Paintings With Soul

  "Red," 24x36x1-1/2, acrylics on cradled panel, image painted around the side, $1899 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. I accept paypal, personal checks, and payment plans, and collectors always receive a 10% discount. Inquiries may come  to me . I am particularly fascinated with a fox's ability to dissolve into their surroundings. I imagine that is much how Native Americans moved through the woods, too, silently, without being noticed. It seems to me that the less intrusive one is to their surroundings in nature, the more deeply one can be connected. And that's what this painting is about - how, through the centuries of time on earth, we are all bits of each other. We are literally connected via the most basic shared building blocks - the elements on this earth - simply recycled and reborn in other cells. I also really dig the idea that my spirit guide (the fox) is made up of sky, earth and fire. That makes her even more powerful, her ability t...

Inspired by the work of David Shevlino, done overtop a sketch completed in Aprils 30Dogs30Days. This is "red Shevlino," an 8x10 acrylic painting done on canvasboard. He is $199 plus s&hto the first asking nicely. I take paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Inquiries may come   to me   - thank you! Artists pull inspiration from a variety of sources. A revisit to The Little Prince firmly lodged the fox's words in my head:  "One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eye." And that got me thinking, how the heck do I paint things that are essential and therefore intangible? It got me googling last night - I started out with an exploration of edges and how various treatments achieve different results. I got distracted by   Gregory Manchess's   paintings, and ultimately ended up on   David Shevlino's   website (and of course I had gloriously colored, fractured, blurrey edged dreams!). This morni...

I wish I had some of my early teenaged drawings, the ones I voraciously did while copying book illustrations. When I was a teenager (cue the sad violin music), there was no internet. Or easily accessible quality photo imagery, for that matter - film cameras were expensive, and photos were sealed under plastic in albums. There were no museums or art galleries in my town. Art was only available in books, and those came from the library. When I was deemed old enough, I could stay after school and walk to our local library, where I would hang out in the stacks for hours. Books were read, yes, but I would also study the artwork and draw from them. Jim Kjergaard's books were some of my favorites - heartwarming stories with beautiful covers (I wish I knew who this artist is, but I don't have this particular copy anymore). I can't tell you how many times I drew Red, in pencil, pen and ink, watercolor, acrylic...

Learn From My Mistakes.  24" x 36" x 1-1/2", acrylics on cradeled panel, not for sale. However, inquiries may always come to   me . My newest selfie - I've been doing these regularly for over 2 years. After so much practice, I am finally getting the hang of figurative painting. Still have a looooong way to go, but I am very pleased with all the forward progress I have made.

She carries me from the darkest places.  12" x 24", acrylics on museum quality panel, $849 plus s&h. Inquiries may come to  me . Who's always got your back?

"Poppy," 36" x 48", from the Flores Animalum series of paintings, acrylics on panel, depicting a larger than life sized golden retriever crowned with a halo of bobbing poppies. Poppy is $3599 plus s&h. Payment plans available. Inquiries may come to me . The flowers represent the generous love and acceptance dogs give so freely. We could learn a lot from them. I started this painting last spring, then got too scared to finish it (yes, that happens to me too! far more often than I'd like to admit). It wasn't until yesterday morning, when I was actively avoiding cleaning off my desk, that she made it back onto my easel. And it's been a painting marathon ever since. Thanks for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com   

"Briar Rose," 24" x 48", acrylics, charcoal and ink on panel, featuring a shaggy chestnut pony and a tangle of spray roses.  Briar needs a home - she's got impeccable manners. $1499 will get her to your door (inside the US) - I guarantee that you can't find a more perfectly behaved pony for a better price! Inquiries may come to me . I'm looking for a space that will host a solo show of my floral pieces or offer a few of them for sale. If you know of any galleries that may be interested, please l et me know ! Thanks for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com    Shop Reproductions Here   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 enro...

