Paintings With Soul

"Blue Gypsies," 12" wide, acrylics on an Ampersand gessobord, depicting a Gypsy Vanner mare and foal from my own photo archives. This painting needs a new home - added bonus? these two beautiful ladies do not need their stall mucked and no farrier or vet bills! $599 includes s&h inside the US. In process photos are here and inquires about getting your own commission or a different painting may always come directly to me .  The Gypsy Ladies are one of my entries in the 2015 Equus Film Festival. This is an event relatively new to my radar, one that I hope will help me get my equine paintings in front of an equine-centric audience. Because, truly, I am so much more than The Dog Lady. Honest to god, that's what I get called all the time. So here's how the poster thing works - the film festival has a ginormous album of images on their Facebook page, and if you like and share mine (assuming that you do like them and do want to sha...

"Momma's Got Your Back," 10" x 12", acrylics on a Raymar panel, depicting a spanking new filly and her momma, both from Freelands Gypsy Horses . Photo used with permission. This painting can be yours for $500, including s&h within the contiguous US. In process photos are here and inquires may come directly to me .  Sometimes time is all you need. After taking a break from this piece over the weekend, this morning I saw immediately what needed to be done. And I did it. Or so I think - we'll see what my eyes tell me tomorrow morning! Meanwhile, I sorted through 77 Valentines Day Painting Giveaway entries - you can see the finalists on FB. Which photo do you think I'll be painting on Friday? Thanks, as always, for following along with my artwork! Warmly, Kim   ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

IN PROCESS: "Momma's Got Your Back," 10" x 12", acrylics on a Raymar panel, depicting spanking new filly and her momma, both from Freelands Gypsy Horses . Their photo used with permission. This painting can be yours for $599, including s&h within the contiguous US. In process photos are here and inquires may come directly to me .  This painting is particularly challenging because it is high contrast and has very few crisp edges. And I am head over heels in love so far because it is mostly light and dark shapes and has lots of lost edges. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right? I'm off to a show opening, but remain excited to return to this one with some fresh eyes and perhaps a glass of wine later on. Thanks, as always, for following along with my artwork! Warmly, Kim   ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

Finished, complete with studio light glare in upper left, "Hidalgo," 16" x 20", acrylics on museum quality panel, commissioned equine portrait of a stunning paint horse, acrylics on a museum quality panel. Ask nicely if you would like one of these portraits starring your pet . So? is this one of my best ever? It could be the adrenaline, but I'm feeling that way. And now it's on to the next painting adventure. Just you wait! Thanks for following along with my artwork, Warmly, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

"Chew," 11" x 1", acrylics on museum quality panel, depicting a paint horse emerging from the shadows, $599 to the first  asking nicely  . I'm a couple days ahead in paintings - not sure how that happened, but I'm not arguing. Just plugging away with my paintbrush. This one's from Tuesday. Another in my "Emerging" series - if you have a black and white animal you think would work well as part of my exploration, email me   pics and I'll audition them. Thanks, as always, for following along with my artwork, Kim

"Luna IV," 9" x 12", acrylics on a museum quality panel, another painting of my favorite paint horse, part of my ongoing study of black and white, $549. In process photos here . Inquiries may come to me . SOLD. Thanks for sending in pics of black and white muses . It's so much fun to see the faces and start to plan new paintings.  I deliver new work for my show with Laura Locke next week. These black and white pieces will be there, along with some dolls and animal portraits. Once the opening date is confirmed, I'll share that with you. I'm going to start another one this afternoon. This is what a looming deadline and heaps of inspiration do - I can't leave the easel!! Thanks for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

ABOVE, detail of "Ice (Luna III)," BELOW, full version, 12" x 7-3/4", acrylics on a cradeled museum quality panel, the newest installation in The Luna Series, a study of black and white, $499. In process photos here . I don't think this painting is going to last long -  inquiries may come to me . I want to do a few more paintings of Luna, but am far from done with my exploration of black and white. Which means I am casting for additional black and white muses. The ideal muse will have interesting markings and texture along with an expressive face. Nominations may come to me via email  with the subject line "Black and White" - include 2-3 non-flash photos that you have taken where your black and white nominee makes up at least 1/3 of the photo.  PLEASE NOTE: Nominating individuals are under no obligation to purchase resulting artwork. By submitting photos, nominating individual is guaranteeing they are both the photog...

