Paintings With Soul

  Otis Lane Farm, (4) 6"x6" original paintings, acrylic on panel, done plein air. Through 9-24 these 4 are available as a curated collection with special pricing of $560 plus s&h. After 9-24 they will be available individually for $200 plus s&h. Individual pieces are titled "Red Roof," "Pole Barn," "Tree Line" and "Goldenrod."  Link to purchase is below.   Please reach out   with any questions. These pieces were part of my plein air painting adventure last week. Our rental house nestled into the arms of a working farm, which provided some rather bucolic views. I delighted in shifting my easel every so slightly and settling in to study an entirely new vista. Most of the farm studies I did were of this small 6"x6" size, but I have a couple 8"x10"s too that you'll get to see later this week. Meanwhile, these four can be seen in greater detail   here ,  viewed up close (you'll get a better sense of the pa...

"Orchard II," 10"x12", acrylics on museum quality panel, a study created plein air my second day of Vianna Szabo's Plein Air Workshop at Millers Big Red Cider Mill this past weekend. This is an extra special painting because it's really two different pieces all in one (see below) AND it has a dinosaur - it's only $250 if you are the first one saying please . Like you learned yesterday , I got to paint with none other than Vianna Szabo this last weekend!   Day two brought about conversations of atmosphere and color, drawing and painting depth, and allowing the viewer to step INTO our paintings.  We made value sketches, committed to a compositional idea, and set up our gear. I lost my composition, though, as the sun moved - my left to right shadows, including an awesomely menacing claw shaped shadow! - disappeared with the noon sun. And I hadn't captured them adequately. I tried to fake it, but didn't have the vi...

"Orchard I," 8"x10", acrylics on museum quality panel, a study created plein air while shivering majorly at Millers Big Red Cider Mill this past weekend. I don't do cold, but I ventured into the chilly great wilds this weekend for the opportunity to paint plein air with one of my mentors. You can snag this painting for $200 if you are the first one saying please . I HEARD A PLEASE, so this one's SOLD! THANK YOU! I got to paint with none other than Vianna Szabo this weekend! I was part of her landscape painting workshop. She took 8 of us on a whirlwind immersion to the joys - and realities - of painting plein air. The first day we focused on composing and editing the landscape. Plied with donuts and warm cider, we then ventured into a wet and cold orchard to create value studies that solidified (or should have) our concepts. My first ah-ha moment came while working on my color study. I was tracking my brushstrokes on a value scale (I t...

"Burglar Alarm," 8" x 10", double dog portrait , acrylic on canvasboard, private collection (THANK YOU!!). Inquiries may come to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . Today I was able to carve out several hours between swim lessons and grocering to do some plein air painting with oils in the back yard. I focused on a frog shaped planter bursting with hens-and-chicks in my daughter's fairy garden (You'll ruin her childhood if you spill the beans that I am responsible for the polished stones and bits of sea glass that get regularly deposited in the yard and under her pillow. Don't even think about telling her that cherished pinch of fairy dust is everyday glitter and white sand. And don't you dare tell her that I'm the one who paints the fairy footprints across various surfaces, either. Please. She'll never forgive me.....) I so enjoyed the birdsongs and overwhelming peace that happened while I was communing with Annie's fairies and my little ...