Paintings With Soul

  My newest art journaling lesson is a drawing based one, which should come as no surprise given my current obsession with it. In this session I share how to take a full color image - whether it be your own artwork or a photograph - and convert it into a 2 value design which you can then easily draw (err, trace). I even provide copies of the full color image (my painting Snowshoe , which happens to also be available for purchase) and my modified value scale for you to work from (and there are complete instructions on taking one of your own photos/artworks and doing the same with it). You know art journaling requires zero prior art experience, right? just clarifying in case you forgot. And if that isn't enough, I then walk you through how to take that drawing and add symmetry or mirrored sections to it. creating something entirely new. Yup, entirely new. This lesson does not require any special materials - the image shown was created with a singular colored pencil, some glue, and d

  Fox Remnant I, 16"x20" original painting, acrylic on panel, $850 plus s&h to the first asking nicely.  Link to purchase is below.  Please reach out  with any questions.   In a nutshell, I start the majority of my paintings with a contour drawing. I particularly appreciate the tracery of linework that results from delineating the shapes that build the form. Then I add some painted marks (think about form), return to draw the shapes again (the lines are a wee bit different this time), and continue to go back and forth for the most part until I feel as though the piece is finished. With this Remnant series I am drawing with my eyes closed, both hands on the surface of the painting. I am feeling my way into a form - Fox - that I have drawn hundreds of time. I imagine her, how my hands might cup her cheek or stroke her shoulder (Fox isn't tame, but she allows gentle contact), and I roll my tool through my fingers and across the surface while she comes to life inside my h

  It doesn't seem right that the holidays are here. I keep looking at the calendar, thinking it's not true, but here we are, mid November. Along with every other small business owner, today I began executing holiday centric marketing, putting together a schedule for upcoming newsletters and gift giving, and I had a Big Serious Realization. I don't want any excess messages to deal with at the busiest time of year. I just spent my morning deleting far too many from my own inbox. So why am I assuming that my community wants more noise, more emails, more things to wade through when life is so very very busy already?! So here you go - consider this singular pre-Thanksgiving email my gift to you. I will summarize the various offerings I have that you might appreciate knowing about as you begin your own holiday preparations. And then I will duck away (well, you will hear from me when I have a new painting or something exciting to share, I do promise that! but no more blatant self

  Trust, 20"x24" original painting, acrylic on panel, $1000 plus s&h to the first asking nicely.  Link to purchase is below.  Please reach out  with any questions. Trust is a tough thing to hold anymore. In a world with so many broken systems, a world where dynamics and truths shift and rewrite themselves on a moment, trust takes a beating. I consciously continue to reach for it though, not because I am a glutton for punishment, but because I believe that it is one of the most critical components of a balanced life. I have to lean in and believe that I have the means to build what's important in the space I have been given. (Take note Anxiety - I am inviting Trust over, which means less room for you!) Trust in the vastness of the sky - she wraps us all in her embrace no matter the time of day. Trust in the ancient wisdom of the trees. They grow in whatever direction is available to them, no matter what storm (or human designed ravages) is at hand. Trust in the wild. T

  Koi, 18"x24" original painting, acrylic on panel, $1000 plus s&h to the first asking nicely.  Link to purchase is below.   Please reach out   with any questions. Did you know that the animals in my paintings come from my dreams? and that I dream of foxes several times a week? This time around I was walking my dogs at The Biltmore Estate. We were mostly alone - nobody else physically present, but I could feel a palpable energy swirling about. If I squinted really hard, I could see faint silhouettes of people in the sky, murmering to each other. Their voices harmonized with birdsong and the fountain. And there was a little fox walking with us - she was dancing about with the three dogs, teaching them how to disapparate with a little head movement and tail flick. Oddly enough I wasn't worried about them running off or disappearing altogether. There was something so pleasant about being there in the gardens, wrapped up in sky. It was a rare and welcome moment of complet

  Coexist, 36"x48" original painting, acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas. Coexist will be available through   University Liggett Schools   as part of my upcoming exhibition Fox, which runs November 10 - December 13. Coexist is $5000, with the purchaser collecting her in person at the end of the exhibition (Liggett does not offer shipping). And, yes, if she ends up coming back to the studio, I will offer her (along with other Fox inventory) to collectors requesting shipment.  Please reach out  with any questions. I don't think I have ever gone a full two weeks without a newsletter before! Typically I send them out when I have new work to offer, and I currently have a good amount of that at the moment, as I am putting together the final touches for my next solo show. But the thing with exhibitions is that the work has to be available for purchase. Which means I ceased sending newsletters out because I did not want to tease you by sharing paintings that I could not ship out.

