The End of the Day -- Kimberly Kelly Santini

"The End of the Day," 16" x 20", acrylics on panel, depicting a beautifully feathered Gypsy Vanner draft horse, $679 to the first asking nicely.

View In Process Photos

In person this painting literally glows with layers of subtle and harmonic color. I even hear crickets and the drone of a fat honeybee. Paintings can do some remarkable things. I'm sharing some of my secrets in a 4 day workshop next month in Traverse City - we'll do a heck of a lot of painting, but we also laugh pretty hard, eat very well, enjoy sunset wine tasting on the peninsula, and make new friends. We need a few more bodies to make this happen - if you are interested, talk to Kathryn and figure out how you can join us. Thanks, as always, for your interest in my artwork, Warmly, Kim Kimberly Santini www.KimberlySantini.com

Last Laugh by Kimberly Kelly Santini

"Last Laugh," 10" x 10", acrylics on museum quality panel, depicting a bay Thoroughbred horse. This painting is available for $539 to the first one asking nicely. VIEW IN PROCESS PHOTOS I know Derby week is over, but I wasn't ready to say goodbye to the horses quite yet. Indulge me for one more day! Thanks for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

Title This Painting by Kimberly Santini

"Untitled," 12" x 12", acrylics on museum quality panel, depicting a retired Thoroughbred from Old Friends at Cabin Creek in upstate New York. This painting is available for $599 to the first one asking nicely, and proceeds will benefit the Old Friends. VIEW IN PROCESS PHOTOS Last summer I visited Old Friends Cabin Creek and learned about their mission firsthand - providing dignified retirement for racehorses. The farm is staffed entirely with volunteers.  It was moving to hear the stories of their residents, and every single horse appeared happy, healthy, and well loved. I took many photos but very poor notes, and cannot figure out who this fellow is. Maybe the folks at Cabin Creek can tell me? Meanwhile, the painting needs a title. Your suggestions are welcome here.  Thanks as always for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

Kentucky Derby Week - Baby Girl by Kimberly Santini

"Baby Girl," 7" x 12", acrylics on museum quality panel, depicting a Thoroughbred filly full of baby curls and chestnut precociousness. This painting is part of my daily painting project and available for $529 to the first one asking nicely. VIEW IN PROCESS PHOTOS This is the 8th Derby Week I've celebrated with daily paintings of horses. How time does fly...... It all starts with a dream, doesn't it? And what better epitomizes the dream of those following horse racing than a baby Thoroughbred, all gangly legs and full of promise? The reference photo inspiring this one is from a visit to friend and fellow artist Linda Shantz's farm. The painting stars Brigette Merlot, now a 2 year old who is just learning about life at the track. Thanks as always for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

Ice (Luna III) - and a Casting Call - by Kimberly Kelly Santini

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 (view Luna I and Luna II), 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 photographer and copyright owner and are granting me permission to create artwork from submitted imagery. I can't wait to meet a crowd of new faces! Thanks for following along with my artwork, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

Slop ~~ Kimberly Kelly Santini

"Slop," 7" x 15", depicting a field of Thoroughbred race horses nearing the first turn at Saratoga Race Track, done in acrylics on museum quality panel, $529 to the firstasking nicely. Please works well.     In process pics are on the studio facebook page.   I literally stood in the pouring rain to get this reference photo. I was seriously waterlogged, no exaggeration. We're talking plastered hair, damp undergarments and puddles INSIDE my shoes. And while I am disappointed that the painting does not convey exactly HOW wet the conditions were, I do find other redeeming qualities in the piece.   "Slop" is headed to Spa Fine Art, my gallery in Saratoga, New York, as part of the track's impressive 150th birthday celebration this summer.   Unless you need this painting on your wall Right Now. In which case, email me and I'll make that happen.   Thanks as always for following along with my artwork! Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

"... a rose by any other name..."

"Only the Lonely" done- 12 minutes before the"official" deadline.  It has gone off into the wide netherworld of cyberspace in little electronic swirls and whispers, and will hopefully coalesce in the designated email inbox as a fully realized, fully articulated sweeping ode to a magnificent equine in shades of burnished grey, evocative of isolation, fragmented beauty, windswept barren plains, the essential duality of light and dark, day and night, good and evil.  Or maybe it will just look like a picture of a horse.


