Paintings With Soul

"The First Saturday in May," 36" x 14", the official artwork for the 2015 Kentucky Derby, acrylic on museum quality panel, in a private collection. You can see a short video about the creation of this painting   here . I was offered this job in June 2014. Clare Jett, owner of JettStream Publishing, the licensing agency responsible for the Derby artwork, googled "horse racing art" and found my work. She traced it back to my blog, found my phone number, and cold called. That's the actual truth. Also, she told me I was the coolest headed artist she had ever offered the project to. And that's because, when she first contacted me, I thought she was a prank phone call. There was no way I was gonna give the prankster anything to hang over my head. But after we hung up and I realized it was legit, there may have been some jumping about, jazz hands and screaming. Thanks so much for following along with my art journey, Please stay w...

"The Winner's Circle, American Pharoah," 24-3/4" x 24", depicting Triple Crown champion American Pharoah (after winning the 2015 Kentucky Derby). This was my view on Derby day, painted from iPhone photos I took from our seats at the finish line. I still can't believe it happened - that I was the Kentucky Derby artist - and that we have a new Triple Crown winner to boot!.  This painting is acrylics and mixed media on a museum quality panel. It is available for $2980 (including s&h within the US). I am happy to discuss payment plans - inquiries may always come  to me.   Thanks for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com  

"The Twin Spires (Churchill Downs)," 10" square, depicting the famed roofline of Churchill Downs as I saw it in the early morning sunrise during my visit in April. This painting is available for purchase only (no reproductions or other items will be made of it) - $499 gets it to your door. Inquiries may always come my way , and in process photos are  here. The Story Behind This Painting Well, there's two of them, really.   First one:  JettStream Productions (the Official Licensee/Art of the Kentucky Derby) was taken with the colors and style of my June desktop calendar , and asked if I would paint the Town Spires for a "Thank You " card. There was a little arm twisting involved. Ok, I lie.   Second one: When The Princess and I visited Kentucky in April, it was her spring break. And I made her get out of bed at an ungodly hour to teenagers just to see morning workouts at Churchill Downs (NOTE: She is not a horse crazy kid, e...

IN PROCESS: "The Winner's Circle, American Pharoah," 24-3/4" x 24", depicting Triple Crown champion American Pharoah (after winning the Kentucky Derby) on his way to the winner's circle at Churchill Downs. This was my spectacular view on Derby day, painted from iPhone photos I snapped. This painting is acrylics on a museum quality panel and is available for $2980 (including s&h within the US) to the first asking nicely. Inquiries may always come  to me.  In process photos are  here. Unbelievable! Did you see it? The Belmont Stakes ?   And can you guess that I cried huge silent elephant tears when, at the top of the stretch, American Pharoah started pulling away? (if you also guessed that my children ridiculed me, you should earn a special prize!) I couldn't believe it - I was too young to clearly remember Affirmed, the last Triple Crown winner. And honestly, there had been a flurry of champions taking this honor in m...

IN PROCESS: "The Winner's Circle, American Pharoah," 24-3/4" x 24", depicting Triple Crown candidate American Pharoah after winning the Kentucky Derby, on his way to the winner's circle at Churchill Downs. This was my view on Derby day, painted  using my iPhone photos. This painting is acrylics on a museum quality panel and  is available for $2980 (including s&h within the US) to the first asking nicely. Inquiries may always come to me . In process photos are here . An Ambitious Undertaking I can't help but wonder if American Pharoah will be the next Triple Crown winner. And while my Kentucky Derby experience couldn't be more perfect, seeing a Triple Crown winner in the flesh just might make it perfecter after the fact. So I'm savoring and enjoying that possibility this week - quite a bit! This is a BIG painting - big in size and in ambition. So many complex areas - the spectators, the horses, the infield, ...

American Pharoah Won the Derby !!! I snapped the above iPhone photo from our seats near the finish line at Churchill Downs, as American Pharoah was making his way to the winner's circle.  Yeah, I did just say that. Our seats. At the finish line.  Here's some other way amazing things I got to do while in Kentucky:   Hang at Keeneland Race Track for morning workouts with some friends, after which we enjoyed breakfast afterwards at the track kitchen. Take in the artwork at Cross Gate Gallery in Lexington. Sip wine on the banks of the Ohio River. Get pink and freckled (yes, I had sunscreen on!). Practiced yoga in the dappled light of a glorious tree drenched in a Kentucky sunrise each morning. Signed about a gajillion posters, tickets, programs and tote bags for the kindest people. Made some new-to-me friends that feel as though I've known them my whole life. Ate the most exquisite meals - I kid you not - they were cray cray! ...

One of 8 contour drawings made available today , all equine related. Because I couldn't wait ANY longer to start celebrating Derby Week! Contour drawings were something I learned in college as part of my life drawing class. The model would hold a pose for 10 minutes, and we were to draw the edges of her form. In 10 minutes. I know it sounds impossible, and at the beginning, it very nearly was. With practice, those contour drawings became blind ones (meaning that we couldn't look at our paper while drawing), and those poses shortened to 2 minutes. It's all a matter of training one's eye and hand. At the time I enjoyed the exercise, but didn't think much of it, and stopped doing drawings shortly thereafter. What the heck was wrong with me? (I know what it was - I got seduced by COLOR and all her mysterious ways!) Now that I've rediscovered contours, and begun doing them in colored inks, it seems to be a happy marriage.  You can see all o...

"Grindstone", 16" x 20" acrylics on museum quality panel, depicting Grindstone, just a few strides away from winning The Kentucky Derby in 1996. Read more about this painting's story below - it's a good one! And inquiries may come directly  to me .  Paying it Forward Shortly after getting The Derby Gig, which neatly dovetailed my childhood passion for horse racing with my grown up obsession with painting, I started formulating a plan to give back to the universe. As it played out, The Kentucky Derby Museum got involved, and it was decided I would donate a piece to them, something they could use as a fundraising tool to further their education efforts.  "Would I be interested in painting Grindstone, the winner of the 1996 Derby?" they asked. But of course! Little did I know the background story, though. Every year the Museum asks the owners of the Kentucky Derby winner to donate one breeding to the Museum when th...

I got to try out my new camera in Kentucky, and got quite a few beautiful shots of the light and the horses while visiting Keeneland and Churchill Downs (pictured above, in the early morning). Highlights From Our Roadtrip: Dietsch's chocolates Seeing the first peeks of green as we drove south Dumplins Meeting a friend over coffee and tea after morning workouts in the track kitchen at Keeneland Southern hospitality Watching races from an owner's box on the finish line at Keeneland Limestone cliffs and cascading groundwater in the setting sun Honey crusted salmon from Bluegrass Brewing Company (their porter wasn't half bad either!) Churchill Downs at sunrise (see above!) Reconnecting with the same smiling faces from the Derby artwork reveal in November Getting teary when honored with a distinctive Kentucky Derby Museum Membership Sharing the painting process of "The First Saturday in May"   (the 2015 Kentucky Derby painting) with...