Whoa...Over 180,000 views on This TikTok Video of My Daydreamer Painting

More than 180,000 views, more than 40,000 likes, thousands of shares and hundreds of comments. 

I am so grateful to all of the wonderful people on TikTok who have enjoyed the close-up video of my latest Cookie Landscape painting, The Daydreamer, acrylic on panel, 24" x 24". There have been so many kind and encouraging comments that I haven't even had time to respond to them all. 

If you haven't seen the video yet, please check it out here. And if you're interested, take some time to read a few of the comments, because I think it's pretty encouraging when you see how many nice people are out there.

Also, by request, I'll hopefully be releasing an open-edition print of this piece soon. After that, the original will be part of my March 2026 solo show at Hidell Brooks Gallery.

Thank you again for all of your kindness and support! I have so many more paintings I want to do, and it is so encouraging to know they are starting to connect with people. Thank you.

- Kim 

New Month, New Mini Ice Cream Print - Join the Snail Mail Club

Celebration Cone mini print, 7" x 5".

Just a quick post today because it's a new month, so guess what? New prints on my website, and a new mini print coming out.

Join my Mini Ice Cream Print Club between October 1 and October 31 to get the 7" x 5" signed art print of my Celebration Ice Cream Cone painting sent to you via snail mail for just $19. More info on my website. Thanks for visiting!

Did I just drop my first 24" x 18" ice cream cone print? Yes, Ma'am!

Celebration Cone, a limited-edition signed print, available in 2 sizes: 16" x 12" and 24" x 18" (pre-order only right now for the large size; large size will ship rolled in a tube).

Something I've been asked a lot about over the years is, will you ever make larger prints? My answer was always maybe, someday. Honestly, making large prints isn't as easy as you might think it is. It requires a large painting (which I've done a few!) and then a sort-of-complicated process of taking multiple images of different sections of the painting and then stitching them together in a photo-editing program, then cleaning them up to make sure everything represents the original painting as closely as possible. 

I'm happy to share that I'm dropping my first larger limited-edition print of Celebration Cone, at a 24" x 18" size (pre-order only right now) as well as a 16" x 12". Now, this isn't as large as the original painting (which was HUGE), but it's as large as I feel comfortable going right now, to get a print that is an extremely high quality and will make collectors very happy.

This limited-edition print is signed and numbered (limited to 50 for the overall run), printed on heavy museum-quality photo-rag paper using archival inks for longevity. The print is borderless.

So if you'd like a big pop of fun and color on your happy walls, check out the new drop!

This will also be the featured print for my Mini Ice Cream Print Club for November, which you'll get if you join between October 1 and October 31. That is a signed, open-edition print at 7" x 5", which will ship via snail mail in mid-November.

Happy Art for Happy Walls! Thanks for visiting!

- KIM 

Last Day to Get the Strawberry Scoops Mini Print When Your Join My Mini Monthly Ice Cream Print Club

 

Join the Mini Monthly Ice Cream Art Print Club

Okay, I get it, I'm talking a lot about my new print club for my ice cream paintings. But you know what? It's kind of awesome. The prints are kind of awesome. And it's a sweet way to start collecting some really amazing art (if I do say so myself!) at an affordable price. Plus, the whole snail mail concept -- retro, super cool, whatever you want to say about it -- but I like to think it helps to connect us all in a way that social media and the internet just can't do. You can read some more about why I did this snail mail project here. 

So yeah, last day! Last day to sign up to get next month's print is always going to be the last day of the previous month. Get Strawberry Scoops sent to you in mid-October when you sign up by the end of the day today. 

As always, thanks for your kindness and support. Please share my happy art with anyone you think needs a pick-me-up, calorie-free. I do my best to bring some extra smiles into the world. 

- KIM 

A Design Alternative to the Fashionable Chocolate Brown Color Trend - Chocolate Ice Cream Art

 

Limited-edition chocolate ice cream prints by Kim Testone.

Fun facts about me: I really love school. I have a bachelor's degree in drawing, a master's degree in arts administration, and I took a bunch of extra classes, too, including a number of courses in interior design. It's been quite a while, but I do try to stay up a bit on the trends. Every fall, there's a new trending list of colors that will be coming into style. These trending colors are in part decided by paint companies as well as organizations that specialize in color forecasts, like the Pantone Color Institute.

