Paintings With Soul

ABOVE, detail, BELOW, full painting. "Pansy," 18"x24", acrylics and graphite on stonehenge paper, private collection (thank you very much!!). Inquiries can always come   to me . My grandmothers and great grandmother always knew how to make me feel special, no matter my age, no matter the situation. Today I was wondering what they would think of our world, what we have become. I wondered what they would do to make me feel better. I made Grandma Kelly's apple pancakes for breakfast. Pansies and violet remind me of my great grandmother, so they got called up. And there is a chalk outline of me and my maternal grandmother hugging each other buried deep in these layers of paint. So this piece is about building my own blanket fort to feel safe and loved. I hope you have a means to build one for yourself. Thanks for following along with my painting journey, Kim

"Alia," 9"x12"x1", acrylics on cradeled museum quality panel, private collection (thank you very much). Purchase inquiries can always come   to me . Alia learned to smile after being rescued by her new family. It was important that her portrait tell the story of a sweet girl with a new outlook. I was delighted to get to paint her this way, relaxed and happy. If you are looking for something extraordinarily special for yourself or a loved one, reach out. Commissioned paintings are a gift like no other, in that they reflect your own ideals while brightening your home/work space. I work from your personal photos to create a one of a kind portrait that looks - and feels - like your best friend. 8x10s start at $499 -   message me  and let's start planning your project! Thanks for following along with my painting journey, Kim

If you watched   today's #journalthroughit lesson , you saw me create this page live. While it looks complex, ir's really just a number of layers of marks, all done with simple materials you probably already have around your house. Collage papers and glue, a pen, and colored pencils or crayons. Also, if you are sadly quarantining without a spirograph, I showed a doodle substitution that was equally meditative and visually satisfying. And if you now cannot live another minute without a spirograph,   here's the one   that I used in class.   #journalthroughit continues to go strong, with   Ardith   Goodwin teaching Mondays (her class times can fluctuate), and then I chime in on Thursdays at 11:30 eastern. A   complete listing of the   37 classes to date   is on my website , along with direct links to the video lessons. Yup, you read that right - thirty seven lessons!! And we're still making more. Videos will be up for one year after air dat...

"Eddy," 11"x14", acrylics and graphite on stonehenge paper, $399 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. This piece will be shipped flat and need to be framed and set behind glass by the buyer. I accept Paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Purchase inquiries can always come   to me . More art therapy. It's cold and damp in Michigan today and the world seems caught up in an odd vortex of insanity. So what do I do? I work at the easel while wearing my woolen winter hat, and think of baby swans in icy, swirling waters. Now I'm off for some hot tea. Thanks for following along with my painting journey, Kim

DETAIL "Cygnets," 11"x14", acrylics and graphite on stonehenge paper, $399 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. Full image is below. This piece will be shipped flat and need to be framed and set behind glass by the buyer. I accept Paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Purchase inquiries can always come   to me . I am thinking about metamorphosis and animals that represent change. Also tenderness and vulnerability, which is always summed up neatly in a baby anything (except for maybe a honey badger - I bet those things are fierce as heck from the first breath!) Our lives, our world, is in flux, and painting hopeful images of creatures that embrace that is peaceful to me. Sort of my way of putting my head in the sand. So here is your art therapy for today. Thanks for following along with my painting journey, Kim

IN PROCESS, WORKING TITLE "Cygnets," 11"x14", acrylics and graphite on stonehenge paper, $399 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. This piece will need to be framed and set behind glass by the buyer. I accept Paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Purchase inquiries can always come   to me . Every day I get at least one email or message, asking about my process. Which means I must not be doing a good enough job talking about   my online classroom,   where I share all the magic and more. This painting is being filmed as it progresses, and my students will get all the deets about my concept, and see the process from the underpainting to the finishing touches. Plus they get the added benefit of discussion, links to my sources of inspiration, learn what I'm reading and thinking about as I create. If this sounds interesting,   come on over   and join us! Meanwhile, Cygnets should be finished later this week, and ...

