Skip to main content

“Pasha’s Eyes,” 4x6, pit bull portrait in acrylic on canvasboard, $50. Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . Proceeds from the sale of this painting will go to the Humane Society of the United States, to help offset care and rehabilitation costs for the 54 dogs rescued from Michael Vick’s property earlier this summer. (PLEASE NOTE: Due to the HSUS's change of heart (see August 3rds posting), I'm instead donating to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.)

SOLD.

I just don’t understand the appeal of dog fighting, or even just the bad rep pit bulls have, especially when dogs like Pasha cross my path. Rotties had that same sort of reputation a few years back, and that breed suffered prejudice as well.

Pasha is a pit bull whose current life is in extreme juxtaposition to a dark beginning. Dropped at an animal hospital by a suspected dog-fighting breeder, Pasha was nearly bald and covered in scabs from mange. He survived parvo, was severely malnourished, and had lived his entire life crated. After 4 months of nursing and gentle care, he found a forever home with a doting family. They claim he’s not the cleverest of dogs, a goofball with charming clumsiness, and terribly eager to be loved. He remains skittish and scared of new things, but has thoroughly enjoyed his last 10 years of “the good life.”

Not so bad for a dog once destined for a very short and brutally vicious life.

On another note, I wanted to mention that the Canine Art Guild has just opened their second online exhibition, “Dogs Just Wanna Have Fun.” I have 3 pieces in this show, all dog-a-day paintings. And not that you should vote for them (there’s PLENTY of other options!), but there is a People’s Choice award up for grabs. There is some really, errr, fun, art there (yeah, I know – BAD pun). You can view the CAG show at www.canineartguild.com/gallery.

I’ll also have a booth at next week’s Dog Day’s of August event in downtown Lake Orion on Saturday, August 11th. Please stop by if you are in the area and bring your four-legged friends – I’ll have my camera ready to shoot all sorts of reference photos. It promises to be a fun day all around!

Thanks, as always, for looking,
And for sharing these paintings with your friends and family, too.
See you tomorrow,
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

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“Katie’s Moustache,” 6x12, pet portrait in acrylic on canvasboard, $90. Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . One glimpse of Katie’s face, and I was hooked. Not only did she fall into my beloved “black & white” category, but she came with a full moustache and doe-like eyes. I first covered the canvas with a variety of blues and purples, using a (mixed) light green and pink for the highlights. (Right now my palette has been expanded to include the following: pthalo blue red, azurite hue, cad red dark, alizarine crimson, cad yellow dark, and then for graying/hazing out I use light green yellow and ultramarine purple.) I lighten with titanium white and darken with one of the blues and a touch of one of the reds. As a side note, at this time last year I was really struggling with my limited palette (I went from about 60 pots of paint to 3), but I have lived the benefits – I am so much more familiar with what I can mix given just this handful of colors. My paintings are also m...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dear Copyright Thieves

Dear Copyright Thieves,   Just because it's on the internet doesn't mean it's free for the taking. So let's just stop pretending the internet is a free-for-all.   Don't play the card that you didn't know - that's insulting. And don't also tell me that you meant to follow up and get permission but never got a chance to. That's insulting too. And by the way, don't you have a copyright protection notice on your own site?   And don't even try and point the finger at a third party who commissioned you to make a copy of my painting - again, an insult - you and I both know the difference between a reference photo and a painting.   And don't tell me that I asked for it because I share my artwork on the internet. I share my paintings and ideas and the stories behind them so as to encourage others to pursue  their own passions . I do not share so that those lacking integrity and morals can copy and market the images as their own...
33 comments
Read more

Golden Open Acrylics

I get all sorts of process oriented questions. Most recently I've been getting asked a lot about my paints and palette, which made me realize what a nice blog topic this would make! I use a Masterson Sta-Wet Premier palette box . This is comprised of a box (think Tupperware) with a sponge liner and a slice of palette paper that work together to keep my paints wet. This setup allows me to work with the same palette for about a full week, having the box open for multiple hours every day. You can see what the palette looks like at the beginning of a new session above - below the exact same palette after this week's work. For the last 25 years I have used Golden brand acrylics, mediums, and varnish. I love the overall quality of these paints and the fact that, when I have a question, their customer service department is made up of artists who actually use the products. Until last year, I used their Heavy Body paints exclusively. They have a buttery consistency, a little loose...
11 comments
Read more