Anyway, so one of the color trends forecasted for the coming season is Chocolate Brown. Now, far be it from me to question what the color authorities say, but I painted a bathroom chocolate brown many years ago, and let's just say it was something I'm not ready to commit to again. Probably ever.

So if you aren't ready for chocolate brown walls yet, how about just putting some chocolate ice cream on the walls? Yes, I'm peddling my own wares, but seriously, these prints of my original ice cream paintings are pretty awesome. I put a lot of time into making them come out just right, with clean and modern white backgrounds, just like the paintings (which by the way, take me no less than 40 hours to complete, each). 

Whimsical, charming, totally inedible. But quite the home design statement and a whole lot of fun. So really, make your walls fun...and chocolate-ty. I work really hard because I want the whole world to smile when they see my work.

Happy walls for all. 

- KIM 

 

Why I Made a Snail Mail Art Print Club

Join by September 30 to get the first mini print drop, Strawberry Scoops, sent to you via snail mail in October.


Short Story Time: So a couple of weeks ago, I announced that I was creating a Monthly Snail Mail Art Print Club, where you can get miniature prints (usually around 7" x 5") sent to your mailbox every month via snail mail. It makes things affordable for you and for me and enables me to share my happy art with more people, which is always the goal. But that's not the only reason.

When I went away to college, my grandmother wrote a short letter to me religiously every week. It was never about anything particularly significant -- often about the weather, or what she and my grandpap were doing in the garden, or how they were excited for upcoming holidays. I was a very lonely 18-year-old, who had uprooted myself from my small-town, shy ways, and I had a difficult time adjusting. Opening my mailbox in the college mailroom and getting that flowery stationery from my grandma each week just lifted my spirits. It made me feel like someone cared. Though I never told her how much they meant to me, I saved every letter she wrote, and still have them decades later, in a carefully treasured box. 

The world is in a difficult state right now. We are all trying to navigate some very challenging times. Just getting a little boost of joy like a piece of happy snail is something that I feel can make a very small difference. I'm just an artist; I've dedicated myself to making happy art. So whether you get a painting, a print, or just follow my work on my website or social media, I want you to know that I paint from a place of sincerity, calling on all of the voices in my life that have loved me and taught me to look for the happy moments.

I appreciate your interest in my work. I hope it lifts you up. I hope you see through the dark times and look for the light. I hope you take this as encouragement to stay positive and do something kind today, because that type of behavior is ultimately what will really change the world. 

Or hey, maybe you just like ice cream and want to see it on your desk or walls! I can help with that. 

- KIM

My Latest TikTok Video of Me Painting Just Surpassed 10,000 Views

Check out the TikTok video here.

Hey folks, I'm happy to share that my latest TikTok video just passed 10,000 views - with over 1500 likes and 65 saves. Now, that might not seem like much in the grand scheme of the social media art world, but for someone like me, it's amazing! I'm so happy that this latest painting -- The Daydreamer, 24" x 24", acrylic on panel, still in progress -- has connected with so many people! Whether they enjoy the colors, the theme, the appearance of something that looks three-dimensional but is actually flat, or just something they can't quite put their finger on, having that many people enjoying my work makes me feel like these new cookie landscape paintings of mine are heading in the right direction.

That is quite honestly a tough thing for an artist -- to know if there's anyone out there who will actually like our work or connect with it in a meaningful way. We artists, we're kind of loners, making art in the quiet little corners of our homes with almost no one else seeing it, until we begin to share things in places like social media. 

Taking on this new body of work is quite a big risk for me, personally and professionally. I've been painting ice cream and other traditional still life for a long time, and while I'll still keep painting those on occasion (after I finish the cookie landscapes for my March 2026 solo show at Hidell Brooks Gallery), trying something that I think is totally unique to me, that gets better with each piece I paint, and that unleashes a creativity in me that I can't quite describe, it's a good feeling. 

I am very grateful for every like or encouraging comment. Thank you for your support as I continue to grow and build my work. I've got a lot planned!

-KIM

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Kim Testone Contemporary Art (@kimtestoneartist) | TikTok

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Join My New Mini Monthly Ice Cream Art Print Club - A Happy Little Snail Mail Project

Join by September 30th to get the first signed mini print, Strawberry Scoops, mailed to you via snail mail this October.   

Well, folks, I'm deep in the midst of new painting projects for my 2026 show at Hidell Brooks. I've been sharing some images of these new paintings, which I call cookie landscapes, so I hope you've been following along on social media and will continue to check out my new pieces!

