with artist Robert Genn , the voice behind the highly popular Twice Weekly Letters and quite a seasoned and generous talent himself. I highly recommend that other artists take the time to listen to his sage advice. He discussed everything from the value of workshops to creating yo...

"The Copleys," a 16" square quadrup-tych comprised of 4 separate 8" square cradeled Ampersand Gessobord panels. From top left, clockwise: Bella, Candy, Tiny and Rosie. Headed to a proud new collector's home (THANK YOU!). I spent the majority of today finessing the paintings I started on Wednesday (a step by step is viewable here) , working on seemingly minute details like distinctive hair growth patterns, body language, fur depth and reflected light. I wish you could see these in person - the surface is littered with translucent brushwork and a depth that gets entirely washed out on the computer. Inquiries (including booking your own pet portrait, from miniature size [4" x 4"] to larger than life) may always come to me . I've got only a few spaces left before I create Dog a Day painting #1000 this August - now might be a good time to get any holiday gifts/commissions on my calendar, too. Sketches start at $29, paintings at $209, and returning co...

"Harley (Westie Study), 8" square, commissioned pet portrait, acrylic painting on canvasboard, private collection (THANK YOU!!). Inquiries may come  to me .   It's been a busy day in the studio. On top of playing catchup from the long weekend, I met with a client to deliver his portrait (he loved it!), visited my framer and chose moldings for some new pieces, followed up with a handful of inquiries re new commissions (here's  more info  for those who are curious), did some planning work for leading a couple different  classes and workshops  in the coming year, shipped out copies of my book ( do you have yours ?), planned entries for several summer exhibitions and packed my materials for tomorrow's stint at an elementary school.   All I've got left to do is pack lunches. I might even get some quality time with a new book. If I'm really lucky, the predicted thunderstorms will start to roll in and I can drift off while watching the best of lightshows.   Can...

FROM TOP: "Lucy" and "Desi," each 5" x 7", commissioned Westhighland Terrier portraits, private collection (THANK YOU!!). Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . Another busy day today. Finalized details on the first press run of Painting a Dog a Day - The First Year, proofed printed ephemera that one of my paintings is in, volunteered at my children's elementary school, and got these two paintings completed. I'm ready to call it a day! Not sure if I'll get to paint tomorrow - the kids are off school, and we all have dental appointments. Later in the day I have an interview with a local newspaper, and my oldest son has an away soccer game in the evening. If I don't get in the studio tomorrow, I will be showing up over the weekend, as there's still a few faces I would like to paint this week and some other details to tie up. I've heard rumors that the Google servers haven't been reliably delivering the dog-a-day emails. If...

FROM TOP: "Westie Study (Alex)"; "Shy Boy (Jack)"; both 5" x 7", West Highland Terrier portraits in acrylic on canvasboard, $249 each. Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . BOTH SOLD. The Lost Website Saga continues (not to detract from the charm of Alex and Jack, which is substantial and deserves a moment or two). A huge thank you to those who have offered to email the postings they have saved on their own machines. I didn't clarify properly that the Painting a Dog a Day blog is fine - nothing happened to IT (knock on wood....). My other two websites, the studio one at http://www.turtledovedesigns.com/ , and the main Painting a Dog a Day informational site http://www.paintingadogaday.com/ , are what is gone. I managed to get a temporary home page up on http://www.paintingadogaday.com/ , but am still sorting out the details on the Turtledove site, which will remain down for at least another week. My websites have been overdue for a massive ov...

ARTIST'S NOTE Sept 25th, 2007: This painting has been framed in a beautiful gilt and detailed molding, that perfectly compliments the range of color. It was juried into the 2007 Southwestern Michigan Portrait Exhibition, where my body of work (including 2 other dog-a-day entries) earned third place. “Westie Pup (Sophie),” 5” x 7”, west highland puppy pet portrait in acrylic on canvasboard, not for sale. When my niece recently returned from working the winter tour with a Grand Prix equestrian farm she came home with this little sweetheart. I’m not sure who got more attention – Tiffany, who had been gone for 4 months, or this bouncy little pup. When I sat down to paint Sophie, I was reminded of my first lesson with a well respected portrait painter. She had set up a still life, entirely comprised of white objects, and we spent more time discussing the color that was bouncing around amidst all the white than we did actually painting. There was no audible dialogue today when I painte...

Such a tender expression! This is Duncan, just a few weeks into this world when the reference photos for this painting were taken. “West Highland Pup,” 8” square, private collection. West Highland Terriers have beautiful fur – translucent wisps of wirey fur, going in every possible direction. Add those inky black eyes and a soft damp nose, and they become pretty irresistible. In order to capture the density of his coat, I laid down violets and greens before topping them with apricot and pink glazes. The eyes got painted first, too, so that the fringe framing his muzzle could float overtop his gaze just so. Thanks, as always, for looking. And for sharing these paintings with your friends and family! 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