  The Source, 24"x30" original painting, acrylic on panel, framed with beautiful custom molding, $1300 plus s&h to the first asking nicely.  Link to purchase is below.  Please reach out  with any questions. These petunias are swimming in a maelstrom of light, leaves, and a little cabbage moth. Because why not? one of my favorite things about working abstractly (or with loose represenation) is creating fantastical designs out of the of moments that move me. Here there are those delicate flowers but also a bit of sunshine, a moonlt sky, sand, remnants of a sweetheart rose, a peek of a sunset...... ahhh, it's all the things that give me goosies!!! Meanwhile, please check The Source out in greater detail  here ,  viewed up close (you'll get a better sense of the paint quality) and in a room setting, and find a link to purchase. Let me know if you would like to see her framed or want to set up a payment plan (30% non refundable deposit with the balance plus s&h pai

  At left, Coleas, 8x10, acrylic on flat panel, $300 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. On right, Dahlia, 6x6, acrylic on flat panel, $200 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. Link to purchase is below.  Please reach out  with any questions. September in  my online classroom  was all about color, with a two day live demo last weekend. These two paintings were my demonstration pieces, which was held via zoom. I worked on them in real time, talking about how to mix bold saturated color in the dahlia piece and then, conversely, how to handle a backlit subject with muted tones. The live content circled back to touch on all the bits of color theory and behavior we had been learning all month. I finished both pieces later in the week, recording additional footage on how I tied things up. Dahlia has sold (thank you so very much) and Coleas remains available. You can see her in greater detail  here ,  viewed up close, in a room setting, and find a link to purchase. Let me know if you

  Otis Lane Farm, (4) 6"x6" original paintings, acrylic on panel, done plein air. Through 9-24 these 4 are available as a curated collection with special pricing of $560 plus s&h. After 9-24 they will be available individually for $200 plus s&h. Individual pieces are titled "Red Roof," "Pole Barn," "Tree Line" and "Goldenrod."  Link to purchase is below.   Please reach out   with any questions. These pieces were part of my plein air painting adventure last week. Our rental house nestled into the arms of a working farm, which provided some rather bucolic views. I delighted in shifting my easel every so slightly and settling in to study an entirely new vista. Most of the farm studies I did were of this small 6"x6" size, but I have a couple 8"x10"s too that you'll get to see later this week. Meanwhile, these four can be seen in greater detail   here ,  viewed up close (you'll get a better sense of the pa

  Dune, 12x12, acrylic on cradled panel with approximately a 3/4" profile, image painted around the sides so no need to frame, $800 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. Link to purchase is below and questions can always come  to me. I created this painting in the studio a few weeks back.  I spent this last week on a painting retreat smack dab IN dune country painting them from life. There is something about this color palette that is so soothing to me - and to be honest, I think it is in part because I have so many pivotal life experiences that happened to involve exactly these colors. I think it merits mentioning, too, that while I could paint the landscape representationally (and did so last week via   little pieces full of color notes  which are available here ), I prefer (at least at this moment in time) to paint more of an experiential landscape. I want to paint an image that speaks to how I recall or soak up the elements of a particular space without organizing said elem

  McIntosh, 11x14, acrylic on flat panel, private collection (thank you and congratulations to my new collector). Link to purchase is below and questions can always come  to me. McIntosh started out last winter as a demo painting.  She was packed with organic linework and rich earthy color. Last week I wandered past several apple trees and became enchanted with the sinuous, tangled pattern of branches. They had something in common with the linework in this bear, so of course I needed to marry the two. You can see McIntosh in greater detail  here,  view her up close (you'll get a better sense of the paint quality) and in a room setting, and find a link to purchase. Let me know if you would like a payment plan on any of my work (30% non refundable deposit with the balance plus s&h paid off within a year) - those are set up on an individual basis and not processed through my website. Thanks so much for your interest in my artwork, All my best, warmly, Kim

  Hibiscus, 23x30, acrylic on flat panel, $1300 plus s&h. Link to purchase is below and questions can always come  to me. This painting was stubborn (which is entirely on brand for a Shetland Pony).   She showed up back in May as a demonstration piece for my online classroom. During the demo she grew wings, and during subsequent paint sessions I got so hung up on the idea of Pegasus that I stopped listening to the painting. As a result, the piece was overworked and boring. Ultimately I stripped her of her wings and set her on the shelf. I bemoaned the loss of her spark while she oversaw what played out on my easel for three months. Yesterday I decided to give her another try. The stars were aligned properly or maybe it was just that she was waiting for the hibiscus to be fully in bloom. Whatever it was, the magic came back over the course of the painting session.  I brought some of what I learned in my summer workshop to play - thick, painterly marks, broken and blurred shapes, and

  I am pleased to offer a curated collection comprised of two paintings, both acrylic on flat panel. At left, Skylight, 18x24, $1000 plus s&h if purchased alone, on the right Porch Pot, also 18x24 and $1000 plus s&h if purchased alone. In this arrangement they collectively measure 24x36 (without frames). They will be offered at special collection pricing of $1400 plus s&h until September 17th, 2023. Afterwards,  they will be offered individually at the prices listed above.  Inquiries may  come to me  or you can  use this link . I am swimming in work from the summer months  and the paint is continuing to fly. It's a fruitful and exciting time to be in the studio, as long as I keep a path clear on the floor for the dogs to safely come and go. LOL.  As the artist I always have the distinct joy of seeing my work as a collection. Groupings of my paintings, intentional or otherwise, have conversations and elevate each other. This happens in my peripheral (the studio walls alw

