Paintings With Soul

"Abundance," 9" x 12", acrylics and graphite on museum quality panel, $399 plus s&h to the first one asking nicely and from a proper distance. I accept paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. I can ship now (via Fed Ex, utilizing their porch pickup) or later. Please   reach out to me   with inquiries or questions. I will be honest, it's been hard finding my mojo at the easel. Particularly the last 5 days. I've cut myself off from the news and seriously limited social media time and tried very hard to keep my hamster brain from running on the wheel of anxiety. This morning, though, I knew I had to jump in and do a painting for myself or else this whole deer-in-the-headlights thing might atrophy. It's one thing to work on a portrait, I think, because I've done so many of them and the decisions are mostly made based on likeness. But these paintings with the rabbits, they come from a deeper place inside me, and often require coaxi

In   today's #journalthroughit class , students made spirit animal totems using mixed media and inspiration from treasures found during a visual scavenger hunt. Don't know about the online experience called #journalthroughit? here's the Cliff Notes version: art journaling lessons, all ages, all levels (from non-artist through to accomplished), no special materials needed, family friendly, and free ( donations welcome ). Content is live streamed via Facebook ( mine   and   Ardith Goodwin's ), will be archived for a week, and is delivered Monday-Friday. We are two weeks in, but you can jump in at any time and do the lessons in whatever order you wish. Additionally, I challenge you to take   the stencil/templates   from today's class and do something totally unexpected and creative with them. Puppets (and a videoed performance), 3D dolls, other layers in your journal - use your noggin and come up with something really, really good. Next session will be Mond

Credence, 18" x 24", acrylics and graphite on stonehenge paper (will need to be framed and set behind glass), $599 plus s&h when completed. I accept paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans - inquiries may always come   to me , and thank you so very much. I struggled with this one, quite a bit.She's been around for about 2, maybe 3 weeks now. She started out all pink and happy, and then about a week ago got very, very dark. This morning I thought about setting her aside until our world seemed a bit brighter, but then I thought, nope. It is my job to paint what I'm feeling right now, and if I did that, set everything aside to finish at a later date, I'd have no visual record of these week. So this is it, peeps. Yes, the palette here is different than my norm, but we aren't living in any sort of norm, so there. She really is wonderful. She'll be gorgeous on someone's wall. Thanks so much for following along with my art journey. Warm

IN PROCESS Resilience (working title), 18" x 24", acrylics and graphite on stonehenge paper (will need to be framed and set behind glass), $599 plus s&h when completed. There is a little bit of paper buckling and glare from the studio lights in the upper left - the paper is pretty wet, but ultimately this piece will dry completely flat. I accept paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans - inquiries may always come   to me , and thank you so very much. I finally made it to the easel today, and painted something (that wasn't a journal page) that I feel pretty excited to share. The past couple weeks have rocked me to my very core, which I'm sure is a feeling many of you can relate to. Here in Michigan we are on our first full day house arrest, and today I seriously limited my exposure to the media/newsfeeds and focused instead on the things that make me happy. Rabbits, line, flowers, color, pop tarts. I taught   a #journalthroughit session   this morning

Above is a peek at some of the loose pages I've been journaling on while at my desk this afternoon. Ardith Goodwin   and I have kicked our online journaling project, #journalthroughit, off with live streamed content   yesterday   and   today . In our introductory segments, Ardith and I talked about our own journals, some favorite tools, and what the process could encompass. You also got a quick little tutorial on making your own book signature to journal inside. The fun continues   tomorrow morning with Ardith at noon eastern , and I'll step in on   Thursday at 10 am.   Each of us are doing our very best to adhere to this timeline, but as you well know, life may throw a curve ball or two. A reminder that the videos will be delivered via Facebook livestream on either Ardith's page or my own, depending upon that day's host. We are hosting content on our respective websites, adding active links to the videos as they are published. If you cannot tune in at the sch

When I stress, I may pull out my yoga mat and light a candle in a darkened room. I may eat an entire canister of Pringles and get nasty if someone suggests I share. If it's really bad, I resort to obsessively picking my cuticles until they bleed.  But I always, always reach for my art journal. I have been art journaling for about 18 years. What is art journaling, you ask? It's a combination of diary and sketchbook, where anything goes. The creator decides the balance of text vs art, and can bring any media they wish to it's pages. Journals come in a variety of sizes, shapes, bound vs loose pages. It's all about using what you have to express what you feel. Really, the only rule about journaling is that there are no rules about journaling. What do I put in my journal? I am a compulsive list maker, so there's plenty of those. I press flowers and tuck them into tiny folded envelopes of wax paper. Stickers from my morning banana. An overhead view of the ro

"Vestry," 16"x20", acrylics and graphite on a flat panel, $599 plus s&h. I accept paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Inquiries may always come  to me . I think we can all relate to this image of gathering loved ones and standing watch. Also, wash your hands. And batman cough, people. Thanks, as always, for following along with my artwork journey, Warmly, Kim

Kimberly Kelly Santini   paintings with soul because our world needs more beauty Please note that yesterday's post listed incorrect size and pricing information, I guess because I'm human. I apologize for any confusion this might have caused.   "Contessa," 16"x20", acrylics and graphite on a flat panel, $599 plus s&h. I accept paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Inquiries may always come  to me . SOLD (TY and congratulations to returning collector AK) I have been busy letting beauty into my day, via the easel. Have you welcomed any into yours? (Also, online students got an analysis of the impetus behind the last 5 bunny paintings -   are you over there ?) (Also, did you vote? I was #110 in my precinct this morning.) Thanks, as always, for following along with my artwork journey, Warmly, Kim

IN PROCESS "Contessa (working title)," 18x24", acrylics and graphite on a flat panel, $7999 plus s&h. I accept paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Inquiries, including a request for first dibs on this painting when finished, may always come  to me . While I am using the same sorts of visuals and processes as my   Daydreams series   of paintings, it's becoming increasingly obvious to me that these recent rabbit pieces are an entity of their own. Which is entirely ok - wonderful, actually, because I never want to stagnate as an artist - I want to always be learning new things and pushing myself to find deeper means of expression. I also find myself at an interesting juncture - having been practicing and studying  Stanka Kordic 's intuitive approach for the last year or so, where one responds with immediacy to what shows up on the painting, I started a new online course with   Ardith Goodwin  (The Journal of Interesting) where she&#

Detail from my easel of a current, untitled, painting in process, 16" x 20", acrylics on gallery wrapped canvas. Please message me if you would like first dibs on this piece when completed. Studio News, March 2020 In an effort to counteract the dark clouds gathering on the horizon, I spent a good amount of last month in reflection. This means lots of journal pages, both painted and written, as I sorted through my feelings with color and marks. It meant a lot of reading, returning to studies with a couple of my favorite artists, and getting lost in my thoughts while doing the most mundane things. Artists are tasked with telling their story of living, through their own eyes. We choose our tools and our voice, and by using those things, we strive to make work that resonates and aligns with what we know in our hearts to be true. So that's what I've been seeking as I see a growing divide in our world - I've been searching for a way to talk about t