Paintings With Soul

"And Down the Stretch They Come!!," 7" x 14", painting of a racetrack scene inspired by Saratoga, detail below, done in acrylics on museum quality panel, $549 to the first asking nicely.  In process views of this painting are available on  the studio Facebook page . Requests may always come  to me  (and yes I am happy to set up a payment plan and yes I take credit cards and yes return collectors get 10% off all original panel paintings all the time). I am so happy May is here!!   Because it's Derby Week, baby!! All horses!! I spent last night reviewing photos, editing and cropping and trying to figure out what to paint this week. So many choices, not enough days!! I've got 8 compositions but only 5 painting days, so I'll have to work quickly and productively if I want to do them all. I cut to the chase this morning, bypassing most of my morning studio routine to get r...

  (Yes, I know this photo shows a May calendar where the month starts on a Monday, and that is just wrong. So very wrong. I know that the month starts on a Tuesday, and when you download the file from my website, you'll get a correct calendar. I promise!!)     Have you been enjoying the monthly desktop calendars built from my favorite Painting a Dog a Day pieces? I hope so!! I'm sending May out a little early because next week is Derby Week, and I want to share 5 equine paintings!!   So, they aren't dogs, but I'm hopeful these ladies will bring a smile to your face this month!! This painting is available for purchase, too - it's a highly colorful 9" x 12" for $529. Email me  if you are interested!!   To implement the calendar, simply download the calendar file  directly from my website . I've set up a couple different ways to do this, either via the photo album or a direct link.   I am by no mean...

  "Garden Muses," 6" x 12", commissioned double portrait of water spaniels, done in acrylics on museum quality panel, private collection (with many thanks!).       I couldn't get to the easel quickly enough today - there's something about the call of an unfinished painting that lures me into the studio with a powerful pull.   The majority of today's work was done with Augie and Luna's references tucked away. Instead, I imagined them in front of me, the kiss of sunlight on their muzzles, the hum of crickets and peepers in the background.   I've sent this image off to my client and am hoping she's doing cartwheels about now.   Have a fabulous evening! Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com   "Little Spider," a 6" square portrait from last year's Derby Week, currently available to purchase via Mackinac's Little Gal...

  In process "Garden Muses," 6" x 12", commissioned double portrait done in acrylics on museum quality panel. Don't you love Luna's eyelashes? What woman wouldn't kill for those?!   I'm currently accepting commissions and even have a couple spots left for delivery by Father's Day -  email me  if you are interested.       Both Augie and Luna had wonderful lives. My client has the fondest memories of time spent in the garden with them, so it seemed fitting that their portrait be staged in the same place. My goal is to infuse this painting with their two distinctive personalites and the unique flair of a particular location.   (I also love the way the garden growth, which reads as foliage, also reads as abstraction and patterning)   See you tomorrow!! Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com     Tussle   Thank you to all w...

This painting needs a title - help me!! The working title is "Tussle," but I'm not such a fan of that anymore. There is more of a genial sharing happening here, and I'd like the title to reflect that. Suggestions may come  to me . By the way, this is a 12" x 16" piece, and you can see in process pics on  the studio's Facebook page. A little bit ago the manufacturer of the paints I use, Golden, challenged their artists to allocate one entire day just to painting. To turn off the phone and the computer and ignore the stack of papers on the desk and just play with paint. Well, being the OCD control freak that I am, I cleared my calendar and actually planned for an all-day paint last week. And ended up with a sick child at home. For 5 days. So I wasn't about to fall into that trap again!! I grabbed what I could today - 6 hours at the easel - which wasn...