NOTATION 9-5-15:  "Fox Kit" completed after paint dried (this humidity!). There was some sandpaper involved, a few glazes, more sandpaper, and then the painting got scanned. Any digital image suffers in comparison to the original, but the above image is a fair representation of the color, value and texture in this painting. In process, "Fox Kit," 10" x 10", acrylics on panel, a painting a young fox inspired by a photo found on morguefile.com . This piece is nearly finished, but I ran into the challenge of an extended paint drying time due to our hight humidity. This piece has been wet for nearly 4 hours now! I would like to take sandpaper to some areas (so as to soften edges and color transitions), but cannot do that until the paint cures. Meanwhile, this painting and all it's color and delight can be yours for $499, which include s&h inside the US. All inquiries may  come to me . SOLD (THANK YOU!) Please note this is an iPho...

"T Rex," Toy #19, 6" x 6," acrylics on masonite. This painting features a Schleich plastic dinosaur, freshly grown in our Dinosaur Garden. This painting is $75, including shipping inside the US. Purchasing is as simple as  asking . SOLD (THANK YOU!) Yes, you read that right. We have a dinosaur garden. It's a perennial one, self sows/reseeds every year underneath some giant hostas and magical foxgloves. It is home to Grandpa Toad (he's a very happy, very large toad) and his descendants, along with a collection of tiny dinosaurs and dragons that co-exist quite nicely. Kids always ask where we got our dinosaur garden. But it came with our house, so I'm not sure where to tell them to get one of their own. But I have heard, if you make a comfy dinosaur nest, you might entice one to move in and start up his/her own commune. Please note, there is a difference between making a dinosaur nest and a warm bed for feral cats. Make sure...

FROM LEFT:  "Truffles I" "II" and "III", each 4" square, acrylics on museum quality panel, currently being sold at auction . Proceeds to benefit my animal shelter, the Oakland Pet Adoption Center . These are the best sort of truffles - ones you can never have too many of! Wouldn't they make a great Valentine's gift for someone special? Bid via Facebook by commenting on the paintings' photo . Bids accepted until 9pm EST Sunday, January 26th. All monies raised exceeding $60/painting will be donated to my local animal shelter. (And I know I was supposed to start that big painting today - but the panel I had overnighted arrived damaged, so it looks like Friday is when I'll get to start.) Thanks for helping homeless animals AND sharing my love of chocolate! Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

TOP ROW, left to right, "Bud," "Tendril," BOTTOM ROW Reaching," and "Glow," each 4" square, acrylics on museum quality panels. These paintings will be auctioned with 100% of the proceeds going to  The SAMFund , a group like no other that offers financial, professional and emotional support to young adult cancer survivors. Please feel free to share the links to this auction, and take a hand in helping The SAMFund gift their one millionth dollar. The auction is ongoing and will and run seven days, until Tuesday, October 29th, 2013. Bid on  Bud Bid on  Tendril Bid on  Reaching Bid on  Glow Over the weekend I asked on  Facebook  what to paint. Several people mentioned flowers, which I nixed right away because I pretty much suck at them. But then I realized I wouldn't get any better if I didn't try. And I don't always want to suck at anything. I also tried to channel my hero, L...

The Great Escape, 4" x 12", acrylics on museum quality panel, depicting a string of troublemakers from a Barrel of Monkeys.  This seemed like a suitable subject for the first day of school. In process pics on  the studio Facebook page . Thanks so much for following along with my work, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

      CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:  " Double Ring Valentine ," " S Hook Valentine ," " Orange Shadowed Valentine ," and " Paperclip Valentine ," each 4" square, acrylic on museum quality panel, each available for purchase.   These paintings will be auctioned  on the studio's Facebook page  - bidding will begin at $1 and run through 10pm EST Wednesday, January 30th.    Place your bid via commenting on the painting you want.    Pay via Paypal by Friday, February 1st, 2013, and your painting will ship on Monday.   Want to commisison a painting of your own animal's tags? of course I can do that!! shoot an email  in my direction .     It's a one-day auction on these mini paintings!    The auction has already started - click on the title of the painting you want and be directly transported to the correct page!   Or visit the...