Paintings With Soul

    Purple Mountain Majesty, 48"x60", acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, available July 2024 through   Mirada Fine Art   in Denver, Colorado. Inquiries may always come   to me .   Since March I have painted nearly 48 square yards of canvas, used 2 gallons of gesso, a gallon of isolation coat medium, 1-1/2 gallons of acrylic gel medium, and countless tubes of paint. All for good reason - I am creating a fresh body of work for new gallery representation! I am delighted to announce I am joining forces with Mirada Fine Art, a contemporary and distinctive gallery in Denver, Colorado. I choose my representation carefully - gallery spaces are an extension of the experience I would provide collectors were they to visit my studio in person. The gallery and I become a team in bringing ideas to life, curating opportunities to view said art, and facilitating acquisitions. Mirada Fine Art will be an utterly fantastic partner and I am thrilled to be one of...

  "The Torch Bearer," full painting and detail images above, 16" x 20", acrylics on panel, $649 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. Please note that the watermark is not on the original painting. Returning collectors always receive 10% off. I accept Paypal, personal checks and payment plans. Feel free to directly  message me  with your inquiries. Kentucky Derby Week was always a holiday in my mind. When I was a kid, my butterflies grew with each day, as I eagerly anticipated a rare afternoon of televised horse racing. It became even more of a special event when I was honored as the official artist of the 2015 Kentucky Derby (yes, the same year that American Pharoah swept the Triple Crown). I continue to mark this week by losing myself in all things equine, as the race approaches and the pagaentry builds. "The Torch Bearer" carries much significance to me. The reference photos came from a visit to Win Star Farms in Lexington just a few days before ...

"Blurring the Lines," 11"x14", acrylics on museum quality panel, $499 plus s&h. I accept Paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Purchase inquiries can always come   to me . In honor of what should be Kentucky Derby Week, I will share some of my original equine work created over the years. This is something I've done since 2007 - celebrating one of the biggest weeks in horseracing (at least here in the states) by highlighting horses in art. It was extra special doing so in 2015, the year I was the official artist of The Kentucky Derby. Here's my blog post from April 27, 2015 , the day before I left for Louisville. But back to today's painting - this one has been in my personal collection for a couple years. I'm ready to let her go, though, to someone who's at least as equally in love with her as I am. (I can't keep all my favorites, because I simply do not have the space! and I've got something on my easel right no...

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 wil...

An untitled Daydream on my easel, along with a handful of studies, in a relatively clean studio.  All things are relative, right?! Am feeling very full this morning - and no, I've not started eating already!! Just sitting in the studio, thinking about all the beauty that you have allowed me to create for the past 19 years. Whether it's been with a purchase, a referral, a social media share or comment, or simply encouragement, I'm here today because of it. I am so very grateful - thank you. There will be pie, in your honor, across the United States tonite. Thanks, as always, for following along with my artwork journey, Warmly, Kim

"Loui," 30" x 30" x 2", acrylics on cradeled museum quality panel, featuring my grand-puppy. If you would like something similar starring your own puppy (or any pet - I don't discriminate), please shoot  me  an email. THIS portrait was a huge surprise. We gifted it yesterday to The Caped Crusader for his birthday. And I'd been waiting a looong time to reveal it, too, having wanted to paint this little guy since he first showed up in our lives. Loui and his siblings were dumped in a cardboard box at about 6 weeks old. My son found him online via a rescue group, just a short time after our family had said goodbye to Finnigan, the dog he grew up with, in July. Loui is an adorably sweet mixed breed, clever and honest, with gorgeous brindle coloring and ears he might never grow into. His larger than life portrait was hung with great pride over the fireplace. And I'm sure Loui is stretched out on the couch right now, too, taking it all ...

"Surviving," 20" x 16" x 1/2", acrylic on gallery wrap canvas (image painted around the sides so no need to frame), $649 plus s&h to the first asking kindly. I accept paypal/venmo/personal checks and welcome payment plans.   Please reach out   and let me know how we can get you "Surviving." It's Kentucky Derby Week, which means I will be sharing equine paintings in the days leading up to Saturday.  This is a new piece fresh from the easel. I titled it "Surviving" after   Kaz Hawkin's poignant song of the same title. While the song is about her own story of domestic abuse, it's a swansong for anyone seeking change, and I know there's many of us doing so these days.   Listen to the song and know that you can survive, too . Thanks, as always, for following along with my art journey, Warmly, Kim

Photo courtesy of Vivos Images, Nancy Gutelius. I love   teaching   - there's nothing like sharing all I've managed to cram into my brain with a group of like minds. And when those ah-ha moments happen, it's glorious - goosebumps, joy, pride - it's a great time all around. Because learning is most successful when the environment matches the students' needs, I offer three different ways for us to work together: in person, one on one via Facetime, and a new online community. I travel once or twice a year and teach multi-day workshops. A host group sponsors, markets and sells the event, and then I show up to do my song and dance. I will be doing so in   Saginaw, Michigan   (this September) and in the Hudson River Valley of New York (next March). Links to the Saginaw workshop are on   my website ; the New York event will be added once they begin accepting reservations. Workshops are priced based on the various gr...

"Becoming," 36" x 36" x 2", acrylics on a cradeled panel, heading to "Motherhood," a juried exhibition at The Anton Art Center in Mt. Clemens, Michigan. Inquiries may come to me. I have been sending almost daily (I know it's not been nearly that regular as of late) newsletters since October of 2006. That's 12 years of regular correspondence. Some of you have been with me through all of this - the   Painting a Dog a Day   journey, raising funds for animal welfare,  the wine label award ,   my book publications , the   Kentucky Derby adventure , a shift in focus to   florals , and finally   the Sirens . I cannot thank you enough for your willingness to continue to look at what I was painting, to hear my thoughts, and to support me via your feedback, encouragement, and even purchases. And for those of you who hopped on partway through this marvelous trip, thank you for sticking around. I know that a big piece of my continued motivation ...

