Paintings With Soul

"Scottie Profile," 4" square, scottish terrier dog portrait , acrylic on board, $109 to the first buyer. Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . This piece is about texture and shape, and yes, color too. I've been dabbling with oil paints, and I see their influence creeping into this weeks' acrylic paintings in the form of disappearing edges and looser brushwork. Thanks, as always, for looking. And for sharing these paintings with your friends and family. See you tomorrow, Kim Kimberly Kelly Santini http://www.turtledovedesigns.com/ distinctive pet portraits & 4-legged paintings http://www.paintingadogaday.com/ come. sit. stay. enjoy the art. Founding member of the Canine Art Guild http://www.canineartguild.com/ the gateway to canine art on the web

“Bruce (Scottie Study),” 4” x 8”, Scottie/Scottish terrier portrait in acrylic on canvasboard. Thank you to returning collector Janice Nelson for commissioning Bruce as part of the dog-a-day project. This is one of those paintings that seemed to paint itself. Actually, I think my whole day has been like that!! I must have found my painting groove early on, and just rolled with it all day. Anyways, I used a favorite trick of mine – tinting a color in the subject itself, and using that as my background. There are snippets of pink in Bruce’s moustache, and those are repeated in the background for an even and harmonious appearance. I used colors already mixed on my palette to darken the base of the background, and that, too, added to the harmony. I’ve got one more painting for you, which I’ll share as a bonus dog-a-day tomorrow, since we had a short week. Like I said, I’ve had a wonderfully productive day in the studio! Meanwhile, stay tuned for Shelter & Rescue Week next, when I’ll pr...

“Scottie Study (Marley Jo),” 6” x 12”, Scottish terrier portrait in acrylic on canvasboard, $80. Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . SOLD. As I often do, when prepping for a larger painting , I find myself working certain issues out on a smaller scale. The dog-a-days are the perfect platform for just such exercises, which is what today’s painting is. Meet Marley Jo, a delightfully sassy bundle, despite having had surgery a week prior to our meeting. While my client is considering whether a simple portrait of Marley Jo will suffice, or to add a second grinning face to her painting, I’m busy “simmering” ideas here in the background. (By the way, she does get first dibs on this painting, but being as I haven’t heard back from her yet today….. not everyone is as attached to their computers as I am!!) So today I wanted to work out my palette. Marley has black fur, but if I painted just with tube black I’d get a flat and terribly uninteresting surface. (Here’s a quick exercise – th...