Paintings With Soul

  "Northern Lights," 24"x30", acrylic on flat panel, not yet for sale. However,   all of these paintings are ..... I would love to wrap one up for you!!   Reach out   with any questions and thanks so much for your interest in my artwork. I thought her name was Vincent, as a nod to his Starry Night, but all of her companion pieces have titles tied to the space they are birthed from. So then My Better Half suggested Full Moon, which I loved, but I have used before. Then after I photographed and cropped the painting, I really got to appreciate her inner glow and it came to us: Northern Lights. Such is the complicated decision making involved in titling a painting. Thanks, as always, for following along with me and my artwork. Be well, Fondly, Kim

  "Spruce," 24"x30", acrylic on flat panel, not yet for sale. However,   all of these paintings are ..... I would love to wrap one up for you!!   Reach out   with any questions and thanks so much for your interest in my artwork.   Today this showed up on my easel. Well, actually, she began arriving yesterday, and swept in full force during today's painting session, during which I was thinking of the spirit of the landscape. Specifically, the little wooded area behind my neighborhood drugstore where these twisted pines grow, and wondering what sort of wildlife called it home before the road was carved through. This is an idea that has gripped me for a couple years now. The history of a space - whether it's an internal landscape or a legit one that I can go visit. This idea wasn't so obviously included in my work as it is here, but I am learning how better to express it. How did I get to this point? well, if you have been one of my online ...

  Kimberly Kelly Santini   artist, instructor, daydreamer "Winterberry," 24"x30", acrylic on flat panel, not yet for sale. However,   all of these paintings are ..... I would love to wrap one up for you!!   Reach out   with any questions and thanks so much for your interest in my artwork. It's been a couple weeks since my last newsletter, which is a sad oversight on my part. I've been so caught up in my easel time and making all sorts of other connections with respect to my work and studies (yes, I am always learning!) that I've not prioritized writing. But I have: shoveled and chipped ice and snow until my body ached updated the   offerings on Fine Art America   (prints and reproductions), including all of the Talisman pieces that have found new homes been honored with a second place award at Starkweather Arts Center in their annual membership AND earned an honorable mention in the International Society of Experimental Artists members' show ...

  "Snowglobe," 24"x18", acrylic on flat panel, not currently for sale. However,   all of these paintings are ..... I would love to wrap one up for you!!   Reach out   with any questions and thanks so much for your interest in my artwork. It seems fitting that I finished this piece today, in the midst of a huge storm system that is stretched across the US (we've gotten about 8" of snow since this morning and it's still coming down hard and furious). And when you factor in as well that the groundhog has predicted another 6 weeks of winter, well, 2-2-22 seemed like the perfect birthday for this girl. This is an idea I've had for a long time, inspired by a glass rabbit paperweight I picked up at a flea market a decade ago. Part crystal ball, part forest spirit, Snowglobe carries the promise of spring inside her. She's also the latest lesson painting in my online classroom. I've had a camera set up in front of the easel the last 3 days, filming t...

  "Moss," 60"x48"x1-1/2", acrylic mixed media on gallery wrapped canvas, not currently for sale. Because (insert sassy voice) I deserve to enjoy her company for a bit longer. At the year's end I stretched 2 enormous canvases. And then I waited for inspiration to hit. It didn't take long for this first one to show up when I was walking the dogs and became overwhelmed with the beauty of the bare trees against a moonlit sky. Initially I thought the painting would be all about the Mother Tree (have you read   that book ? I highly recommend it!), but as often happens with my work, she had other plans (which means I will have another try at the Mother Tree concept down the road!). I work intuitively, which means that there is no plan other than to stand at the easel and move paint. I begin my animal (who comes from dreams and other life experiences), start to add the organic/nature elements (in this case a gnarled tree), and see what happens. Sometimes the an...

  Clockwise from top left, "Sky," 24"x36"x2", acrylic mixed media on cradled wood panel, $2000 plus s&h; "Rabbit, Rabbit," 36"x36"x2", acrylic mixed media on gallery wrapped canvas, $2400 plus s&h; "Surrender," 24"x24"x2", acrylic mixed media on cradled wood panel, $1600 plus s&h; "Oscillate," 24"x18", acrylic mixed media on flat panel, $1000. These pieces will be available for purchase at noon eastern January 31, 2022, via   the Available Paintings page on my website . Please read further for details. It's been wonderfully crazy the last 10 months or so, as eager collectors have been buying my work, often while it remained unfinished. While I do truly love that the paintings were/are resonating so deeply, I also realized that I needed to institute some changes in how I offered them for sale. Selling immediately wasn't serving my newly discovered desire to savor what the p...