My bestest best friend in the whole wide world complemented me on my names today. "You always have the most clever, intelligent names..." which is high praise, coming from her.  And it is true, I spend a great deal of time thinking about what I'm going to call a picture.  If I can't come up with the perfect name for it - before a single line has been drawn - it doesn't happen.  There have been a few exceptions to this rule, and almost all of them are half finished train wrecks of ink and paint.  They lack that last little bit, the "je ne sais quoi" if you will, and I have to think it's because of the name.


A name gives purpose, direction, attitude.  My degree is in fine art, but my field of study for 4 years was Illustration, or "the visual representation of a thought, emotion, idea" etc.  The naming of a piece, therefore, captures the mindset I want to be in while working on it, dreaming about it, scribbling it out.  Hopefully, sometimes some of that makes its way into the actual art as well, but that might just be wishful thinking.  And it's fun, too.  "Office Romance" presents not only the real life love affair of husband and wife cattle ranchers, but also presents what for many of us would be an ideal working environment -  on the back of a horse with your sweetheart, breathing in fresh air and sunshine, roaming across the open country.  "Red" is not only done almost entirely in a red color palette, but also reflects the common barn name of many chestnut racehorses, including Man o' War and Secretariat.  "Lope" shows a cantering, or "loping" horse, but was done as a fundraiser for LOPE (Lone Star Outreach to Place Ex Racehorses @ www.lopetx.org).  And I must mention here that "Only the Lonely" was actually suggested as a name for another piece by my mother, but I immediately grafted it onto the then unformed drawing which was simply hanging out there waiting for the perfect name.  So, thanks Mom!


And finally, here is the newest entry in the stable.  Graphite, conte crayon (and eventually india ink) on clayboard.  My reference photo is of two sweet, gentle Belgian mares nonchalantly lounging about in their field, but a slight breeze just barely lifted tendrils of mane up at the right moment when I took the shot, and I took the idea and ran with it.  Here is the beginning of "Tempest".  (And I apologize for possibly the worst photo of artwork ever taken!)

"Tempest" WIP  

©Joanna Zeller Quentin 2010.  All Rights Reserved.  www.MoosePantsStudio.com

"Only the Lonely"

© Joanna Zeller Quentin 2010.  All Rights Reserved.  www.MoosePantsStudio.com

Dawn's Early Light

Three horses wait for breakfast in the dawn's early light. This piece is painted in a very loose, painterly style. My intent in painting this was to create a painting that "reads" like it has detail but actually has very little. I'm happy with the results. 6x12, oil on gallery wrapped canvas.Click here to find out more about this painting.

www.katedardine.com

A Quiet Moment on the Training Track

While racing scenes are always exciting, I think I enjoy portraying the quieter moments on the backstretch best. I took photos of this Thoroughbred and rider one morning at Woodbine when I was filling in for my trainer friend while she took some time off. Often a rider will "back up" before galloping - this just means he or she will jog the horse on the outside rail going the "wrong" way (clockwise) to warm up. After backing up it's customary to turn the horse in to face the infield and stand a moment before carrying on with the morning gallop. This horse looked relaxed but ready to proceed. There's something magical about the light this time of day. Mornings at the track are filled with hope and promise.

This painting is an 18 x 14 oil on Raphael linen board. It was the first oil I did on this surface, and I quickly fell in love! The original is framed and available for sale, and giclée reproductions can also be ordered. For more information, just visit my website, or send me an email. The working title for this piece was "Pause" but I'm not sure it has stuck yet. If you have any thoughts or ideas, I'd be happy to hear them!

If you're interested in seeing some of the progress shots of this painting, have a look on my blog. You might have to go back a few months. As a bonus, I've got some pretty cute foal photos up there as well!

Linda Shantz

Another funny laugh!

Donna, I love your Laughing Long Ears, and I just had to share a painting I did last year in a similar tone. The horse was actually yawning when I took the photos (same as your subject), but I just couldn't help exaggerating the humor and turning it into a full-fledged laugh. The best part is... everyone smiles when they see it (even tough ol' cowboys!)

"Classy" - acrylic on canvas, original available.
Angela Hook