"Hello There (Luna II)," 10" square", acrylics on museum quality panel, a study of light starring a stunning paint horse, in process photos here . Again, thanx to  Maggie Weakley (friend and fellow artist) for sharing Luna. $539, inquiries may come to me . Last year I told another artist that my favorite color was neutral. I was FINALLY appreciating and valuing desaturated pigments. It was an out of body experience, saying those words out loud. The addition of black paint to my palette seems to be be a solid step in that direction. What a host of gorgeous dull (not to be confused with non-exciting) neutrals I can create with it. Along with some saturated and very intense darks. The Luna Series will be continued, but first I need to take care of a couple other paintings - including Miles, a lifesized boxer portrait. Thanks for following along, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

"Luna," 7" x 12", acrylics on museum quality panel, depicting a stunning paint horse, in process photos here . Thank you Maggie Weakley (friend and fellow artist) for sharing your muse with me. $499, inquiries may come to me . I know I've always preached that black paint can be a crutch. And I've never used it.  Then Robert Genn called it the Queen of Color . And friend and mentor Vianna Szabo told me she was using it in her new limited palette ( and she's taking a group to Italy to paint, in case you are interested ). I was already painting black and white horses, falling in love with the abstractions of their markings and the play of light. The next step was to push the boundary even further and eliminate the middle ground. Hence The Luna Series has been born. There's another Luna piece in process on the studio Facebook page. And one in my head, ready to spill out. And more in the works. Black CAN be...

    ORDER NOTECARDS/REPRODUCTIONS     "Peek and Boo," 10" square, portrait of two paint mares, done in Golden Open Acrylics on a Raymar panel, $489 to the first one asking nicely. Polite inquiries may come  to me .   I blocked this painting in a couple weeks ago, but then got sidetracked with some other commissions. I had wanted to finish the horses for an exhibition, but the deadline came and went and there just wasn't enough hours in the day. (That's the risk one takes when practicing only the best sort of procrastination.)   The painting got set aside until this morning when I re-discovered it inside my in-box. I have a number of canine sketches on the docket for this week, but I wanted to work on something rather challenging for today, and these two fit the bill.   And a challenge I got! 1/2 way through my painting session, I realized some major drawing issues, and had to resketch and re-paint the majority of the canvas. Oh, I hate i...

  I completed a painting earlier today, but it's a surprise gift for a big Painting a Dog a Day fan, and thusly if I share it, I'll ruin Christmas. I don't want to be pegged a Grinch when it's only October......   So instead I give you "Peek and Boo," two splashy and wonderful paint horses, a 10" square painting in process. This painting is done in Golden Open Acrylics on a Raymar panel and doesn't currently have a home lined up, so any takers out there wanting two beautiful horses? These two are very easy keepers...... ( email me  if you are interested in the painting - it'll be $489 when finished)   In other completely unrelated news, I somehow managed to scarf down a 1/2 package of fudge covered grahams this afternoon. Which must mean that I'm getting ready to hibernate, right?   Ahhh, sleep, how I've missed you!   Thanks, as always, for looking at and sharing my paintings, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com    

ORDER NOTECARDS/REPRODUCTIONS HERE "Nuzzling Hope," 6" x 8", done in Golden Open Acrylics on a Raymar panel. Commissioned portrait of a paint mare and foal, the latest painting in my  Gratitude Series  (paintings of animals who were once homeless). Hope (the mare above) and Lucky Star (the foal) were 2 of a dozen horses rescued in Arizona this summer. Abandoned, malnourished, some injured, most suffering from foot problems/abcesses/serious infections, the horses were in rough shape. They were moved to a clean and safe facility,  Hoofbeats With Heart , where they received proper veterinary care and nourishment, among other things like feet trimmings, baths, and TLC (You can see photos on  a Facebook page  dedicated to the 12 horses' recovery). All 12 have all been adopted out - what a fabulously happy ending to the story, right? Yeah, I agree! My client, who was involved in the rescue, commissioned Hope and Lucky Star's portrait. She is donating t...

"Stretch (Paint Foal)," 6" x 8", acrylic on canvasboard, portrait of a young paint horse, $324 to the first to raise their hand. Inquiries (including booking your own pet portrait, from miniature size [4" x 4"] to larger than life) may always come to me . This painting was inspired by a photo taken by equine photographer Juliet Harrison . She's got a tremendous eye for composition and light and I adore her work (I actually have several of her silver gelatin prints in the studio). You can imagine my excitement when she began sharing some of her photographs specifically to be used as reference photos for artwork (if you are interested, please visit the Equine Painter's Challenge blog and peruse the images she's uploaded). This little one stole my heart, and my palette, leftover from yesterday's painting, already carried all the colors I needed. It was meant to be! Painted in two sessions - an early morning and an evening stint - separate...

For those of you who are just joining us, we have taken a quick break form the daily dogs to paint a few horses during Derby Week. Today’s painting started out in the depths of the stacks of horse canvases I alluded to in yesterday’s post. This is a paint draft mare I’ve painted several times already. I invested about 10 hours into this canvas about 18 months ago, but realized I didn’t have the knowledge I needed to capture the sort of backlit image I wanted, and buried it. It was a little ambitious to think that I might be able to salvage and finish this 16x30 canvas (a far cry from the 4x6 dogs I usually paint!!) in one day, but I wanted to push myself. I needed a nice distraction from the thunderstorms rolling in, so flipped on all the studio lighting, and got an early start. Using all that I’ve learned about color this last year, I started out with a nice cool wash of ultramarine blue and naples yellow, to tone down and push back the sky that had already been painted. I ended up le...