I've been working hard, behind the scenes here, taking another course with Vianna Szabo (http://www.viannaszabo.com/), refining my painters eye. This latest course, about 1/2 way completed, has involved some intensive still life paintings, graduating into portraiture from a live model.


Here are the paintings I've completed to date. I will not be offering them for sale through my website, simply because they are not animal related. But if you are interested in purchasing one of the class paintings, please drop me a line - ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com .



"White Still Life," 8" square, acrylic on canvasboard, $180. This was the first assignment, a still life setup that was entirely white. The lesson was to paint all the shades of white. I had a difficult time - first off, because I couldn't buy into the inanimate objects, and then secondly, with the lack of contrast. I ended up sitting crosslegged on the floor, looking up at the table, sketching the still life with conte pencil, when I came upon this composition. Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com .



"White Pitcher," 16" x 20", acrylic on canvasboard, "$399. Our second assignment included a variety of white items set against darker grounds. I was still trying to find a means of connecting with the inanimate items, when my eye fell in love with the pattern when the setup was viewed from the far corner. I used artistic license, and really played with the colors, working on balancing my values so that the objects read properly, but using color saturations straight from my head.



"November Still Life," 11" x 14", acrylic on canvasboard, $279. This third assignment was a still life setup saturated with intense hues. The trick was to paint not just the light, but the color reflections from each object. I concentrated on the use of edges and modelling the objects with my brushwork.



"Jerry," 11" x 14", acrylic portrait on canvasboard, $279. I am especially pleased with Jerry's sitting. This painting is a sincere likeness, but it also carries other elements of maturity - the color temperatures model the form in many places (instead of value changes), the brushwork caresses the shapes, and I employed a number of different types of edgework and color saturation to help accent my focal point.


Next week we get to paint a woman, supposedly dramatically costumed in complimentary, bold colors. I am confidant I will come home even richer in knowledge, with a few more miles under my brushes.


Stay tuned!

Kim