PUPPIES! and other news

At left “Berna Pup,” 8”x8”, $525 and at right “Sunshine,” 6”x8,” $470. Both of these paintings are acrylic on flat museum quality panels, available at my website through the above link. S&H inside the contiguous US is on me. Hawaiian, Alaskan and Canadian shipping available at additional cost.

20 years ago I began my commitment to daily painting, starting the pet portrait project Painting a Dog a Day. Shortly in, the project went viral (viral wasn’t even a thing 20 years back!), and within days I had an 18 month long wait list for daily paintings. Over the years I developed a unique style and fresh approach that was eagerly anticipated by thousands of collectors.

It was a lot of fun until it wasn’t - I burned out around 2017 and have done very few pet portraits since. Until recently.

I snuck out to visit my friends at Kara Bullock Art School earlier this month and we filmed my next online workshop. Of which the above two paintings are part of. Yes, there’s FINALLY going to be a Painting a Dog a Day workshop, 20 years after she was whelped!

While the content is being edited, I am doing a couple of things:

1 - readying paintings created during the filming, like these two, for new homes. The button above takes you to my website for direct purchasing, along with viewing in a room or right up close.

and 2 - I am opening my books up for a select number of pet portraits. Message me to be kept in the loop).

and 3 - Want in on the Painting a Dog a Day workshop early bird registration? Shoot me an email - use the subject line “early bird” - and I’ll make sure you get every detail when it’s released!

I am so grateful for your interest in my work.

Thank you so much for your support.

Big Fluffy Puppy Love, Kim.

PS Payment plans on request for purchases greater than $500 - 30% non refundable deposit reserves the painting, with 6 months to pay off balance plus any s&h (my current pieces include s&h - paintings done prior to 2026 are at my old prices and s&h is a separate line item). Returning collectors - don’t forget to use “COLLECTOR10” discount at checkout for 10% off acquisitions. Questions can always come my way.

Creativity documents our voices and builds community, something profoundly important right now. How can you help elevate and keep artists’ voices alive? It’s simple:

engage with your favorite artist via social media
share what they are creating with your friends
take a course and hone your own voice
purchase original art or reproductions (see below)
fill their tip jar (let’s be real, it’s all about Treats for Blue, the studio dog)

Your support keeps the arts alive, which means future generations will understand our perspectives long after we are gone. Thank you.

“Katie’s Moustache,” 6x12, pet portrait in acrylic on canvasboard, $90. Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . One glimpse of Katie’s face, and I was hooked. Not only did she fall into my beloved “black & white” category, but she came with a full moustache and doe-like eyes. I first covered the canvas with a variety of blues and purples, using a (mixed) light green and pink for the highlights. (Right now my palette has been expanded to include the following: pthalo blue red, azurite hue, cad red dark, alizarine crimson, cad yellow dark, and then for graying/hazing out I use light green yellow and ultramarine purple.) I lighten with titanium white and darken with one of the blues and a touch of one of the reds. As a side note, at this time last year I was really struggling with my limited palette (I went from about 60 pots of paint to 3), but I have lived the benefits – I am so much more familiar with what I can mix given just this handful of colors. My paintings are also m...

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...

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...

Paintings With Soul

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