It's Customer Appreciation Month !!

Pictured above is one of my favorite commissioned portraits from last year. LeeLoo is quite the little diva, all proud of herself and her spanking new collar, and you can just hear her snurgling, her presence is so tangible when standing in front of this painting.

LeeLoo's portrait summarizes what I try to do each time I pick up the brush and tackle a new personality. And I've been blessed with the painting quite a few - well over 1000 of them as of last month.

So let's keep them coming!

As a thank you to the universe for dropping the Painting a Dog a Day project in my lap (ok, there was a lot of elbow grease that went into making it happen, but I still am grateful for the opportunity presenting itself in the first place), I'm going to extend my Preferred Collector pricing to all new portraits booked through the end of this month.

All customers, whether repeat offenders or fresh-faced youngsters, will get 10% off commissioned paintings. Wanna book a portrait to commemorate an anniversary or adoption date? Wanna give a gift that'll never be forgotten? Wanna spoil yourself with a timeless treasure?

With the Preferred Collector pricing, paintings start under $200 and go up, depending upon size and complexity.

Let's get started talking about your dog and see how he will measure up to LeeLoo.

Thanks, as always, for supporting my artwork!

Happy New Year, Kim

ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

Thank Yous

It's the beginning of a New Year, when people take note of their blessings and lay plans to reap new ones.

I am especially grateful for your companionship along my daily painting journey. Your stories and friendships shore me up through the tougher days, and keep me grinning on the sunshiney ones.

Your business and referrals allow me to pursue my dream of painting, all from the heart of my home, which my family is also tremendously grateful for.

This year I am going to work even harder at delivering museum-quality paintings with a personal touch. I will be accepting a limited number of commissioned portraits (see my note above to get yourself on that list!), all the while continuing both "The Gratitude Project" (profiles of shelter animals from across the country) and the "At Your Service" series (paintings chronicling the lifestories of puppies from two litters of Service Dog candidates).

I'm also writing several books, editing video tutorials, establishing a workshop schedule, and adding a fresh selection of notecards and reproductions to the market.

I remain open to your ideas and suggestions as to what you would like to see come off my easel - emails can always come to me.

Cheers, Kim

“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...

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