Paintings With Soul

ORDER NOTECARDS/REPRODUCTIONS "One Plus One," 8" square, portrait of two cows, done in Golden Open Acrylics on an Ampersand Gessobord, $399 to the first one asking nicely. Inquiries, including starting that long-awaited discussion about your special commissioned portrait, may come to me . There are certain compositional rules in art, one being never put your focal point in the middle of your canvas. Another is not to break your painting up into equal spaces with the lines/structure of your composition. "Nah nah nah nah nah nah," is what I say. Sometimes, rules are meant to be broken. Many thanks to my friends Elizabeth and Doug Nelson for the sharing of their bovine muses. (I did get out of the studio recently and made the acquaintance of some longhorns and a handful of sheep, so stay tuned!) Thanks for sharing my artwork with your friends and family, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com The newest fairy door in our garden, this one emerging wit...

ORDER NOTECARDS/REPRODUCTIONS "Smiling Oliver," 4" x 6", commissioned portrait of a mixed breed, done in Golden Open Acrylics on canvasboard, private collection (THANK YOU!!). I painted Oliver before , nearly 4 years ago. His family wanted a new portrait that showed off Oliver's bright smile, and I was happy to oblige. Thanks for sharing my artwork with your friends and family, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com Dancing Angels I received several requests for reproductions of my Dancing with the Stars design. Prints are sized approximately 13" x 14". You can have yours shipped in a tube ($24), matted and framed (starting at $103), or printed on canvas and stretched ($97). There is also a notecards option. Proceeds from every single purchase of Dancing with the Starz will be donated to Starz Performing Arts Dancing Angels Scholarship Program. Thank you so much for supporting the dancers. Orders can be placed here.

ORDER NOTECARDS/REPRODUCTIONS "Moppet," from The Gratitude Project , companion piece to yesterday's portrait of "Dixie," 6" square, commissioned portrait of a rescued Yorkshire Terrier, done in Golden Open Acrylics on gessobord, private collection (THANK YOU!!). As with all the paintings in "The Gratitude Project," proceeds from the sale of Moppet's portrait will benefit Yorkshire Terrier National Rescue . Both Moppet and Dixie were understandably terrified of the camera (did you read their story ?), so there was some coaching and training that went on behind the scenes. The idea was to gradually desensitize the dogs' to the camera and reinforce their newfound trust in their caregivers. Their Mom began by associating the camera with treats - a smidge of peanut butter or a morsel of chicken, along with lots of petting and kind words. No picture taking, just nosing around the camera, smelling good things, and getting loved on. Onc...

ORDER NOTECARDS/REPRODUCTIONS "Dixie," from The Gratitude Project , 6" square, commissioned portrait of a rescued Yorkshire Terrier, done in Golden Open Acrylics on gessobord, private collection (THANK YOU!!). As with all the paintings in "The Gratitude Project," proceeds from the sale of Dixie's portrait will benefit Yorkshire Terrier rescue. Dixie and her sidekick Moppet (whom you'll meet tomorrow) came to their family through Yorkshire Terrier National Rescue . They came to their foster home, which quickly became their forever home, after spending 7 years at a farm where they received no socialization and experienced no human interaction (other than to have food dumped into their enclosure). Males and females were allowed to breed at will, and offending dogs were debarked. Upon her arrival, Dixie was so terrified that she would lay perfectly still in her dog bed, never looking up, for hours at a time. When brought outside, she would run to th...

ORDER NOTECARDS/REPRODUCTIONS "Little Ray of Sunshine (Nettle)," from The Gratitude Project , 5" square, portrait of a former puppy mill mama now turned a much loved and spoilt Cairn Terrier, done in Golden Open Acrylics on gessobord, possibly available (Nettle's Mom get's first dibs on the painting). Email me if you are interested. Puppy mills are a horrible enough place to start life out, but can you imagine if that's all you knew? Never tasting fresh water or feeling green grass under your feet. Never knowing the complete exhaustion of a long hike or the total relaxation of a hearthside nap. Not ever hearing your name spoken gently - or maybe never even having one. Nettle didn't ask for any of that, yet that was all she knew, bearing multiple litters, living in a stacked wire crate. And now it's changed for the better. Thanks for sharing my artwork with your friends and family, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com Happy Weekend! Whether ...

