Paintings With Soul

  The newest painting in the Saratoga Series, "At the Gate," has been signed. The above photo is from my cell phone, and it's an in-process shot and a little blurry (my apologies) - I didn't think to take a clearer photo before delivering the panel to my framer for trimming. But I think you get the idea! Below is a detail of the same in-process stage.....       This painting will be coming with me to  Spa Fine Art  in Saratoga, New York - unless someone speaks up in the next 48 hours ( email me!! ).   The piece is roughly 4-1/2" x 18", done in acrylics on a museum quality panel, and $549.   In process images are on  the studio Facebook page  - you might have to scroll back through the weekend's posts, since I worked this one up on Saturday.   And yes I did say I was taking this with me to Saratoga - I leave tomorrow!! I'll be in New York through the weekend, and return to daily paint...

Head on over to  the studio Facebook page , people!!   If you aren't already a fan, start by "liking" the page.   Then look at my timeline and find the photo/graphic that, when shared, will get you an entry in a giveaway for one 8" x 10" commissioned portrait valued at $469. (Hint: It looks pretty much identical to the image above)   Share said image on your own Facebook timeline.   Now you are entered to win!! Easy peasy, huh?   This portrait will be created in time for 2012 holiday giving (gifting to yourself is A-OK). Winner is responsible for any applicable shipping costs and taxes.   Interested parties must share the aforementioned photo/graphic that is on  the studio Facebook page . Shares must be public and from friends/fans of the studio page, and must be shared between now and the end of this month (July 31st). In exchange, the share-er earns one chance at winning the portrait.  ...

From my journal, a spread carrying prayer flags, which I will be leading my grownUP students in creating during tonite's class.   Did you know that we all breathe molecules that Leonardo da Vinci breathed himself? that we have the ability to put positive, brilliant energy out for others to benefit from? I'm fascinated as of late by the idea of karmic attraction - like attracting like. Our personal energy fields impact more than we realize.   Prayer flags  are a beautiful manifestation of desires and wishes. Intentions are put onto a "flag" using symbols and text and a variety of media. That flag is hung in a window or outdoors, where the breeze can pick up those intentions and carry them into the world.   Ok, call me that kooky crazy artist lady. I've been called worse.   But the Princess and I made some healing flags together and strung them on the back porch - we talked about her baby cousin who's healing from heart ...

"Oliver", a commissioned pet portrait, 8" x 10", acrylic on museum quality panel, depicting a yellow lab, private collection (THANK YOU!!). Inquiries can come  my way .   So today I didn't wear my Wonder Woman shoes (which served me so well when painting Cooper earlier this week), but I did have on a vintage Gucci-esque peasant skirt. I needed something boldly colored to carry me through this rainy day.   Oliver, though, he was my sunshine substitute.   In process views are in the Mobile Uploads folder inside the studio Facebook page .   Kim, who's wondering what to wear tomorrow ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com  

"Cooper", from the Cherished series, 12" square, acrylic on museum quality panel, depicting a black and white Boston Terrier. This painting will be part of ArtPrize in Grand Rapids this fall and available for purchase there. Inquiries may be directed  my way .   Cooper fell off my brushes during last night's painting session. This is what happens when I put on my Wonder Woman tennies and eat Girl Scout cookies until 3am.   In process views are in the Mobile Uploads folder inside the studio Facebook page .   Its going to be a fabulous week!! Kim  ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com     Outbound   Five paintings headed to new homes today and three others took off for Spa Fine Art in New York.   Which means I now have space on the studio floor for another pile. Hmmm......  

As I type this, it's closing in on 10pm on Monday. I've just laid out a fresh palette and chosen a 12" square panel that will soon tell the story of Cooper, a little lump of spunk wrapped up as a Boston Terrier.   However, even overly optimistic me knows that I won't be finishing this ambitious painting by my midnite posting deadline.   So, the next best thing? Regular updates to Facebook.   I'll be updating the progress of Cooper's portrait onto  the studio Facebook page , so if you are up working too (or just playing), please follow along and comment. If you are reading this in the morning, feel free to check in and add your two - or ten - cents.   Meanwhile, I'm turning up Pandora and putting on my Wonder Woman cons. It's that sorta night!   Happy Monday - Kim  ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com Saratoga Bound   This time next week, I'll be heading off to upstate New York for my annual artists'...

"Cleo," an 8" square commissioned portrait of a beloved kitty. Done in acrylics on a museum quality panel, this one is headed to a private collection where she will join her kitty siblings on the wall.   In process pics are on  the studio Facebook wall.   And while I'd like to write more, it's been a long, exhausting week. I'm ready to call it a nite - with a nightcap and a great book (right now I'm enjoying  Art at the Speed of Life by Pam Carriker ).   And I know I owe you some deets about the Christmas in July giveaway - lots has been going on in the background here, but I am nearly ready to announce this. I'm hoping to do so with great fanfare next week!!   Enjoy yourselves this weekend!! Kim  ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

"Momma and Me," mounted on a silk covered board and framed in a handsome black molding with gilt trim. Available for purchase.   My framer's hubby beefed to me a few years back that he was no fan of how close I took my compositions to the edge. He struggled with how much of the painting to tuck inside the molding (we're talking less than a 1/4" all around). We both agreed that my work could look better with more breathing room.   I asked him how we might best address this. He suggested I not crop my paintings in as closely, which we both had a good laugh over. Then he went off to play with his tools and see what came to mind.   And this is what he devised - a floating frame environment where my work (painted on flat panels) is roughly centered and mounted to a scrap of linen or silk covered matboard. This board then gets framed in a fabulous box he builds (also from scraps - molding scraps, that is).   I love that I am using ...

