STUDIO NEWS March 2020

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 this abyss with my paintings. I am rabidly optimistic - usually - but the rainbow glitter kool aid of late tastes a bit watered down. For me, it's far easier to paint (and thusly live inside) joy than divisiveness. And I'm starting to think that maybe this is my purpose, to build a portfolio of beauty in a world that is newly blinded to such things, instead of dwelling in the darkness.

And as I hung new Daydream paintings around the Detroit area in a realm of different spaces (The Art of Custom Framing, Starkweather Arts Center, Black Box Gallery, Paint Creek Center for the Arts, The Orion Township Public Library), I realized how very lucky I am to be able to celebrate beauty as my daily job, and to get share it with you. To get to continue to do this, to actually get to study and seek a deeper understanding of this, and to strive to improve my voice and my art.

I am so very lucky to live a life where I can indulge my curiousity, play with art supplies, follow my fascinations, and get to share them all with you. Thank you so much for coming along on this journey.

New this month - a social media presence for Painting a Dog a Day, the daily pet portrait project I began in 2006. My archives are packed with bits of life stories that we all can relate to, and each day I'll share one (just one - there's enough noise out there to try and keep up with!). And a smile.

Here are all the other ways you can see my artwork, when you need another pick me up:

See them in your inbox 2-3 times per week - subscribe to my newsletters.
See them on Facebook - like/follow and then comment on my threads so I continue to show up in your newsfeed - I post art-related content multiple times daily
See them on Instagram - please follow along!
Visit them in person at an exhibition or gallery (or go to your fav museum!)
They are on my website and blog (my blog even goes back to 2006, if you really want to binge!).
If you can afford to, buy an original.
You can bring prints (and other items) into your home, including a new gallery of spring
Leave a book of my artwork on your coffee table or nightstand.
Write or make art in my Reflections journal based on the Siren series of paintings
Attend a journaling class in person (not able to come to me? find a group in your area)
Take a class with me - online or in person, in a group or one-on-one - for as little as $5 a month

You are always welcome to let me know what you think. I'm listening and want to hear about your own beauty. Feel free to respond to this newsletter, shoot me an email, comment on the blog or interact via Facebook or Instagram. Locals can join my journaling group that meets monthly. There's all sorts of ways for us to connect!

THANK YOU so much for making it this far, for reading all my wordy words, for buying my art or taking my classes or commenting and sharing things on social media. I am so grateful to share this journey with you.

Warmly, Kim

Picture Book "A Dog Named Blue" - now available!!

The cover of "A Dog Named Blue," now available from Blurb publishers. When I first painted Amelia I never imagined that she would be re-christened "Blue" and inspire a book. In her defense, Amelia had a number of other partners in crime - animals who's portraits seemed to fall into a specific color category and prompt color-centric names. In typical ADD fashion, my brain started spinning 100mph. What if I turned those muses' paintings into a picture book for animal loving kids? I shared my idea with three friends in the industry, and they eagerly offered their expertise. I am truly indebted to them. Illustrator and author Matt Faulkner and children's book author and literacy expert Kristen Remenar edited an early version of the draft. They suggested key plot/conceptual changes that made it oodles better. Designer Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson worked her magic, pairing the images with perfectly color...

Tabby Kit

"Tabby Kit," 5" x 7", acrylics on a museum quality panel, depicting a tiny little orange striped guy from Morgue File . This painting can be yours for $289, which includes s&h inside the US. And in case you didn't see it, a little doodle of him is also available for sale here . Inquires may come directly to me . Although it certainly doesn't FEEL like spring here (snow and ice and wind chills, brr!), I can tell that spring is coming. The mercury is rising a wee bit each day and the days are getting longer and brighter. Over the weekend we drove with the moonroof open just to feel the sun's meager and oh-so-very-welcome warmth (although the heat in the car was cranked, too, in the interest of full disclosure!). I wanted to work with spring-like colors today, and this little guy was still on my mind , so I grabbed a small panel and got to work. Of course, I also have Poppy to finish and some changes to make to another po...

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...

Paintings With Soul

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