 Letting off Steam (or Dragon Slaying) I'm working up concepts for my new series of Dragon Slayer paintings. I've gathered some great props and am sorting through the Dragon Slayer candidates, matching the muse to it's dragon and building a painting around their relationship. You probably can't tell, but I'm working really, really hard. |
Learning from a Master Every day I look at art, if not in real life than certainly on the computer. While visiting artists' websites and blogs, I have discovered talent and styles that I might never have stumbled across in real life. Take, for example, Texas painter Qiang Huang. He started his daily painting journey shortly after I did, with a focus on still lifes, expressive brushwork, and dramatic light. I am a huge fan of his style. And his work ethic. And his modesty - he will occasionally admit to being happy with how one thing or another turned out, but he follows that up with a declaration as to what he will improve next time. Last night he wrote something that was particularly inspiring. He said "....you should congratulate yourself if you see problems in your painting, because you have caught the problem, it is no longer hiding, so you are half way to success already." Qiang's given all artists license to throw a party! I wonder what will be in the pinata..... Meanwhile, I best grab my brushes and set to correcting Maggie's poor bloated body!  |
 Furiously Happy Last night I listened to The Bloggess's** IGNITE Talk**. The topic? Pursuing your passion. Her passion is being "furiously happy." And it got me to thinking. I have some obvious passions, yes. But one not consciously acknowledged and have definitely kept underwraps lately was - or is - my passion for imagination and fun. Life is supposed to be fascinating and mysterious and victorious. Not just when we are little - it's even more important to embrace these things when we are bigger (notice I didn't say "grown up"). I pledge (and now you can hold me accountable!) to make time in my life for more laughter. The good belly kind. And to work even harder at inspiring others. Whether that be to paint, or to advocate, or just simply to believe. Wanna join me? **The Bloggess has a potty mouth, so if you find cursing offensive, please don't click on the links. **If you don't find cursing offensive, you most certainly will enjoy The Bloggess and Beyonce the chicken..  |
"Momma and Me," 6" x 12", portrait of two dark cows (my bovine knowledge is clearly limited!), done in Golden Open and Heavy Body Acrylics on an Ampersand Gessobord. Available for purchase for $369 - inquiries may come to me. I totally flaked on photographing today's progress, but I assure you it was a good time. If you want to see the earlier stages of the painting, check out yesterday's blog. There is SO MUCH color, it's like a rainbow leaked onto their sunwarmed backs.  Thanks so much for sharing my art with your friends and family, Kim |
Shall we recap? Yesterday, in celebration of little Mona Lisa's 1st birthday, I began a kitten lesson painting. You can see what was accomplished in my blog entry from Monday.  Picking up where I left off, I began laying glazes* down on the background/floor. (*A glaze is a transparent layer of paint which allows the layers underneath to peek through, while also creating an illusion of "floating" brushwork.)  Multiple layers of glaze have reduced the color saturation of the yellow and orange without reducing any of the "shimmering" effect they created. I also started putting more color into the kitten, molding and sculpting her form with my brushwork. Working from a 1" flat to a smaller 1/4", I finished Mona out with a handful of carefully placed whiskers and fur. There's no need to paint all of them - the viewers eye will fill in the necessary details.  And here she is, all finished: "You Are My Sunshine," a Gratitude Painting, 11" x 14", depicting the studio's littlest muse and rescue kitty Mona Lisa. Done in Golden Open and Heavy Body acrylics on an Ampersand Gessobord, $568 to the first one asking "purr-ty please." Which can be done via email. Thanks so much for sharing my art with your friends and family, Kim
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 Happy Birthday Mona! Our 2 lb bundle of purr has captured miles of contentment and sunbeams during her first year of life. We don't really know her true birthday - the shelter estimated she was a tiny 10 week old, but our vet estimated she was 1/2 that. Based on her petite size now (a trim 8 lbs), we think it's likely she was somewhere in between the two. It's hard to imagine life in the Santini household without this little sweetheart. She is a willing snuggler, an even more willing playmate, and a fierce hunter of dust bunnies. Even Finnigan has learned to love her. (Well, love might be a strong word. He tolerates her surprisingly well, and does his job to keep her butt extra clean.) And all came about because she stretched a paw outside her crate, latched onto my son's tshirt, and wouldn't let go. I heard today that our shelter (the Oakland Pet Adoption Center) has over 170 cats. I imagine shelters across the country are just as crowded. Mona is a perfect example of the wonderful pets that are waiting, patiently, to bring joy and delight into the lives of those willing to adopt or foster.  |
