Paintings With Soul

"Catnap," a portrait of studio kitty daVinci, 12" x 12", acrylics on panel. Available to the first daring to invite Vinnie into their home. He's been peeling wallpaper from the walls and taunts the crated puppy ridiculously. Although the painted version should behave far better. $200 will get you a cat. Inquiries to me , and thank you so much. And yes, I am still doing commissioned pet portraits, starting around $300 for a museum quality painting. A portrait is a fabulous way to honor our four legged family members. Reach out if this is something you are considering - I do a couple of them each month. Thanks for supporting my art, Warmly, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

"Midas," 24" x 30", acrylics on panel, available for purchase to the  first asking nicely , $899 (includes s&h inside the US). Thank you so much! I should charge double for this one. Those ribbons took a damn eternity, so many repaints I lost count, and I'm freaking cross eyed from the stripes. BUT - here's the thing - I stuck through it, asked myself why things weren't working, found the answers through trial and error, and made it work. So yesterday's crappy paint day? No longer matters my friends! Thanks, as always, for supporting my dream, Warmly, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com   

"Trouble," 24" x 20", acrylics, charcoal and ink on panel, featuring a a kitten crowned with spray roses, $599, with complimentary shipping inside the US. Inquiries may always come  to me . Some paintings exceed my expectations. This one takes my breath away. Whomever purchases him will get quite a treasure! Thanks for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com    WORKSHOPS: "Color-iffic," Montague, Michigan (near Grand Rapids), September 8-9th, 2016. For further information or to enroll, please contact  Korrine Rodgers . "Color-iffic", 2 days, Crooked Tree Art Center, Traverse City, MI, October 8-9, 2016. Click here for further information or to enroll.

IN PROCESS: "Trouble," 24" x 20", acrylics, charcoal and ink on panel, featuring a a kitten crowned with spray roses. On top of just being ridiculously juicy with color, this piece comes with a healthy does of personality. The painting is $599, with complimentary shipping inside the US, and will go to the first asking nicely. Inquiries may always come  to me . Warm thanks to Beth at Amazing Petals for helping me put together the perfect bouquet for this painting (and she thought brides were high maintenance!). The yellow pods (I forget what they are called) and the stabby greenery (knife something or other) were delightful to paint. And the soft greens in the spray roses..... they make me very happy. I know this painting will do the same for a lucky collector, too. Thanks for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com    WORKSHOPS: "Color-iffic," Montague, Michigan (near Grand Rapids), September 8-9th, ...

"Red Roses," 24" x 30", acrylics, charcoal and ink on panel, a portrait of my first studio muse, Miah, crowned with red spray roses. Hard to believe she's been gone 8 years now..... She would have owned this look in real life. "Red Roses" is $699 and will go to the first asking nicely. Inquiries may always come  to me . Also, I have started  "Briar Rose," inspired by the same bouquet of roses topping Miah's portrait. Gotta get some mileage out of these blooms before they are too faded and wilty. Thanks for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com    WORKSHOPS: "Color-iffic," Montague, Michigan (near Grand Rapids), September 8-9th, 2016. For further information or to enroll, please contact  Korrine Rodgers . "Color-iffic", 2 days, Crooked Tree Art Center, Traverse City, MI, October 8-9, 2016. Click here for further information or to enroll.

"Hobbes," 18" x 24" x 1-1/2", acrylics, charcoal and ink on museum quality cradeled panel (painting wraps around the sides, so there is no need to frame), featuring an enormously tender and orange tabby kitten, crowned with daisies and baby's breath. Hobbes is allergen free, won't scratch your furniture or leave hairballs inside your favorite shoes, and he guaranteed to make you smile - $1499 will get him to your door (inside the US, but yes, I do ship worldwide) - inquiries may always come  to me . The world gets darker by the day. I believe some of my best floral paintings are coming from a desire to create beauty and paint hope. Hobbes is one of these pieces. We can't let the darkness win.  Thanks for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com    WORKSHOPS: "Color-iffic," Montague, Michigan (near Grand Rapids), September 8-9th, 2016. For further information or to enroll, please contac...

