Paintings With Soul

On Friday, I boasted about how productive a day I had had in the studio, and promised to share another dog-a-day with you all on Saturday morning. Then the weekend rolled in, I got caught up in life, and didn’t even give it another thought. Until now. I came into the studio tonite to make certain all my shipments were lined up and ready to go out tomorrow, and what did I see, but a lonely little painting sitting on my desk, wondering what happened. “Katie’s Beard,” 6” x 12”, commissioned mixed breed pet portrait. This is the second time I painted Katie – the first time, back on August 21st, I mis-read the reference photos. I thought Katie’s grizzled muzzle was mustached, but the whiskers actually grew from her chin. So I got a second go, with a new set of photos, and this is the portrait that Katie’s person wants to take home (THANK YOU!!). Which means that the piece from August 21st is now available for purchase. Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . Tomorrow starts Shelter ...

“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...