Skip to main content

30 Dogs 30 Days - Blue

This is Blue, and he joined our family last last summer. This little guy owns me completely. We're not entirely certain of Blue's story, since he's a rescue, but he's found his forever home with us.

It didn't take long after Blue moved into our home for him to make himself home on my easel, too. He's been painted numerous times, and will be painted numerous more, I dare say.

Over the years I've discovered that there's so much more to painting a portrait than capturing a likeness. Truly wonderful portraits don't just fill a spot on the wall - they step into our hearts. When I add elements of emotion to a portrait, the piece elevates into a conversation between the subject and the viewer. It's as if the painting is alive, even if it's not painted photo representationally. Particularly if it's not, perhaps. Blue's portrait above is an example of the marriage of likeness and emotive content - it transcends either to become something bigger.

I ask those of you who are artists - how might you infuse your work with emotional content? what elements can you introduce - non local color, gesture, symbols, text, edge manipulation, pattern, value shifts - my list could go on. Take an older painting (it's only paint!) and play with some of your ideas. See how you can transform your original likeness into something else altogether.

Warmly, Kim
Labels:

Comments

  1. Bernadette11:12 AM

    Kim, I want to thank you for inspiring me years ago, first, to design monthly downloadable calendars featuring my feline artwork, and later my nature and wildlife artwork. At the time I'd also just begun my daily cat sketches, and living with a house of five black cats I started having fun with local and non-representational color, moving toward abstracts sometimes in pencil and ink. I studied your paintings each day in 2012-2013 and on, and developed a body of innovative feline artwork that I have used in shows and in merchandise I create, imprinting my art onto it somehow. That loosened up my commissioned work and while typically, most people want a standard portrait, a clear memory, now and then they want me to play and I love it. I still study your work pretty much each day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kimberly Kelly Santini11:20 AM

      Bernadette - thank you for this sweet note! I loved seeing your pics - was it via Twitter that we first connected?! I remember painting one of them, too. You have a giant heart, and that shows in your artwork. Keep painting girl - the world needs you!! <3

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear Copyright Thieves

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...
33 comments
Read more

Fisher Price Little People Puppy, Toy #10

"Little People Puppy (Toy #10)," 6" x 6," acrylics on masonite, starring a spunky little spaniel with jointed legs made by Fisher Price This painting is $75, with free shipping inside the US. Purchasing is as simple as  asking . I didn't play with this particular version of Little People toys, but I find them very sentimental never the less. They are well designed and charming. I tried to figure out what year Fisher Price made these particular jointed toys which I own (via ebay - I have circus characters too!), but got distracted learning about the history of Little People in general. They have seemingly been around for 50+ years! The Little People barn was a HUGE part of my childhood. The barn doors opened with a "mooooo," but in my head I heard welcoming nickers. Those horses and chickens were real. The brown and orange shag carpeting of my parent's family room became lush rolling pastures of green, and the Little People...
Post a Comment
Read more

Golden Open Acrylics

I get all sorts of process oriented questions. Most recently I've been getting asked a lot about my paints and palette, which made me realize what a nice blog topic this would make! I use a Masterson Sta-Wet Premier palette box . This is comprised of a box (think Tupperware) with a sponge liner and a slice of palette paper that work together to keep my paints wet. This setup allows me to work with the same palette for about a full week, having the box open for multiple hours every day. You can see what the palette looks like at the beginning of a new session above - below the exact same palette after this week's work. For the last 25 years I have used Golden brand acrylics, mediums, and varnish. I love the overall quality of these paints and the fact that, when I have a question, their customer service department is made up of artists who actually use the products. Until last year, I used their Heavy Body paints exclusively. They have a buttery consistency, a little loose...
11 comments
Read more