"Daisy," 10" x 16", acrylics on masonite with white charcoal details, depicting a tuxedo kitten peeking from behind an arrangement of daisies, $579 (with complimentary s&h inside the US) to the first asking nicely . I've pulled a number of paintings from my archives, and am dressing them up with florals. Daisy used to be Mum's Kitten , and I absolutely LOVE the depth and added interest the piece now has. Take a peek at the detail below - the painterly quality of the surface is mouthwatering. At least to me! Thanks for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com  

"Domino and Roses," 7-1/2" x 12", acrylics on museum quality panel, depicting a tender little b&w kitten perched among an arrangement of roses, $449 (with complimentary s&h inside the US) to the first asking nicely . I worked on my daughter's portrait today, starting to paint in the florals that will make up her crown (who am I fooling, it's a petal filled brain explosion). And then I pulled out this old painting , drawing roses in overtop. The drawing begged for paint and some more adjustments. And now, what was old, is new again. And would make a gorgeous Mother's Day gift for that kitty loving Mom. (I loved him before, but I love him even more after this upgrade!) Thanks for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com  

"Jingle," 5" x 11", acrylics on museum quality panel, inspired by studio kitty Mona Lisa, $349. This is a reworked painting , one from a couple years back, that needed a little more oomph. Today it got that, splashes of color and an added jingle bell. Do you want Jingle for yourself?  email me  then! Buy notecards, tote bags, cell phone cases, etc here. Hoping everyone had a wonderful weekend - tomorrow rings in a new month. I'm not ready for December! Thanks for your interest in my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com  

"Lying in Wait," 5" x 10", acrylics on museum quality panel, depicting a kitten looking for a little adventure, $329 (includes shipping and handling to a US address). Email me if you would like to to own this little guy - and thank you so much for your interest! SOLD (to the first one asking nicely!) Something else is lying in wait.  The holidays are just around the corner. Yikes. I am so not ready for them! (PSST - portraits make great gifts, and I do gift certificates. Also, custom cell phone cases and other goodies with my artwork on them. Just saying....) Thanks, as always, for following along with my artwork, Warmly, Kim   ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

"Shelter Tabby," 5" x 7", acrylics on museum quality panel, depicting a lovely gray tabby (of course, those who have painted with me will know that gray is never really gray - there's lots of color there!). This painting is being given away to support my local shelter - please read below for details. The Princess and I visited our shelter last week to drop off a donation. We were saddened to learn that they were at full capacity with cats. And there were so many wonderful kitties there, all ages, colors and sizes, happy to be played with and loved on. There was a crew of regular volunteers grooming and nurturing and letting us know about personalities/etc, and we enjoyed ourselves for over an hour. Of course we fell in love with a couple residents. It's impossible NOT to. We can't bring any more pets into our household (we are at capacity here too) but we decided we could still help out by sponsoring a couple cats and rai...

"Nest II (daVinci)," 12" x 12" x 1-1/2", acrylics on museum quality panel, depicting everyone's favorite studio kitty daVinci. I think I can part with this painting. Well, provided the right family comes along. The piece is $699, which includes shipping and handling to a US address. Email me if you would like to bring daVinci (the painted, sleeping, well behaved daVinci) home. This painting has been on my wall for over 2 years. I loved it, but it was a sentimental sort of love for that particular memory of a tiny kitten. It wasn't the sort of love I have for pieces that are exquisitely painted which I can't believe came off my brush. Today I thought I'd try to capture that second sort of love. I repainted the entire surface with a combination of spatulas, wedges, fingers and tiny brushes.  There is a fabulous amount of texture and subtle layering of color happening here that just makes me grin ear to ear. And ...

"Awe," 8" x 12", acrylics on copper, an orangey-coppery tabby kitten portrait that glows far more than the computer can show. This piece, which truly is exquisite in person - the computer simply cannot capture the way the light moving across this changes the value/reflective quality of the exposed copper - is $849, which includes s&h inside the US. All inquiries may  come to me . Ahh, Copper, You Magical Glittery Surface, You..... I have been researching various copper sources ever since daVinci's last portrait . And today a couple new copper pieces arrived from Hong Kong via ebay, of all places. And all I could do was think about painting on them! I had a million things to do, including addressing college financial aid details, paying studio bills and 3rd quarter paperwork, baking for school lunches, prepping/packing for next week's workshop in Louisiana, wrapping and shipping 5 paintings, a private drawing lesson, and m...

I'm always painting, or so it seems! The following paintings are recently available for purchase directly from my studio. These original works, unless noted, are acrylic on museum quality panel. All prices include s&h within the US. (A more comprehensive list of unsold originals can be seen here ) BONUS - Multiple paintings can typically be shipped together, returning collectors receive 10% off purchases (excluding paintings on paper or masonite), and I do accept payment plans (6 month plan with art shipped upon completion of payments).  Thanks so much for your interest in my artwork!  Warmly, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com "Domino," 7-1/2" x 12", $449. Inquire directly to me . "Bouquet IV," one of several floral paintings available, each created under the instruction of Lisa Daria Kennedy , 6" x 6", acrylics on masonite, $75. Inquire directly to me . You can view...

