Paintings With Soul

"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...

"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...

"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...

    AT RIGHT, "Lily" and AT LEFT, "Lucy," commissioned portraits, both 5" x 7". Each done in acrylics on museum quality panels, private collection (THANK YOU!!).    I started these two before the holiday - process pics are  on Facebook  - there's quite a few!   Now what to paint next? decisions, decision!! (and I could be painting for YOU -  ask me  about it!)   Thanks for supporting my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

      "Begonia," 10" x 16", acrylics on a museum quality panel, still life of potted plants alongside a sleeping orange tabby, $629. Inquiries can come  via email , thank you very much.   And don't be afraid to ask about our putting together a special painting starring your furry companion.   Thank you for the wonderful response to my call to throw more creativity and beauty into the world ( yesterday ). I think I feel a shift in the balance of positive energy already.   And it's not related to the box of Girl Scout cookies I ate this afternoon, either.   Thanks so much for following my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com     photo courtesy of Diana Ostrand - copyright protected When Diana showed me this pic of her Frieda taking a break from making trouble, she recognized the look in my eyes. I think that's because she's a painter too. I didn't even have to ask (T...

  "Hello Kitty," 6" square, commissioned portrait of an orange tabby cat, done in acrylic on a museum quality panel, private collection (THANK YOU!). Inquiries may come  to me .         Dexter's a wonderful, cuddly cat who can't get enough of snuggling. Given that he also loves to sleep in the crook of someone's arm, this seemed like an appropriate pose for his portrait.   Psst - this painting is a birthday gift for Dexter's Dad, so if you know his family, please help us keep the secret.   Psst again - if you want to gift something as amazing as a pet portrait,  shoot me a note . I'm fairly certain we can work something out!!   Now I'm off for a dance convention with The Princess this weekend, sketchbook in tow. While she's studying with a variety of dance instructors, I'll be sketching the dancers.   That's a combined 16 hours of life drawing come Sunday.   Pray for me (life drawing was never my strong suit!!) - Ki...

  "Orange Tabby," a painted sketch done in acrylics on multimedia artboard. This piece will be headed to a new home in several days, one of my final holiday commissions.   I have one more larger portrait to finish (with local delivery, phew!) and a handful of other projects to complete my own handmade Christmas gift giving.   But tonite we're welcoming the start of Christmas Break. It'll be a savory pot roast with all the fixings (My Better Half is a mean cook, too!), a celebratory gin and tonic (I'll have that now, please, bartender!), and some leftover birthday cake. After which we'll take in Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker (courtesy of the Ovation Channel).   Sigh. Life is good. So very good.   Thank you so much for supporting my artwork and providing my livelihood, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com       Helping Paws   The  Canine Art Guild 's annual  Helping Paws Exhibition  is now available for viewing onli...

      "Enzo," commissioned sketch portrait of a beautiful orange long-hair cat, image approzimately 6" x 4" and roughly centered on an 8" x 10" piece of multimedia artists paper, done in Golden Open Acrylics.   Another holiday gift in the making....... a rather fabulous one, if I do say so myself. Someone's going to feel extra special on Christmas morning. And someone else is going to get some major perks.   Thanks, as always, for looking at and sharing my paintings, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com   PAINTING WORKSHOP , October 8th, Lake Orion Michigan, 10am-4pm.  Email me  for additional information. Pinterest   Ever found a recipe or a great DIY project online? and then you go back to try and find it and no luck?   Yeah, me too.   That's why I'm such a huge fan of the new site  Pinterest .   It allows you to create virtual file folders of all those cool things you see online, complete with site ...

  I am officially en route to Saratoga for our girls' weekend/artist retreat.   Tonite I'm shacking up at  Linda Shantz's  farm, where I was welcomed by Betty Cat, who reminded me to seriously slow down and savor these next couple days.   Tomorrow we'll be at the track, and I hope to have a photo or two (thousand) of a racehorse to share with you.   Meanwhile savor your evening! Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com    

"The Light," 6" square, portrait of an orange and white kitty, done in Golden Open Acrylics on Ampersand Gessobord. This little guy can brighten up your art collection for $299 - repeat customers can purchase him for only $269. Inquiries may come to me . I made the executive decision that today we all needed a little sunshine. The unexpected sort of warmth that makes you raise your face to the sky and pause. Enjoy it. Thanks so very much for following along with my artwork! Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com Inspiration A few blogs/websites from contemporary artists who regularly deliver light, at least to me: Karin Jurick Carol Marine Ali Cavanaugh Stuart Shils Karen Appleton Susan Leyland Melissa Peck Katie Upton

"Orange Tabby's Sunbeam," 5" x 8", Golden Open acrylics on Raymar panel, cat portrait of a buff colored tabby, $299 naked or $369 complete with custom frame. Inquiries (including booking your own pet portrait, from miniature size [4" x 4"] to larger than life) may always come t o me . This painting is headed to an exhibition that opens next week at Margot's Gallery in Oxford, Michigan. The inspiration kitty resides in Benson's Way at Best Friend's Animal Sanctuary - if anyone knows his/her name, please email me (this is the orange tabby on the weight loss program in the lobby). After a couple weeks' hiatus, it felt wonderful today to be back in the studio, painting at my easel, working in a familiar space (that didn't have a red ant infestation like my plein air sites have as of late!). That said, it also was so very wonderful to be able to travel the bulk of August (California and Utah), meeting up with Dog a Day fans and col...

"Saucer Eyed," 4" x 8", tabby cat portrait , featuring a resident of the Oakland Pet Adoption Center, acrylic on board, $149 to the first buyer. $28 from the sale of this painting will be donated to the Oakland Pet Fund ( http://www.oaklandpetfund.org/ ) in support of their goal to make Oakland County Michigan a no-more-homeless-pets-community by 2010. Inquires to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . SOLD. This painting makes me feel warm all over. The oranges radiate the heat of a fire, and the bright eyes lock you into the glow. This little kitten was very interested in all that I did, and demanded a painting that oozed with her curiousity and precociousness. "Hope," 6" square, marmalade cat portrait , featuring a resident of the Oakland Pet Adoption Center, acrylic on board, $149 to the first buyer. $28 from the sale of this painting will be donated to the Oakland Pet Fund ( http://www.oaklandpetfund.org/ ) in support of their goal to make Oakland Co...

“Sleepy Marmalade,” 11” x 14”, acrylic feline portrait on canvasboard, $199. Proceeds from the sale of this portrait will go to the Friends of Michigan Animal Rescue in Bellevue, Michigan. Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . When I was painting this cat, I found myself returning to a method I used in my college days – that of randomly placing daubs of color, allowing them to dictate pattern, lines, and shapes separate from the subject matter (yes, I used to paint abstractly). The surface of this painting has much going on – layers of glazes, texture scratched in with paint rubbed overtop, and unexpected yummy color. It’s a small step in the direction I would ultimately like to see my larger paintings travel. This piece is rather unorthodox, but never the less still good natured. Returning to our subject matter here, though, don’t we all know a cat like this? A big ole’ purr factory, with an uncanny ability to hone in on the coziest spot in the house? Such is the story of Dia...