Monday Update – July Mini Print Clubs (Freedom Butterfly Cookie, Sprinkles Ice Cream), Plus New Studio Live Streams Coming

Even though I have a background in magazine writing, I always struggle with making titles for my blog posts. As I typed this one out today, I realized that people might say, what the heck is she talking about? Print clubs? Freedom? Butterfly Cookie? Sprinkles Ice Cream? Going live? Huh?

Alright, well let’s just say that as far as my titling skills, I’m still a work in progress. But, my print clubs are awesome, and I’m going to briefly tell you why.

Sometimes, as creators, we get lost in the painting process. Time slips away, hours go by, we make and make and make, and ultimately we lose the connection that we have to the people that actually like the art that we make.

Maybe it’s partly because we artists are a bit shy, a bit humble. We have a drive to create and a desire to say something by making beautiful things. Talking about it with actual living people? That’s a whole different ball game.

Let’s get into the upcoming print clubs first — which you can sign up for at KimTestone.com — and then I’ll share just a brief update on something new I’m embarking on, to push me out of my shell a bit because I believe that the art I make is important, and ultimately, I want more people to see it, see my process and maybe even learn something along the way.

The July Print Clubs

If you don’t already know, I have two mini print clubs: one for my ice cream paintings, one for my trompe l’oeil foodscape paintings. What is a mini print club? Well, it’s kind of what it sounds like — I make mini prints of some of my paintings each month and send them along with a letter and sometimes some fun extras to a list of paying subscribers. They are mailed via snail mail (yeah, with a stamp). This keeps costs low (monthly subscriptions are $19 for each print club), and it gives me a fun way to share my art, practice my printing and product-making skills (sometimes I include mini notecards and other fun extras I make in my studio), and it gives those who enjoy my art an opportunity to support me as an artist.

July Mini Sweet Escapes Print Club with Freedom, a Butterfly Cookie Painting
July Mini Sweet Escapes Print Club with Freedom, a Butterfly Cookie Painting, plus a bonus mini note card and the family Orange Cake recipe.

For July, I’ll be sending out a 5″x5″ print of my small trompe l’oeil painting of a monarch butterfly cookie on a swoop of sky-blue frosting (which I titled “Freedom”) as part of my Sweet Escapes Art Print Club. For my Ice Cream Print Club, I’ll be including a 7″ x 5″ print of my Tall Vanilla Sprinkles Ice Cream Cone.

Sign up by June 30th to be included in the July mailing.

July Mini Ice Cream Art Print Club Featuring Tall Vanilla with Sprinkles
July Mini Ice Cream Print Club Featuring Tall Vanilla Sprinkles.

Studio Live Streams Coming

If the print clubs aren’t enough and you just want more of me and my happy-little-art-making world, I’ll be testing out streaming a few days a week on Twitch. Still working on the bugs, but I’m hoping to provide a happy little safe space for you to join me in my studio for some painting and positive shop talk.

Head over to Twitch.tv/kim_testone_artist to learn more. I’m aiming to go up today from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. (testing) and then hopefully starting regularly Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

See you soon!

Kim T.



Kim Testone
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Kim Testone

Artist Kim Testone

I’m a full-time acrylic realism and trompe l’oeil painter creating whimsical food paintings inspired by real-life creations that I bake, decorate or scoop in my kitchen. All of my paintings are flat, painted with many thin layers of acrylic paint, aiming to look at three-dimensional as possible. I hope you’ll join me on the journey of creating art that brings a little happy magic into the world. I’ll be sharing my process, my insights, and hopefully some things that will inspire you to appreciate the little things around you every day.

The Formal Stuff:

  • B.A. in Studio Art from the University of Central Florida
  • M.A. in Arts Administration from Savannah College of Art and Design
  • Former Art Magazine Editor

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