  "Rabbit, Rabbit," a new Talisman painting, 36"x36"x1-1/2", acrylic mixed media on a gallery wrapped canvas. This piece will be available to purchase, along with a handful of sister paintings, at a future date. In the meanwhile, inquiries may always come   to me. Did you know that a wild rabbit crossing your path is meant to be good luck? And that if you say "rabbit rabbit" on the first of the month, you are bound to have good luck for the next 30 days? So how lucky would it be to have a larger than life sized painting of a wild rabbit, titled "Rabbit Rabbit," in your home?! asking for a friend....... No rabbits were harmed - or chased - in the making of this painting. But I have been practicing yoga in the mornings with Gertie, my pet bunny, this month. And we were gifted the company of a wee little wild one several evenings in a row. Studying from life is a key piece of understanding their nature and being able to create something that ca...

  Kimberly Kelly Santini   artist, instructor, daydreamer "Surrender," a new Talisman painting, 24"x24"x2", acrylic mixed media on a flat panel. Surrender will be available to purchase, along with a handful of sister paintings, at a future date. In the meanwhile, inquiries may always come   to me. It’s all about the details, and this one has plenty. Complete with painted sides that include a fat and happy bumblebee and a blue jay feather. I love this one.  Online students   are also getting a video short about the making of Surrender with exclusive bits about my inspiration and technique sources. As always, you can reach out to me directly with any questions about becoming a student or a collector or both! Thanks so much for following along my art journey. Thanks, as always, for following along with me and my artwork. Be well, Fondly, Kim

  "Oscillate," a new Talisman painting,  18"x24", acrylic and graphite on a flat panel. Oscillate will be available to purchase, along with a handful of sister paintings, at a future date. In the meanwhile, inquiries may always come   to me. Ponies can be sneaky and rather opinionated. But they can also be someone's entire world. This little one is all of that, but the viewer, at least, is relatively safe from her quick little feet. Go ahead and say hello. Oxy is nickering at your approach. Lean into her shoulder - doesn't it radiate the warm sun? Sink your face into that mane of sweetgrass and breath in the clear, crisp sky while her velvety nose seeks out a peppermint or two. Thanks, as always, for following along with me and my artwork. Be well, Fondly, Kim

  "Dogwood," a new Talisman painting,  24"x30:, acrylic on a flat panel. Dogwood will be available to purchase, along with a handful of sister paintings, at a future date. In the meanwhile, inquiries may always come   to me. There was a profoundly beautiful period during the creation of Dogwood where I sensed her coming to life. I watched her take shape alone in the studio. It was as though she bloomed just for me. Well, she did. And it was sacred. At first I was a little melancholy that this sort of magic isn't sharable with you. But then I realized that it was her gift to me, as a thank you for picking up my brushes to begin with. So when I do send Dogwood out into the world, we will always have had that initial time together. All the more reason to value the journey and not just the end result. Thanks, as always, for following along with me, Be well, Fondly, Kim

  "Sky," the newest addition to The Talisman paintings, 24"x36"x1-1/2, acrylic and water solubles on a cradled wood panel. Sky will be available to purchase, along with a handful of sister paintings, at a future date. In the meanwhile, inquiries may always come   to me. Inspired by a backyard encounter with a barred owl (she was so very full of magic and glory), then a dream sequence featuring owls (with speech bubbles) and then the random acquisition of a barred owl feather, this painting was steeped in loveliness from the very beginning. This is how all of my Talisman paintings start out - via multiple nods or winks from the universe that are connected in some way. That wink provides the seedling idea which I take to the easel. Then the piece begins to take on a life of her own based on the marks that show up and other connections that form during the time the work is in process. I have a similar owl piece still in process, this one smaller and more squar...

  "Exhale," 24"x20", acrylic and water solubles on a flat panel, $849 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. I accept paypal and personal checks - please   reach out directly   with your questions. This piece will forever be known to me as the lion who became a lioness. Or maybe she was a lioness all along, and I was merely confused at the onset. More to ponder as I set off to stretch a new big canvas and think about the paintings Exhale is already inspiring. I also want to mention that next year I will be changing how I offer work for sale. I will be offering small collections, maybe 5-6 related paintings, at the same time (instead of piecemeal, like how I do things now, a habit left over from my daily painting days), and they will be available to purchase directly through my website or via gallery representation. I will continue to share and announce new works as they come off my easel, but for a predictable and fair acquisition experience, I will schedule a...

