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Knead You


 

"Knead You," 8" x 10", acrylic on museum quality panel, available to the first one asking nicely for $499; returning collectors pay only $449. Inquiries may come to me.

 
In process photos of this painting can be viewed on the studio's Facebook page. 

 
 

 

 
I've painted Coco and Puff before. And their little dog, too.

 
Funny story about the dog - when I first met Coco about 9 years back she was just a kitten, newly enamored of this little stuffed toy from a Happy Meal. However, said doggie was hidden in a secret spot when our photo shoot was scheduled, so I didn't get to meet him. When he re-materialized the next day, my client tucked him into my mailbox.

 
However, she didn't know we had moved across town days prior, and I never got the message that the dog was in there waiting for me.

 
A good amount of time went by before we put two and two together. It was quite a conversation when I showed up unannounced on my old stoop.

 
"Did you by chance find a tiny stuffed dog in your mailbox? You did?! oh fantastic! Do you still have him? You see, he belongs to this cat. Well, not my cat, but this other cat. Although I suppose it would help if I introduced myself - I used to live here......"

 
Yes, the dog was recovered, and yes, he is still cherished, as you can see.

 
Thanks for following along and sharing my paintings,
Kim

 



 
Reference Photo

 
A client turned friend (or was it friend turned client? details are foggy on anything happening longer ago than yesterday) sent me this adorable photo from her iPhone. Well actually she sent a mess of photos but this one I just couldn't resist.
 

I made some conscious changes between the photo and my painting. That's the beauty of being an artist - I can manipulate references to create something entirely different.

 
I wanted a focal point that ran in a slight diagonal across the center of the panel, so I shifted the dog down and to the left. See the zig zag his body creates between the extended leg and kitty profile? That's intentional to anchor that area/line as my focal point.

 
I cropped in tightly so that the negative space in the reference photo on the lower left wasn't a distraction. I also changed the value of the blanket so that it wasn't the lightest part of the painting.

 
I removed the darker blanket at Puff's head. Her face had to be the darkest dark.

 
And I extended Coco's paw, accenting that kneading action. After all, that's what inspired the title.

 
 
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