ORDER NOTECARDS/REPRODUCTIONS "Kitten Fluff," from The Daily Paintworks Challenge , 4-1/4" x 5", portrait of a wee ball of fur, done in Golden Open Acrylics on gessobord, available for $219 (preferred collectors pay only 198!!). Email me if you are interested. The Daily Paintworks group issues weekly challenges, many of which I've been able to tackle. They are a wonderfully talented group of daily painters with a fabulous and well designed web site. It is rewarding to see them add interactive elements and exercises - the sorts of things I haven't been able to take on/think about since college. This week's challenge was to work from a darling kitten photo. As I write this, 60 artists have participated, with their results shared on the challenge page . It's fascinating stuff, how each of us has seen the same image and interpreted it entirely differently. So what do you suppose is this kitten's story? Thanks for sharing my artwork with yo...

ORDER NOTECARDS/REPRODUCTIONS "Little Dog, Big Shadow," from "The Gratitude Project," 5" square, portrait of a delightful little rescued mix breed, done in Golden Open Acrylics on an Ampersand Gessobord, not for sale. Do you ever have the good fortune to meet someone who inspires you without any effort on their part whatsoever? Foxy's Mom is just such a person. Her heart is always in alignment with her actions. She's dedicated her life towards making others' better, without ever losing her sense of humor. And Foxy is her ever present shadow, a witness to the trail of sunshine they leave behind. My only regret is the 1/2 a continent that separates us. Meanwhile, tonite, I'm raising a fine glass of red wine in her direction. And shortly I'll be prepping Foxy's painting to take a little trip out west. Thanks for sharing my artwork with your friends and family, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com Naughty Dog Last year, in great...

Above Step 3 and, below, the finished version of my newest painting "The Gossips" (Steps 1 and 2 were shared yesterday ). This painting is 9" x12", done in Golden Open Acrylics on Ampersand Gessobord, $529. Please email if you are interested in purchasing. ORDER NOTECARDS/REPRODUCTIONS OF "THE GOSSIPS" I spent today wallowing in color, color, color. I slipped a detail of the cows down below, so that you can get a better peek at the layers of brushwork. Can you see how, when taken out of context, the lower portion of the painting reads as pure abstraction? This pleases me to no end - it's one of my favorite bits about painting. So what's next? I've got a couple dog commissions lined up and another barnyard pair and I'd really like to also get to the Daily Paintworks Challenge . We'll see what I feel like painting tomorrow when I stand in front of the easel. Any guesses at what it'll be? Thanks again to photographer Doug Nels...

ABOVE and BELOW: Both in process views of new painting "The Gossips," 9" x12", Golden Open Acrylics on Ampersand Gessobord, available for purchase. I anticipate finishing this painting later today or tomorrow - please email me if you are interested in purchasing. A couple weeks back I asked on Facebook what sorts of critters you wanted to see me paint. Cows were an overwhelming favorite, and one follower went so far as to send me some fabulous reference photos. Doug Nelson is a phenomenally talented photographer, with gallery representation and plenty of experience shooting reference photos for his artist wife. I was beyond delighted to have his blessing to paint from a few of his bovine photos (please see below for more information on working from photographic references). I'm kicking myself for not capturing this piece's underpainting - the top 1/3 was a luscious violet, which you can still see peeking around the cows' toplines. The middle was ...

You are cordially invited to come spend a day in the studio with me, learning some vibrant color mixing techniques and practicing "loosening up" exercises. Click on the above image for a larger view. Hope to paint with you! Kim Santini ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

ORDER NOTECARDS/REPRODUCTIONS Detail of "Josie," image approximately 4" x 6" , on an 8" x 10" piece of Multimedia Artboard, portrait of a Cairn Terrier, done in Golden Open Acrylics, proceeds benefitting Col. Potter Cairn Rescue . Josie's Mom is caught between a rock and a hard place - pondering her sidekick's sketch vs a larger and more detailed full-body portrait. And who knows, she might take both! But meanwhile, if you are interested in this one, shoot me an email ! "Josie" is a charming original priced at $100 - when she's gone, she's gone!! Thanks for sharing my artwork with your friends and family, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com Mug Shots The Canine Art Guild , of which I am a proud founding member, has an excellent online exhibition right now titled "Mug Shots." Please visit the show and cast your vote for "The People's Choice" award.