"Meadow," 18"x24", acrylics and graphite on stonehenge paper, $599 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. This piece will need to be framed and set behind glass by the buyer. I accept Paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Purchase inquiries can always come   to me . The sun is shining, it's all nice and spring-green outside, except for the snow falling. Big, fat flakes. I'm in denial inside. Thanks for following along with my painting journey, Kim

"Sunrise," 18"x24", acrylics and graphite on stonehenge paper, $599 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. This piece will need to be framed and set behind glass by the buyer. I accept Paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Purchase inquiries can always come   to me . I've been doing a lot of experimental things in the studio lately, but today I wanted to feel a bit more accomplished. So I set out to finish something that had been started a bit ago. This was the initial study for the   larger 36" x 48" jackrabbit painting   I have in process, but as I worked on her today, she took on a life of her own. She's rather hopeful, just like the promise of a new day. Thanks for following along with my painting journey, Kim

Earlier this month I was pleased to learn that my online vendor was offering cloth facemasks printed with my artwork. What a fantastic way to brighten up an outing! You can order   here   - first choose the image desired (images are grouped by category/subject matter) then the item (facemask). And if you have made a special request for a particular image, I've not forgotten about you - I should get to them this week, and will send you an email when it's completed. Thanks so very much! Studio News from April 2020 Things continue to run smoothly here at the Santini's. The girls are done with their online courses, as last week was final exams, so we have a bit of mad time before summer studies pick up again. We are making the most of the sunshine and the dogs are clocking lots of miles alongside us. I've been working steadily on commissions (thank you so much to those of you who have reached out to start your projects!). I have a wonderful variety of ...

In honor of what should be Kentucky Derby Week, I am sharing my original equine work, which is something I've done this time every year since 2007. "She Bows Her Head and Honors the Light in All of Us," 24"x30", acrylics on panel, $899 plus s&h. This painting is cleated and wired on the backside, so the buyer has the option of hanging it floating-style on the wall. It can also be framed. I accept Paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Purchase inquiries can always come   to me . So what does one do after painting the official Derby art (scroll below to see that painting along with a short video about it's making)? Well, I sought a way to paint more expressively, more dynamically, to capture emotion and other sensory responses in my work beyond the mere capture of a scene or object. And that's pretty much what I have been pursuing in the last 5 years. I've studied with some extraordinary creatives, learned how to push my materials ...

"The First Saturday in May," 36" x 14", the official artwork for the 2015 Kentucky Derby, acrylic on museum quality panel, in a private collection. You can see a short video about the creation of this painting   here . I was offered this job in June 2014. Clare Jett, owner of JettStream Publishing, the licensing agency responsible for the Derby artwork, googled "horse racing art" and found my work. She traced it back to my blog, found my phone number, and cold called. That's the actual truth. Also, she told me I was the coolest headed artist she had ever offered the project to. And that's because, when she first contacted me, I thought she was a prank phone call. There was no way I was gonna give the prankster anything to hang over my head. But after we hung up and I realized it was legit, there may have been some jumping about, jazz hands and screaming. Thanks so much for following along with my art journey, Please stay w...

I just went to send my (mailchimp) newsletter today, and I was surprised to see how many new subscribers I have - thank you so much for that!! I'll have to wait until Friday to send out my next note via them, as I'm currently over my plan's limit. Meanwhile, here's another equine painting from the archives. The colors here just ripple across the painting. It's a calm piece with a gentle presence. It's also cleated and wired on the back for a seamless look, or you may choose to frame it. "Present," 12" x 16", acrylics on a museum quality panel, $599 plus s&h direct to your door. I accept paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Please message me or comment below if you are interested - and thank you so much for following along with my art journey!!

"Eclipse," 12"x12", acrylics on museum quality panel, $549 plus s&h. I accept Paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Purchase inquiries can always come   to me . In honor of what should be Kentucky Derby Week, I am sharing my original equine work, which is something I've done this time every year since 2007. Isn't this painting something extraordinary? She's even prettier in person - the glazes shift and shimmer as you walk past. When I originally did this painting, shortly after the eclipse a few summers ago, a collector immediately asked for it. As we got to talking, she realized she would rather something similar to his piece, but larger, which I was happy to do. It gave me the chance to add personal symbols, like a firefly for each of her grandchildren, a butterfly and a hawk. It was profound getting to deliver the piece in person and see the space it was destined to hang. I can do the same thing for you with...