  Kimberly Kelly Santini   artist, instructor, daydreamer Did you know that I have an online classroom space? it's a fluid sort of learning experience, based on video shorts and links shared from the heart of my studio, information that follows my own train of thought and progression of work. I talk candidly about my struggles beyond the mere umbrella of how I put paint to canvas. Where my ideas come from, how my style is evolving, what I am reading, who's work is influencing me, my own creative ebbs and flow. I also share how I found my unique voice and style, and provide prompts and guidance to help my students discover theirs. What do those videos look like? Well, they are a bit like   this little one   (featuring the in process painting above), which sums up some of the things I've been thinking about today as I embark upon new works and allow free rein to my ideas. My Studio Visit students ($15/mo) get at least 3 videos like this one monthly, along with wee...

 

  "Majesty," 50"x50"x1-1/2", acrylic and water solubles on a gallery wrapped canvas, perimeter painted to preclude the need to frame. The unstretched, rolled painting will be shipped in a tube and require restretching upon receipt.This piece is $5499 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. Returning collectors receive 10% off original artwork purchases. I accept paypal, personal checks and payment plans. Inquiries my always come   to me . I started this piece 3 weeks ago, initially thinking that it was going to help me explore religion, a concept I've been working up for about a year now. What I didn't expect was that in the final days of creating this lion, there would be a school shooting in the neighboring community, and the meaning of the entire painting would shift, at least for me. Now, in addition to my initial intentions, I see a sanctity of life and our inter-connectedness and a sort of reverence for simple presence. I'm curious what you a...

  I am really thrilled to offer you   this new publication   inspired by the Talisman paintings. Go ahead, click on the link and preview the pages!! This is a gem of a book, at 6"x9," 60 pages, featuring full color reproductions of selected pieces from the series to date. The reproductions are accompanied with plenty of white space to accommodate your own musings. It's affordable, at $22, which makes it easy to grab a couple for friends and add one copy for yourself. Use it as a diary. Use it as an art journal. Record your dreams. Meditate with the imagery. Find inspiration in the pages. Create a colorful table scape. It could double, too, as a coaster, in a pinch. I'm certain there's 100s of other ways this book can be appreciated. My   Real Time online students   are each receiving a copy along with a special prompt designed to help them further discovery of their own creative voices. Additionally, collectors who have directly purchased a painting fr...

  How is it that we are staring at (American) Thanksgiving already? I truly can't wrap my brain around this yet, but I will admit to greatly enjoying decorating the house this last weekend, as we ready for kids and family in the coming weeks. This is our second holiday in this particular home, although I'm not sure that last year really counted, given that we moved mid-December and were still very much in a pre-vaccine pandemic, so we are making sure to enjoy and savor every ritual. If you have started on making your list and checking it twice (listmaking is one of my superpowers!), you may be looking for clever ideas to gift the creatives in your life. May I humbly suggest a few of my offerings: Holiday ornaments featuring my artwork   (just under $10). Every single image in my Pixels (aka FineArtAmerica) storefront can be ordered as an ornament or magnet. You want to navigate to the image you like, and the ornament option is under "Home Decor." (Did you also know t...

  "Ladybug," 24"x30"x1-1/2", acrylic and water solubles on a cradled wooden panel. This piece is $999 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. And thank you so much for your interest in my artwork. Returning collectors receive 10% off original artwork purchases. I accept paypal, personal checks and payment plans. Inquiries my always come   to me . A ladybug somehow got in my car a couple weeks back, and was crawling up my arm. I pulled over to let her go safely. I've been hiding her in paintings ever since, but today she declared that she wanted to be the star. Who am I to argue with a good luck omen? Thanks, as always, for following along on my painting journey, Be well, Fondly, Kim

  "Equinox," 30"x24", acrylic and water solubles on panel, This piece is $899 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. And thank you so much for your interest in my artwork. Returning collectors receive 10% off original artwork purchases. I accept paypal, personal checks and payment plans. Inquiries my always come   to me . There's lucky rabbit's feet tucked into this painting for a mild winter (I sure hope I haven't jinxed us!).  Thanks, as always, for following along on my painting journey, Be well, Fondly, Kim

  "Autumn," 24"x18"x1-1/2", acrylic and water solubles on cradled panel, with the image painted around the sides so no need to frame, This piece is $849 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. And thank you so much for your interest in my artwork. Returning collectors receive 10% off original artwork purchases. I accept paypal, personal checks and payment plans. Inquiries my always come   to me . This sweet girl is inspired by a dream I had several nights ago, and my rescued rabbit Gertie was the willing model. In the dream I had an awakening of sorts, where I recognized my role as a nurturer. I found that intriguing given the reading I've been doing of late (Robin Wall Kimmerer, Suzanne Simard, Linda Hogan and Richard Powers' The Overstory), and the intrinsic idea that we give back (to the earth) prior to respectfully and reverently taking for ourselves.  In a nod to the seasonal shift and daylight savings time, too, I painted Autumn filled with her ...