Skip to main content

"Black & White (Millie)," 8x10, tuxedo kitty portrait, acrylic on canvasboard, private collection (THANK YOU!).

It's pretty obvious - Millie is a black and white cat, and as such, her painting becomes a mere study in value and line (although I think her precocious personality plays into the equation somewhat too).

In order to properly convey an essentially black and white portrait, one has to understand the finer points of drawing, and reducing one's subject matter to a simplified value range. There is little else for the eye to get lost in when the palette is restricted in this way, and errant shapes or incorrect values will seem even more glaringly wrong.

Quality draftsmanship, the ability to draw and recognize basic values, is essential when it comes to translating those same concerns into color. One cannot be crummy at drawing and expect to be able to excel at painting.

One artist who is exemplary in the art of drawing is artist Sheona Hamilton-Grant from Germany. Not only does she correctly reduce her subject matter to that ever important value range (translating a color photograph to black & white), but she does so with meticulous detailing. I never cease to find inspiration in her work. Her website is http://www.sheonahamiltongrant.com/ .

"Black and white really allows me to get to the essence, to show emotion, it doesn’t sidetrack in the way colour can." Sheona Hamilton-Grant

Sheona has a piece in the Canine Art Guild's new online exhibition, titled Black & White. I have some work in it too - but the show is full of some wonderful canine art from a great cross-section of artists who specialize in painting dogs. You may see the exhibition at http://www.canineartguild.com/ - scroll down the page a little bit to find the banner announcing the show, and click on that. (And if you do visit, make sure to cast your vote for the People's Choice award!)

Thanks, as always, for looking and sharing!
Enjoy your weekend,
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

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tabby Kit

"Tabby Kit," 5" x 7", acrylics on a museum quality panel, depicting a tiny little orange striped guy from Morgue File . This painting can be yours for $289, which includes s&h inside the US. And in case you didn't see it, a little doodle of him is also available for sale here . Inquires may come directly to me .  Although it certainly doesn't FEEL like spring here (snow and ice and wind chills, brr!), I can tell that spring is coming. The mercury is rising a wee bit each day and the days are getting longer and brighter. Over the weekend we drove with the moonroof open just to feel the sun's meager and oh-so-very-welcome warmth (although the heat in the car was cranked, too, in the interest of full disclosure!). I wanted to work with spring-like colors today, and this little guy was still on my mind , so I grabbed a small panel and got to work. Of course, I also have Poppy to finish and some changes to make to another po
“Rapt (Shadow),” from the Larger than Life series, 16”x22”, acrylic black lab mixed breed pet portrait on gallery wrapped canvas, $699. Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . SOLD. This is Shadow, who went missing on Sunday night. He belongs to a friend of mine, and has been a fixture in our community for many years. Errant fireworks scared the silly old guy into running off, and his family is busy searching for him. (If you happen to be in the Lake Orion/Oakland County area and have seen Shadow, please call 248-391-0867 or 248-391-6817) I’m confidant that he is safe (somewhere!) and awaiting discovery, but meanwhile, couldn’t help myself from posting his portrait as today’s dog a day painting . He’s constantly on my mind, and probably will remain so, until he finds his way back home. Hug your four legged guys while you can! Thanks, as always, for looking. And for sharing these paintings with friends and family, Kim Kimberly Kelly Santini http://www.turtledovedesigns.com/ dis

NEW! Etsy Store

One of my favorite unsold paintings from 2008, "Lashes & Corkscrews," 5" x 8", acrylic on canvasboard, depicting a tobiano buckskin curly horse, $289. Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com (but read further on how you can get a special deal on this painting!). Now it's ridiculously easy to browse my painting archives. All you have to do is visit my Etsy store . Etsy has a Shopping Cart (so you can pile it high with purchases from a variety of artists), is integrated with Paypal (although you may still pay by check if you prefer to), and is terribly simple to navigate. When the week has ended, I will have listed almost 100 of my favorite (UNSOLD!) paintings here, grouped loosely by subject matter. During 2009 I'll update the shop regularly, and add non-Dog-a-Day pieces as a bonus, thus making it easy to search for that perfect gift. Watch my daily postings for announcements, promotions and discount codes. If you do not receive the Dog-a-Day emails (