Paintings With Soul

"Freya," painted sketch, image roughly 4-1/2" x 9" on a 9" x 12" page, commissioned portrait of a Doberman Pinscher. This portrait has been sold (THANK YOU SO MUCH!!). However, if you would like something similar, I offer a limited number of painted sketches each year, and inquiries may always come my way  - I can add you to a waiting list. Taking a Cue From a Master  Carol Marine , a daily painter of tremendous renown, spends a lot of time traveling and enjoying her family. And one of the things that enables her to do this is what she calls "painting ahead" - she prepares her daily paintings ahead of time, and schedules her blog posts for those days when she may be on the road/unplugged from the internet. And this is what I did yesterday and last night - I stole her idea, and painted ahead. Why? Well, for one, I'm supposed to be teaching tonite (Thursday the 18th) (I say supposed to be because class is outdo...

"Lexi," 9" x 12", commissioned portrait of a Doberman, acrylics on museum quality panel, private collection. Inquiries may come to me, though, as I can work this sort of magic with YOUR dog. Lexi has hiked many a trail in Big Sur and played in the Pacific waves, and despite recently losing a leg to cancer, she embraces life and the outdoors with the same energy and delight. It was important to include that in her portrait, along with a hint of Mother Nature. I'm waiting on pins and needles to see if Lexi's Mom approves of this one. I don't want to curse myself, but I think it might be one of my best portraits to date. None of that matters, though, if Lexi's family doesn't agree. Off to my presentation this evening at the Romeo Guild of Art - I'll be talking about using social media as a marketing tool. And tomorrow I have something extra special planned - I can't wait! Thanks for following alo...

“Abigail,” 6” x 12”, Doberman puppy pet portrait in acrylic on canvasboard, private collection (thank you very much!). I love getting pictures in the mail. And it’s even more fun when they are puppy pictures! I got a nice little stack of them a few weeks back depicting Abby and it was all I could do to stick to the schedule and make her wait her turn. This is a difficult painting to photograph, being so very dark and richly toned in the shadows. The camera added a lot of contrast and blue to the painting – I tried to make some corrections in photoshop (my photoshop skills are improving slowly but surely!!). In real life, Abby’s fur reads like silk, and the light in her eyes is tender. This will be a tough piece to ship off to it’s new home! Thanks as always for taking the time to look at these paintings. I have gotten several notes this week about how the dog-a-day paintings make your work days a little brighter. I am happy to hear that – I remember myself how tough it can get when cha...

“ZoeyAnn,” 6” x 12”, mixed breed pet portrait in acrylic on canvasboard, $135. Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . Proceeds from the sale of this painting will be donated to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. We’ve all heard of dog allergies, but what about a dog who’s allergic to human dander? That’s our ZoeyAnn here, an adorable, young hound mix with an incredibly long list of allergies. She’s at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, receiving a variety of remedies. The drier air seems to have helped (ZoeyAnn is originally from New York), and she’s had some dietary changes, and is also undergoing treatment to help boost her autoimmune system (now it is possible that I didn’t quite interpret this last point clearly enough – but there’s a good debate and a very interesting article on allergies in dogs that you can read at http://network.bestfriends.org/MessageBoards/TopicPopup.aspx?g=1a0fd2cd9f2f4c5dac3274d536f3e9c9&t=12560 ). Thank you to new collector Laurie Smith...