A Live Paint and Another Workshop

The kids, all hard at work on their paintings -

I was so pleased to see their delight in learning a few new tricks!!

This past Saturday I had the distinct pleasure of premiering my brand spankin' new Painting Workshop "Mixing Color - Not Mud" in New Baltimore (Michigan).** The artists in attendance raved about their experience, which pleased me to no end - particularly after seeing their shocked faces when I asked them, first thing in the morning, to create 10 minute paintings!!

The program is an ambitious collection of exercises structured to build confidence at the easel while improving the artists' perception and use of color in their own art.

The consensus was an overwhelming thumbs up (and those thumbs were a variety of harmonious color by the end of the day!). I am very excited to offer this workshop again right in my own stomping grounds.

"Mixing Color - Not Mud" will run it's first repeat performance this Saturday, June 11th, at the Orion Art Center. This time, the workshop will be complimented by a collection of my paintings on display at the OAC through the month of June.

I'll also do a live painting demonstration and field questions from those in attendance. This will happen on Thursday evening, from 7-9pm. (PLEASE NOTE: You do not have to attend Thursday's presentation to enjoy the workshop. And vice versa!)

If you are interested in attending Thursday's demo, just stop on by. We are asking for donations at the door, which will go to the Oakland Pet Adoption Center.

To enroll in "Mixing Color - Not Mud," please call the OAC directly - 248-693-4986.

I am really looking forward to this week! It's not often that I get the opportunity to share my artwork, talk about it, raise money for a cause I love, and then get to paint alongside incredible talent.

AND it's sunny, today, to boot. Life is indeed good!!

Hope to see you at some point this coming week,

Kim

ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

PS Warm thanks to the Anchor Bay Artists Club for inviting me to come talk their ears off, multiple times this year. It's been wonderful to nurture new friendships and share creative growth!

"A Gentle Breeze," painting 8" x 10", displayed in a floating frame, will be part of my June solo exhibition at the Orion Art Center.

Solo Show !!

This week I'll be hanging a solo show at the Orion Art Center (Lake Orion, Michigan).

The pieces will all be from the "Painting a Dog a Day" project, a daily painting challenge I begun back in 2006 - one that now numbers well over 1000 paintings.

Depicting a variety of companion and domesticated animals hailing from shelters, breeders, and places unknown, the collection will showcase the unique relationship pets have in our lives.

It will also bring my distinctive style to the forefront - bold color and expressive brushwork highlighting personality packed portraits.

Please stop by on Thursday evening, 7-9pm, for a painting demonstration and a live artist Q&A session.

Donations will be collected at the door for the Oakland Pet Adoption Center.

The artwork will remain on display at the Orion Art Center through the end of June. Please call the OAC if you have any questions.

“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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