"Blurring the Lines," 11"x14", acrylics on museum quality panel, $499 plus s&h. I accept Paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Purchase inquiries can always come   to me . In honor of what should be Kentucky Derby Week, I will share some of my original equine work created over the years. This is something I've done since 2007 - celebrating one of the biggest weeks in horseracing (at least here in the states) by highlighting horses in art. It was extra special doing so in 2015, the year I was the official artist of The Kentucky Derby. Here's my blog post from April 27, 2015 , the day before I left for Louisville. But back to today's painting - this one has been in my personal collection for a couple years. I'm ready to let her go, though, to someone who's at least as equally in love with her as I am. (I can't keep all my favorites, because I simply do not have the space! and I've got something on my easel right no...

"Remembered," 11x14, acrylics and graphite on stonehenge cotton paper, $399 plus s&h. I accept Paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Purchase inquiries can always come   to me . This painting is a Celebration of Life in the midst of a pandemic; remembering our world (and rituals) while separated from core practices that connected us to each other. Thanks for following along with my painting journey, Kim

"Swaddled," 11x14, acrylics and graphite on stonehenge paper, $399 plus s&h. I accept Paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Purchase inquiries can always come   to me . I am thrilled to share that my online vendor is now offering facemasks printed with imagery of my paintings. These are cloth facemasks for everyday use - they are not medical grade. To order   please visit here . You will need to choose the album of artwork, then the individual image, before you see the facemask option (you can order other items there as well). Also, I am uploading   the rabbit paintings, what I am calling The Talismen series   to this same site. I'm not entirely caught up with all of the paintings, but I'm working on it. You can order prints, note cards and other items (like cell phone cases too and yoga mats). And I do have plans down the road to put a small book together - I appreciate your asking about that! Thanks for following along with ...

"Fragile," 11x14, acrylics and graphite on stonehenge paper, $399 plus s&h. I accept Paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Purchase inquiries can always come   to me . My strongest painting always connect deeply with what I'm feeling. Not sure why today in particular I was fraught with worry for the vulnerable citizens, but it was here in the studio alongside me, so it got painted into the piece. There's no such thing as an expendable life. And please don't turn this into a political debate. It is an artists job is to create work about their experiences/feels and make pieces that reflects their perspective of world events. I am merely doing my job. Thanks for following along with my painting journey, Kim

Detail from a special in process painting that's currently on my easel. Working title "Maelstrom," the entire painting is 18x24, of which this is about a 9" square. Purchase inquiries, including reserving this work in process, can always come   to me . I just wanted to share something sweet and tender with you today. Seems like we need more of that sort of thing lately. Enjoy! Thanks for following along with my painting journey, Kim

"Fact Checkers," 18" x 24", acrylics and graphite on Stonehenge paper, $599 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. I accept Paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Please   reach out to me   with inquiries or questions. This photo shows that there is some buckling in the paper - it will take a couple days for that to resolve, as the paint cures and the fibers dry out. I was so excited about this piece though, that I had to share it NOW. This is a breakthrough painting for me on a couple different levels. It practically fell off my brushes inside the last two days. They were looooooonnnnng painting days, but the good sorts of ones that motivate - they left me comfortably exhausted with just enough adrenaline to jump in all over again. Thanks for following along with my painting journey, Kim

"Baby Boy (Parker)," 9" x 12", loose study done in acrylics on gallery wrapped canvas, featuring a baby Thoroughbred, reference photo credit to   Linda Shantz , $199 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. I accept Paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Please   reach out to me   with inquiries or questions. Please also note the special pricing - I consider this piece a sketch, or at least sketchier (meaning looser, not of questionable actions) than my more finished paintings, so am passing that onto you in the form of an affordable price. This is my entry in the recent   Virtual pARTy hosted by Linda Shantz . Long time readers of this blog may recall that about 10 years ago, she and I would host monthly pARTys, where we would share a reference photo and invite anyone to work from it. We had a lot of fun back then, choosing the subject for the pARTy and getting to know so many new artists. Linda decided to resurrect the idea, which I though...