This afternoon I set up a fresh palette. Doing this always makes me feel like it is Christmas morning, all fresh with possibility and suprises. I've talked about  my setup and working with a limited palette before . But the last time I did so was in February of 2011 - since then, I've made some new discoveries and thought a few merited sharing. I work with a Masterson Stay-Wet palette using a mix of Golden Heavy Body and Open Acrylics(*). I set my palette up the same way each time I paint, and can generally get 4 or 5 days of painting accomplished prior to having to set up anew. During this time I will occasionally mist the surface with a spray bottle (of water). I also have a designated spot (between the Light Green and Quin Crimson on the lower right) where I place one small drop of essential oil on the palette sponge, to counteract any mildewy odor from the palette or paints as they age. And what st...

  "Teddy," 8" square, portrait of a stuffed bear (buy the painting, get the bear too!), $199, inquiries may come to  me .    Today I broke routine and painted from life, using a well loved treasure The Princess and I rescued from the stuffed animal bin at the Salvation Army.           We are creatures of habit. We love routines. Routines get us moving and make us happy and comfortable because we know what we are capable of and what to expect in return. But routines can also create a false sense of security. They can deceive us. They can hold us back. We all have that little voice in our heads that reminds us “Why try things differently when the status quo has been good enough all along?”   Because if we don't step out of our comfort zone, break that routine and give something new a try, we are seriously shortchanging ourselves. We limit our opportunity to learn, we allow ...

  Above, "Contented (Cleo)," from the "Cherished" series, 7" x 11", portrait of Cleopatra the Tabby of the Nile, acrylic on museum quality panel, $469, inquiries may come to  me .    Below, On Top, "Jen's Cleo," also from the "Cherished" series, 4" x 7", starring the same Cleopatra, acrylic on museum quality panel, collection of Jen.    Below, On Bottom, the photograph inspiring the above two paintings.   In process views of each painting can be seen on  the studio's Facebook page .         I used to do this all the time - work on two paintings of different sizes simultaneously.   Not sure why I haven't done so recently - it's a great exercise. Provided your marks are the same in scale from panel to panel, it helps your eye to simplify forms (an exercise in painting loosely). It also trains and tests your drawing skills while honing color mixing abilities.   I also like to use this as an explorati...

  "Princess One & Princess Two," 12" square, commissioned portrait of royalty, acrylic on museum quality panel, private collection (THANK YOU!), inquiries may come to  me .          Tomorrow my princess returns to school after 5 days of serious couch warming.   I am looking forward to tackling something extraordinary at the easel. No worries about emptying the throwup bowl or popsicle breaks or switching out the DVDs in the player or hitting the whole house with a fine layer of Lysol.   That is, as long as no one else comes down with this.....   Pray for me! Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com  

  "Kiss (Baci)," 5" square, from the "Cherished" series, acrylic on museum quality panel, $239, inquiries may come to  me .  SOLD         I would say that the "Cherished" series is off to an excellent start.   I'm looking for a few more muses - details on how to submit your companion animal are  on the blog .   And now to get my butt in gear and submit that exhibition proposal so that we are official and stuff with contracts and all.   And then I can share the exciting news with you!!   Best stop wasting time, then, eh? Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com   Just a little taste of what we'll be doing in the adult journalling class this week,  using doodles culled from the garden and  water based media.   grownUPs Journalling   It's the 3rd Thursday this week, which means the grownUP journallers will be meeting at Little Monsters in downtown Lake Orion. Class is from 6-8pm and we'll be ...

"Hagen," 5" x 7", acrylic on museum quality panel, depicting a German Shepherd, private collection (THANK YOU!!). While Hagen's painting already has a home, I would be happy to create something special just for your -  email me ! Sketches start at $99 and paintings on panel, like this guy's, at $209. Hagen was born in Germany, and returned there for training. He failed training, though, because he didn't understand biting. Hagen is extra special in that he is a certified, non-biting GSD. How cool is that? I met Hagen this last February, when he was a finalist for the Painting a Dog a Day Valentine's Giveaway. You can see the reference photo that inspired his painting to the left, and the other finalists (many of whom I've already painted)  here . Thanks, as always, for looking at my artwork and sharing it with your friends, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com Please Do Forward to a Friend! Forward this email to a fr...