Paintings With Soul

"A Whole New World", 10" x 12" acrylics on museum quality panel, depicting some of my favorite young dancers. This painting has a good story behind it - and posters will be sold - read more below! The painting itself belongs to The Princess (that's her on the left), but as always, inquiries may come directly to me . Oh, and in process photos are here Production Numbers In the world of competitive dance, a production number is a dance that tells a story, and typically features every dancer from the team. Production numbers are nearly double the length of other dances, and are tremendous fun, as they usually include props, fabulous costumes, and incredible music mixes. This year, The Princess's production number tells the story of Aladdin. It's complete with neon orange beaded harem pants, a flying carpet, a marketplace and a magic genie lamp. It also includes lyrical movement, musical theater, acrobatics, pointe and tap, and ...

Kiran's Spotlight, 11" x 14", acrylics on museum quality panel, depicting a young dancer and friend of The Princess, not currently available. However, inquiries may come  to me .     Sorry about the blurry photo - the best I can do given the current lighting situation! I'll try again tomorrow!   I decided the background needed more warmth, but still had to be cooler than the foreground. Once I figured that out, I was able to go and finish Kiran's body.   I thought I was done, but I see a couple edges I want to soften. I'll hold off on declaring her entirely finished, then, until Kiran's parents get a peek at it and give me some feedback.   And I make those tweaks I want!   Thanks for following along with my artwork! Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com   PS   In process pictures are here  on Facebook .

IN PROCESS:  Kiran's Spotlight, 11" x 14", acrylics on museum quality panel, depicting a young dancer and friend of The Princess, not currently available. However, inquiries may come  to me .     I'm at an impasse. Measuring and wondering if the grays in the background would be better with a glaze of transparent orange overtop, just to amplify the heat of the spotlight. But then again, perhaps I need the contrast (not just from a value standpoint, but from a value AND color temperature perspective).   And until I figure it out (which way is the best compliment to the poised figure? that's a queation only I can answer), I'll hold off on finishing Kiran's profile and putting additional detail into her form, just to keep everything balanced. So yes, the edges are soft and fuzzy, but that's just a temporary stage!   Hoping to see my way clearly very soon!   Thanks for following along with my artwork! Kim ksantini@turtl...

AT TOP, completed, and below in process, "In the Wings," 8" x 10", a portrait of The Princess in one of her ballet costumes, painted in acrylics on museum quality panel. Inquiries may come  to me  - I'm not sure I'll be able to part with this one, despite having many paintings of her already. This is what I accomplished late last nite. Again, I challenged myself to paint the light. Of course, there were other challenges too. A football scrimmage, dance class, volunteer hours, orientation at two different school buildings. Never a dull moment in these parts. That's why I love my life so very much! In process pics on  the studio Facebook page . Thanks so much for following along with my work, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

    "Masquerade," 6" x 8", portrait of three young dancers on stage, inspired by the young ladies at  Broadway Dance Co  (where The Princess studies). This is acrylics on museum quality panel and is available to the first asking nicely for $329 - inquiries can come  to moi !    Last nite I found myself with a couple hours to do whatever I wanted. That was a tough one!! I headed straight to the easel and created Masquerade - it's time on the easel was relatively short lived, but this composition had been in my head for over a month, and the idea itself has been percolating for several years.   But inquiring minds always want to know how long did this take to paint?   The painting process cannot be measured or valued by a number of minutes. Making art is a lifelong process of seeing and questioning and filtering and experimenting, building up cumulative knowledge and filling those visual memory banks. ...

    "Spotlight," 6" x 8", portrait of a young dancer, done in acrylics on museum quality panel, collection of the model.     This is Elizabeth's daughter - you remember  Elizabeth ? the one who drug me all over central Florida last week? - Well, her daughter Emilie is an accomplished and exquisite dancer. She turned out to be quite the muse as well.   While I was staying with them last week, Emilie, a freshman in high school, successfully auditioned for an apprenticeship in a professional dance troupe. She also invited me to her dance studio, where I met a few of her teammates and got to watch them perform.    Breathtaking.   Sadly, I left my camera back home. So the lovely photo inspiring this painting was provided courtesy of  Douglas Nelson Photography . I say this all the time, but please make sure you have the photographer's explicit permission to create derivative art from their work. Tha...