"Flopsy," the newest Cherished painting, 9" x 12", acrylic on museum quality panel, depicting an extremely charming and very cherished bunny.   "Flopsy" is also headed to ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan in September, and will be available for purchase then. Please  email me  if you are interested in purchasing him, and I will be happy to make the necessary arrangements.   In process pics of Flopsy are on  the studio Facebook page .   What did I think of when painting this one? The opened package of Oreos in my cupboard. Which I left alone. For the record. Honest. And no, my fingers aren't crossed.   Thanks for supporting my art!! Kim  ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com    

"Koi I," from the Cherished series of paintings, 16" x 20", acrylic on museum quality panel, depicting some pretty muscular goldfish. This painting is headed to ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan in September, and will be available for purchase there. Please  email me  if you are interested in it and I will be happy to make the necessary arrangements.   So, the whole time I'm painting Koi (and it was a conscious decision to break away from my regular subject matter), I'm thinking we choose the sort of water we swim in.    We cannot choose what we swim with (or against), but we can control where inside that school of fish (or sharks!) we choose to be and whether to tread water or move forward or turn around and return to where we started.   So it was these sort of circuitious thoughts that filled my head while I worked away.   And I'd love to paint more koi and goldfish!  Let me know  if you have a pond o...

Another pic from my visit to  The Heidelberg Project  this last weekend. This is the view from the window below. The black shapes in this photo are burnt supports/lumber from a house.   So, if you missed it, I ranted a just a little bit in  Friday's newsletter/blog posting .   You see, yet another "artist" copied one of my paintings and had it for sale on their website (as of Friday's posting, five other artists' work had been identified on her site as being stolen/pirated, so this was not an isolated circumstance or an innocently made decision).   This was the latest in a recent string of people who had stolen imagery and content from my website. It's become more and more common that copycats pad their own bank accounts with sales of copied and pirated art. Frustrated to a point I hadn't ever reached before, I sat down and wrote an open letter to the thieves who seem to be a dime a dozen anymore.   Then My Better ...

Dear Copyright Thieves,   Just because it's on the internet doesn't mean it's free for the taking. So let's just stop pretending the internet is a free-for-all.   Don't play the card that you didn't know - that's insulting. And don't also tell me that you meant to follow up and get permission but never got a chance to. That's insulting too. And by the way, don't you have a copyright protection notice on your own site?   And don't even try and point the finger at a third party who commissioned you to make a copy of my painting - again, an insult - you and I both know the difference between a reference photo and a painting.   And don't tell me that I asked for it because I share my artwork on the internet. I share my paintings and ideas and the stories behind them so as to encourage others to pursue  their own passions . I do not share so that those lacking integrity and morals can copy and market the images as their own...

    "Mini Halo," from the "Cherished" series.   This new favorite of mine (sorry,  "Momma,"  but you've been replaced) is this 5" square painting, done in acrylics on a museum quality panel and available for purchase for $269.   That is, if Halo's Mom decides to let this one go, which she might, because there's  a bigger Halo portrait  fighting for wall space, too. UPDATE: The bigger Halo has a home (THANK YOU!). "Mini Halo" is actively seeking one. Inquiries may come to me .   Inquiries on either piece may come  to me . And check out below if you want to play along in the "Cherished" game!   Thanks for supporting my art!! Kim  ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com     Cherished Paintings   A collection of "Cherished" series of paintings will be displayed as part of this year's  ArtPrize  in Grand Rapids, Michigan.    ...

    "Like Her Momma," from the "Cherished" series. This little gem is 6" x 8", acrylics on a museum quality panel, and not currently for sale. However, inquiries may always come  to me .   And in process views of this painting are on  the studio's Facebook page .   I've entered this painting into an international juried equine art exhibition (for those who are curious, the Equine Jubilee in Delaware, Ohio from August through October of this year). And as such, if accepted, the painting will have to be available for purchase at the event.   I sent these ladies along with two other paintings from the Saratoga series - fingers and toes crossed that the jurors like my work enough to include them all. (And yes, I get rejected regularly from shows - it's all about one person's opinion at one particular moment in time, so  don't beat yourself up over it should the same thing happen to you)   Meanwhi...

    "Striped," from the "Cherished" series. A portrait done to celebrate Mona Lisa's 2nd birthday - tuna sandwiches for all!! This is 12" x 16", acrylics on a museum quality panel, and $629. Inquiries may come  to me .   (Mona's first birthday portrait, "You Are My Sunshine," is here . Her "official" kitten portrait, "Tiny Kitten, Big Dreams," is  here .)   There are many, many, many, many in process views of "Striped" on  the studio's Facebook page . This painting was a bear to finish - taking me 4 days instead of the usual one. But I wasn't going to give up!   It's a great feeling, to look a demon in the face and tame it. Even if it does take 4 times longer than usual!!   I suppose if everything in life was easy, we would have no adventures.   Thanks for adventuring along with me!! Kim  ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com     ...