My new studio space was the perfect setting for a mandala crafted from treasures by my art journaling group.   Share Tweet Forward It's hard to believe that (American) Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Thanksgiving heralds in two birthdays (in this household), holidays split between two families (one in Michigan, the other in Canada) and a quiet us-only end of year celebration. After tomorrow the days will become a blur of preparation, anticipation and celebration. I am so lucky to be in this moment, surrounded by family and loved ones. We have a warm and dry home, clean running water and plenty of food. I do not take any of that for granted. I am also lucky to have your support enabling me to paint. For 17 years now YOU have supported my family through the purchase of my paintings. We thank you for that, and wish many blessings and love for all.

Pictured above are a few of the paintings I've completed as coursework this week in Lynn Whipple 's Big Bold Blooms Wild Painting  online workshop. For reference, the larger piece on the ground is 24" x 30". I'm working big, and bold, and a little wild! I learn so much when I take classes from other artists. Besides the obvious content, I get to see how others' teach and how they structure their lessons. And then I get to continue to learn by practicing the lessons on my own, inserting my own ideas and agenda, and determining which processes are keepers. I really need to reel myself in, though, this time around. I am so inspired by Lynn and the exercises (working with neutrals and layered drawings), my brain is going on fast forward, piecing together all sort of possibilities. I couldn't even sleep last night (yes, I know I am OCD). In between all of the above, I did some complete some serious work on a commission. But I also need to...

We've watched the Kentucky Derby for years. And for many of us, attending The Kentucky Derby is a bucket list item. I knew one day I'd make it to the grounds of Churchill Downs, but never thought it would be on Derby Day as a special guest in my capacity as The Official Artist of The Kentucky Derby.   So it goes to reason that watching from our seats at the finish line was pretty emotional.  I grew up painting, of course, but I also grew up watching horse racing with my Grandfather. The best part of the springtime classics was comparing notes and debating our picks (and scouring newspapers for grainy photos of horses in training to sketch). He always chose the Arkansas Derby winner, and I went for the underdog, the gray, or the filly. And there was always art inspired by the pagentry. After Grandpa passed away in 2010 navigating Derby Week felt hollow. But this year, things were different. I wasn't just another horse racin...

In process detail from "Once Upon Another Time (Self Portrait)," 16" x 20", acrylic glazes and other magic on an Ampersand gessobord, all inspired by the wizard of scumbling and all sorts of mark making, Stanka Kordic . My Brain is Exploding After just one day. And I think she was holding back, too. Very graciously, I may add, just pacing herself so as to not overwhelm us. Ok, me. My biggest ah-ha moments (and there were plenty!): Burnt sienna + cobalt blue + white = flesh tone when layered overtop a raw umber wash. Optically mixing color (ie layering glazes on a painting surface) achieves color you cannot mix on a palette. It's a challenge to focus on the surface effects and patterned marks and NOT on the form, but that's where the magic happens, so get over it. If using a grisaille beginning, accentuate the highlights, so that the layered glazes eventually settle at the correct value. More photos are  here - to...

From 2007, a gallery stretched painting titled "The Red Collar." This piece has been in a private collection for many years (THANK YOU!). You can read about Harley, my muse, and the painting's seed of inspiration here, and then this post includes the story behind the painting's unveiling . Artists are always learning and growing, and it's sometimes hard to remember that those who might be considered accomplished started out learning the same basics as everyone else. So, as requested, this week I'll share a few older paintings, along with a checklist of what I've learned since then. First off, let me say that The Red Collar is a strong painting with a lovely mood as is. However, given the things I've learned the last few years, were I to paint it again (and I'm very tempted to!), I would change some things up. 1.  A direct light source would help accentuate the dog's beautiful form. He is very fl...

At this stage, anything's possible...... a view from behing my easel, all set up and ready for this afternoon's painting session.     Let me start of with a warm and sincere "thank you" to those who emailed and messaged their support after yesterday's little confession .   I am the poster child for rabid optimism. Which means that this dilemma seems impossible for me to wrap my head around and embrace.   What? no glittery rainbow? no dancing unicorns?   Nope. At least not today.   Some of the most profound discoveries come from difficult places. That doesn't mean I have to like it or even pretend it isn't happening, that I'm in an uncomfortable spot and not sure how to move on.   Apparently the plight of being lost in the creative wilderness is one shared by many. It surprises me there isn't a wild party happening in here, but maybe I've not wandered about for long enough.....   L...

"Longhorn," 6" x 16", acrylic on museum quality panel, depicting some sort of long horned cattle (I clearly do not know my bovine breds!!), a new subject matter for me! $299 to  the first one asking nicely . It's getting to be a struggle to work at my easel and feel like my dailies are fresh and valuable. I'm nearing completion of 1400 Painting a Dog a Day paintings, and I suspect the walls are closing in on me. It's not that I want to change what I'm doing - I am passionate about my job - but I do want to change what I'm doing. I have been thinking a lot about authenticity. I can ignore the niggling voices in my head and slip more challenging paintings (like the dogs and water pieces or paintings of cows) into my rotation and not say a word. But part of the whole Painting a Dog a Day project has been sharing the struggles (and victories) along the way. And while I have always been honest about many ...