Paintings With Soul

As the   Painting a Dog a Day   project grew, so, too, did my own to-do list. My studio profitability had shifted from larger commissioned works which took weeks to complete to the smaller daily paintings. I was doing 3-5 daily commissions each week, varnishing and shipping them out within days. In between creating/ blogging/shipping each piece, I was fielding emails, perusing reference photos, writing quotes and having conversations with new collectors about their own portraits Each commissioned portrait brought new people into my life, and with that came all the stories inherent with getting to know a pet and what they meant to their family. (Do you know that the vast majority of the animals I paint I never meet?  I rely on email communication and a mess of photos to piece things together.) It was always fascinating, getting a glimpse into others' lives and loves. I think it was 2010 or so when N...

"Airplane," 9" x 12", acrylics on cradeled panel, depicting one of my favorite goldens doing his favorite thing. Dogs + water is always a win, unless you are wearing light colors. As always, inquiries may come to me .  I have been slowly reworking this piece, making adjustments that pop Bear's head towards the viewer and add depth to the sluicing water. There's lots of wonderful little passages made all the more fascinating by a slip of a doodled line and dashes of complimentary color. This piece is earmarked for the Historic Yellow Springs Art Show (Chester Springs, PA) this spring. Stay tuned - I'm sending them a dozen little gems. Thanks for your interest in my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com  

Ask Nicely & Buy Me Now "Spin Cycle," 18" x 24", acrylics on museum quality panel, featuring a Thoroughbred race horse getting bathed after his morning workout,  available through Spa Fine Art  . I was stalking bathers. I honestly was. My friends' cameras were mostly pointed at the training track, but I was facing the other direction, looking for those who had already run and were ready for a little rub down. This painting was inspired by a handful of gorgeous bathers from Todd Pletcher's stable one early morning last week in Saratoga. And this painting was completed during a 10 hour live painting session last Saturday at Spa Fine Art , also in Saratoga. I am so proud to be one of the many talented artists Spa represents - and they are the exclusive carrier of my Thoroughbred racing scenes. Reach out to them for personalized service like you'll get nowhere else. Thanks, as always, for following along with my...

In Process, above "Squeaky Clean," 15" x 24", acrylics on museum quality panel, depicting a blood bay Thoroughbred getting bathed. Inspired by a sunny morning spent in the barn area at the historic  Saratoga Racetrack last summer. This painting is available for $1299 to the first one asking nicely. Detail of Squeaky's face is below. VIEW IN PROCESS PHOTOS Every summer I visit Saratoga, New York - I drive through Canada and pick up Linda Shantz near Toronto, then we meet up with Jenifer Trottier (New Jersey), Juliet Harrison (New York) and Sharon Passmore (Tennessee). We spend our time talking horses and art while taking in the local gallery scene and getting as many hours at the track as possible.  Reference photos shot during those few days together fuel a year's worth of creating. That's where the pics behind "Squeaky Clean" came from. Thanks as always for following along wi...

  "August," 10" x 14", another Water Dog painting, depicting a golden retriever playing in the sprinkler. This painting will hopefully get juried into The Art Show at the Dog Show  next month, and, if so, will be available for purchase through them.  Let me know  if you are interested, and I'll keep you in the loop.       Wishing you all a quiet and beautiful evening, Kim, who plans on having double helpings of quiet and beautiful tonite ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com    

The last week I both revised and completed paintings I had previously shared, so I thought I would provide updates.   "Poppy," 8" x 12", got a patterned blanket as opposed to the plain one I originally included. This painting is available for $529 - interested parties can  email me .       "Bear," 11" x 15," got a fine spray of water droplets and reflections added to his composition. Bear's painting has a home - stay tuned for reproductions and notecards, which I will make available next week.   I'm signing off for the week to maximize my family time. I hope you are able to enjoy the things you cherish this weekend as well.   Happy Thanksgiving, Kim, who is salivating right now over the promise of corn bread and sausage stuffing ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com  

"Manic," 10" square, painting of a chocolate lab playing in water, done in acrylics on a museum quality panel, $539 to the first one  asking nicely .   SALE PENDING (thank you!) The inspiration photo for "Manic" came from those submitted for my  "Cherish" paintings . Funny how last winter dogs and water were not even on my radar. And now I can't get enough of them!   This is the piece I blocked in and started  on Tuesday . In process pics are on  the studio's Facebook page .   There's also in process pics of another dog and water piece, "One Fish, Two Fish," which I started and completed during a four hour live painting session last night at  Merge Gallery . I'll highlight "One Fish, Two Fish" in tomorrow's blog post.   Warm thanks to the staff at Merge for hosting a spectacular and inspiring night of creating, and to all the kind folks who stopped by and said hello while ...

      "Driftwood," 12" x 16", portrait of a black lab mix, done in acrylic on museum quality panel, $629. This painting needs a home - if you think yours is the right fit, just  let me know !   In process pics of "Driftwood" are on  my studio Facebook page  inside the Mobile Uploads folder - I worked on this one over the course of two days, so scroll all the way back to see it from the very beginning.   Continuing the debate between balancing commissioned with non-commissioned works - yes, the former pays the bills, but the latter enables the former. It's an interesting Catch 22.   Enjoy, Kim, who is very excited to play with her own ideas in addition to playing with the remaining commission scheduled for this week ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com   PS   Warm thanks to those of you offering yesterday's painting  "Smile"  a home - my client loved the piece, so it's spoken...

      "Gone Fishing," 12" square, done in acrylic on museum quality panel, depicting a dog (chocolate lab perhaps?) in water. In process pics of this painting are on  the studio Facebook wall .   "Gone Fishing" will go home with the first to ask nicely - he's $599, or $539 if you are a collector- inquiries may come  to me .   I'm having so much fun painting dogs and water - but pretty soon it'll be too cold for me to shoot my own references. That said, I'm always open to considering photos any Painting a Dog a Day fans have taken of their own dogs - you can  email them to me directly . Submitting photos does not mean that you are obligated to make any sort of purchase, either - you are just feeding my muse, free of charge!!   Happy Weekend! Kim, who's going to bundle up and cheer on the Dragons at tonite's Homecoming Game after she feeds her face ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com   PS ...

    IN PROCESS:  "Stick It," 6" x 13", acrylic on museum quality panel, depicting two labs, $539 (when finished). In process pics are on  the studio Facebook page . Meanwhile, inquiries may come  to me .   I ran out of potato chips today, so moved onto oreos. Double Stuffs, which really in my opinion, are the only kind of oreos.   I'd like to finish this one tomorrow, and THEN, I'll pick up the commission mantle again.   Fondly, Kim, who's grumbley belly is now wondering what's in the freezer...... ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com