"Mums Kitten," 10" x 16," acrylics on masonite, depicting a second black and white kitten (I painted one yesterday ). Please forgive the poor quality of the photo - this painting is VERY wet and most likely will take a couple hours to dry, so I opted for an iPhone pic and a little glare as opposed to waiting until 1am - I hope you can forgive me! I'll put a scan on the blog tomorrow - but meanwhile, this little guy can be yours for $579, and that includes s&h to your door (inside the US). Please inquire to me . And take a peek at the in process photos which are here . Opposites So Domino, my painting from yesterday , was a lighter valued black and white kitten painting. And Mum went in the opposite direction - there are lots of richly hued dark values in this painting. I wanted to experiment with the two extremes. See how the layered marks read when they were light vs dark. Play with lost edges at each end of the spectrum. Sand ...

"Domino," 7-1/2" x 12," acrylics on museum quality panel, depicting a tender black and white kitten. Domino can be yours (talk about a low maintenance cat!) for $449, and that includes s&h to your door (inside the US). Please inquire to me . Also, in process photos are here . It's Time to pARTy!! So Domino, this sweet little guy, I think will make an excellent muse for this month's pARTy. What's a pARTy? Well, it's when artists work from the same reference to create work showcasing their own unique style. Domino's pARTy reference came from the website Paint My Photo - a great spot to find a little (or a lot) of inspiration. I've included the direct link to the photo , but ask that anyone participating does join the group (it's free!) and adhere to their terms of service (essentially only using their photos to make non-digital art, and the non-digital piece is their request, not mine). If you are p...

"Tabby Kit," 5" x 7", acrylics on a museum quality panel, depicting a tiny little orange striped guy from Morgue File . This painting can be yours for $289, which includes s&h inside the US. And in case you didn't see it, a little doodle of him is also available for sale here . Inquires may come directly to me .  Although it certainly doesn't FEEL like spring here (snow and ice and wind chills, brr!), I can tell that spring is coming. The mercury is rising a wee bit each day and the days are getting longer and brighter. Over the weekend we drove with the moonroof open just to feel the sun's meager and oh-so-very-welcome warmth (although the heat in the car was cranked, too, in the interest of full disclosure!). I wanted to work with spring-like colors today, and this little guy was still on my mind , so I grabbed a small panel and got to work. Of course, I also have Poppy to finish and some changes to make to another po...

Ask Nicely - Buy Me Now "Boo," 6" x 8", acrylics on panel, depicting a tiny daVinci, $329 to the first asking nicely. SOLD (THANK YOU!) My previous newsletter provider didn't offer much in the means of integration with social media or dynamic looks. So today I shifted to Constant Contact and freshened things up a bit in the process. Let me know what you think! This little painting of daVinci, one of his first portraits, is a favorite of mine, and seemed the perfect choice to usher in the new look. I can't believe it hasn't yet found a home, but maybe that will happen soon........ Thanks, as always, for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

Detail of "Nestled," 30" x 30", acrylics on cradeled birch panel, featuring four different larger than life views of a daVinci, genius brown tabby kitten extraordinaire. This painting is hopefully headed to ArtPrize (see below) where it will be available for $3,900 to the first one asking nicely. VIEW IN PROCESS PHOTOS Here is my   ArtPrize 2014   entry. Or rather, one small bit of it.  Next up: actively focus on finding the perfect venue match for my entry. It's gotta be a space that will duly workshop his brilliance. He will accept nothing less. I photographed  the painting's progression - feel free to take a peek and add your two cents. A limited edition of 10 gallery wrapped hand-signed reproductions on canvas will be available for pre-order next week. Let me know if you are interested - I'm talking to vendors and arranging details now. Thanks as always for following along ...

In Process, "Nestled," 30" x 30", acrylics on cradeled birch panel, four different larger than life views of a particularly troublesome kitten (daVinci). This painting is headed to ArtPrize (hopefully) where it will be available for $3,900 to the first one asking nicely. VIEW IN PROCESS PHOTOS Have you heard of ArtPrize ? After only a handful of years, it's become one of the largest art festivals in the world - I was fortunate enough to be an artist in 2012 and to spend a weekend visiting last year. It's pretty inspiring, to say the least. How does it work? Well, artists put together a proposal online. Their work is then matched with a participating venue. The venue hangs and coordinates all the display details, and the artwork is publically on view for the duration of the festival. Entries are juried by a board of curators/peers as well as eligible for popular vote awar...