  Three new pieces, acrylic on flat panel, a curated collection of original art available with special group pricing of $700 plus s&h. At left, Second Bloom, 9x12 ($500), on the right at top is Cotton Candy, 6x6 ($275), and below her, Cabernet, also 6x6 ($275). Collectively this arrangement measures 15x12. These will be offered as a group until September 9th after which I will parcel them out at the individually marked prices above. Inquiries may   come to me   or you can   use this link . Direct from my garden to your walls If you follow me on socials ( FB   and   Insta ), you may have seen the various groupings I've been doing with the abstract paintings this summer. I collect a handful of them and then play with various arrangements and overlaps on the studio floor. It's a fantastic way to reframe the designs and allow the paintings to have conversations with each other. I've also discovered that some of the paintings feel stronger when they are together. Not that th

  Citron, 18"x24", acrylic on flat panel, $1000 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. Link to purchase is below. Another Dahlia inspired painting. These pieces make my soul expand and reach into the dusty corners.  You can see Citron in greater detail   here , view her up close and in a room setting, and find a link to purchase. This dahlia will bloom year round for you! Let me know if you would like a payment plan (30% non refundable deposit with the balance plus s&h paid off within a year) - those are set up on an individual basis and not processed through my website. Thanks so much for your interest in my artwork, All my best, warmly, Kim

  Emory Paul, 18"x24", acrylic on flat panel, $1000 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. Link to purchase is below. Three years ago I began growing dahlias. I had always loved their exhuberence but was rather intimidated by the care involved. A good friend gifted me a handful of her dinner plate varieties and I learned that there really isn't that much extra care - just digging the tubors up in the fall, then replacing them early spring.  Now I have 8 plants of which 3 are currently blooming with wild abandon. Every day I visit the dahlias, give them a little pep talk, and soak up their color. These flowers are so extra, in every possible way. This painting is a summary of sorts as to the dahlia's journey from a little potato (as my mother in law calls them) to the nearly 5 foot tall plant capped with frilly eggplant colored blooms. When I sit on the ground, her faces fill the sky. The varied greens of her and her rose bush neighbors dance companionably like shado

  Aster, 6"x6"x1-1/2", acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, sides painted so no need to frame. Can sit upright on her own or be hung on the wall. Special giddy post wedding pricing of $250 plus s&h (SOLD, ty so much to my returning collector!). Questions can always come  to me. Last week I painted little florals inspired by the prior weekend's wedding centerpieces  It was all about lingering with the memory of our beautiful backyard garden party celebrating The Man Child and his delightful bride, The Smile Maker. The tent is down, leftovers have all been consumed, the yard got a lovely "wash" via a few great thunderstorms, and I actually caught up on some sleep. Now it's on to the next big event..... which, I haven't yet identified. I'm in a lovely little pocket of time with no pressing deadlines or looming projects. My summer abstraction workshop ended last week and the large commissioned piece I've worked on the last 2 months is shipping

  Pocketful of Posies, 6"x6"x1-1/2", acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, sides painted so no need to frame. Can sit upright on her own or be hung on the wall. Special giddy post wedding pricing of $250 plus s&h (SOLD, ty so much to my returning collector!). Questions can always come  to me. I've been painting little florals inspired by this weekend's wedding garden party centerpieces  Today's floral, "Pocketful of Posies." She makes me smile. If I could reach into my pockets and pull something magical like this out...... although I do currently have opal, tourmaline, citrine and garnet in my pocket, so it's sort of the same thing...... And very special thanks to my returning collector who made this one, and all of this week's florals, her own. She plans to hang them together, and that gives me the idea of offering a singular print with all 6 (yes, you have only seen 5 so far) of them together. Once I confirm how she's choosing to hang

  Compliment, 6"x6"x1-1/2", acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, sides painted so no need to frame. Can sit upright on her own or be hung on the wall. Special giddy post wedding pricing of $250 plus s&h, but you must   message me your email and mailing address   to be invoiced. Questions can always come  to me. I've been painting little florals inspired by this weekend's wedding garden party centerpieces  Every Sunday, when My Better Half and I were dating, we would brew big mugs of tea and settle in to watch Star Trek The Next Generation together. Our favorite tea was an orange cinnamon blend called Constant Comment. It didn't take long for "Constant Comment" to evolve into "Constant Compliment." And then the game started where, as we sipped our tea, we would speak in over the top British accents while complimenting each other in the most absurd ways. As I painted this piece, I saw a friendship grow between the flowers. They are togethe