In the meantime, though, despite loving my work, I'm feeling a little isolated in my studio, and so I've been considering ways to share my art with more people and develop some deeper connections with my followers. This week, I'm very excited to announce that I'm launching a monthly snail mail art print club, featuring mini prints of some of my most popular ice cream paintings from recent years. 

My work has always been about joy and nostalgia, and introducing an affordable snail mail way to collect my art just seems like the right fit. Who doesn't love cheerful snail mail? The occasional card, letter or small gift can just lift your spirits, in a way that social media really doesn't. 

So if you enjoy my ice cream paintings and would like to get a little bit of joy and color in your mailbox each month, please be sure to check out my member sign up page. For $19 a month, you'll get a signed mini fine art print featuring one of my ice cream paintings, encased in a protective plastic sleeve, and a short letter, sharing a bit about how or why I created the piece, or what's going on in my art life. It ships in a simple stamped envelope, which helps keep costs super low.

Whether you want to keep them, collect them, or share them with others, I think you'll find that they're just so cute and sweet you can't help but love them! 

Thanks as always for your kindness and support! Let's save the world together with some happy art!

Sign up by September 30th to get the first mini print, Strawberry Scoops, which will be sent out in mid-October. 

These open-edition mini prints are signed KimT on the front, and titled and signed on the back. Ships via snail mail!

  

How I Go From a Sketched Idea to a Fully Realized Painting

 

A quick pencil sketch from my sketchbook, that became my in-progress "Butterflies in the Sky" painting below.

Still a work in progress..."Butterflies in the Sky," acrylic on panel, 24" x 24". 

The sketch at the top of the page here took me all of about 30 seconds, with a few notes added in the seconds afterward. I generally keep my sketchbook near me, whether I'm doing household chores, preparing meals or painting. My ideas appear as out-of-the-blue epiphanies, as a flash, and I get them down as quickly as possible, then move on with my day. 

When it comes time to decide what I'll be working on next, I flip through my sketchbook, and consider which of my sketches are worthy of being developed. Then it becomes a more refined color sketch, and after that, for my Cookie Landscape paintings, I bake and decorate the scene, photograph it, and proceed to the many hours -- often hundreds of hours -- of the painting process. 

I'm really loving working on these Cookie Landscapes. They enable me to be endlessly creative, and hone my technical skills as well. From across the room, they really look quite magical, quite dimensional (despite being totally flat), and that challenge of being able to create a painting that isn't just fun and beautiful, but one that can also trick people into thinking that there is some sort of dimension or texture, it really excites me as an artist. 

If you like these works and want to see more, I post my daily progress frequently to TikTok and to my Instagram stories. If you want to see full process videos, I post those, too, when the pieces are done. You can check out my latest one, showing the process of designing, baking, decorating, then painting "Here Comes the Sun" on my Instagram. 

Thanks so much for visiting! 

Want to see how I make my Cookie Landscape Paintings?

Hey folks, if you are interested in following the daily progress of my Cookie Landscape painting series, which I'll be debuting at my March 2026 solo show at Hidell Brooks Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina, make sure you check in on my TikTok or my Instagram stories to see the latest (remember that the Instagram stories are only up for 24 hours, so to see all of the clips, check my TikTok). 

Check out the latest video, where I show you some insights about the complicated planning stages for the cookie/frosting paintings. In case you are curious, there's no AI of any kind here! Just my brain and a bit of imagination creating a good old-fashioned sketch and color sketch, followed by me baking and decorating a real cookie/frosting scene, then spending many many hours painting it. 

Like this one, still in progress: Butterflies in the Sky, 24" x 24", acrylic on panel.

Check out my latest behind-the-scenes video if you want to see the crazy process I have for making the models for my Cookie Landscape paintings. This one, Butterflies in the Sky, is still a work in progress!

I hope these paintings bring a little bit of joy into your life! Thanks as always for your interest!

Stock Up On Ice Cream Prints During the Annual Sunshine Sale!

Hey all, a little over a week left for the Annual Sunshine Print Sale! Buy any 2 limited-edition prints -- including any ice cream prints and other sweet treats -- and get 1 FREE. Great way to stock up on holiday gifts! 

Sale ends July 31. Discount automatically applied at checkout. 10% of all print sales donated to the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).

Thanks so much for visiting!