New Blog Approach and I hope I don't have to run away...

I like to write about my painting but it is so difficult to come up with words that describe the experience that I think I just want to repeat myself all the time.  I decided to take a different approach to my blog and write about the subjects themselves.  I taught for twenty years so I like to learn and look things up.

I am going to start with horses since I have been getting a lot of attention for my paintings of horses.  My new Kendall Expressions horses stumbled for a long time on Stumbleupon and Blue Ridge Pasture Horses got so many hits on Etsy one day  that the administrators sent me an email to congratulate me.

Here are a few interesting myths and facts about these beautiful animals that have accumulated over the centuries.

Sitting backwards on a donkey - cure for snakebites and toothache

A pregnant woman seeing a donkey - the child will grow wise and well behaved

If you see a white dog you should be silent until you see a white horse.

In Wales a gray horse is considered to be a death omen.

In England and Germany dreaming of a white horse is considered a death omen.

It was thought that warts could be cured by circling them in horse hair.

If a woman is pregnant and the heart beat of her baby sounds like a

horse it is said to be a girl, however if it sounds like a train it is said to be a boy.

The Przewalski's horse is the only truly wild horse still in existence.  It is found in Mongolia.

Horses have better senses of smell and hearing then humans.

Equine assisted therapy is a growing field where horses help people with a wide range of mental health issues.

I could go on and on but I thought these were the more interesting facts and myths about horses.

I am hoping that I won't be facing major surgery soon but I think it is inevitable.  Whenever I think of surgery I think of my mother.  Years ago she made a decision to have surgery that she was advised to have.  She had such a hard time recovering that she told me the next time they wouldn't catch her!

I wonder if I can run away...

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!!!!!

Painting, painting, painting, and Waiting for help...

I am still very excited about my new series, Kendall Expressions, and am looking forward to adding my next one!  The spacing in my new one is so captivating I can't imagine anyone walking by it without being drawn into the color and textural display.  In this one I am trying to get an even more complex system of colors and textures and dynamic motion.  I hope to have it up in a few days.

We have been practically without hot water for over a week now and the system is leaking constantly.  We have a cup under the leak but it fills up every few hours.  The repair man should be here soon and I will be so glad to get this fixed!  It takes more than one minute to wash my hair!  I took my shampoo to the Aquatic Center to wash it the other day.

Be sure to check out my Special Promotions on Fine Art America!  I almost always have three paintings up at 40% off the large canvas print size!  Fine Art America has a thirty day money back guarantee which includes the shipping price!  You can't lose!



Also, I have been adding a lot of artwork to my porfolio.  Click on images to see the latest or the folder marked artwork added 2011-2013.

Kendall Expressions Still Stumbling and Lead Foot...

Lion Explosion and Galloping Red are still stumbling on Stumpleupon.com.  Galloping Red is getting way more hits than Lion Explosion but the hits per day are increasing on Lion Explosion.  It is great to see my work looked at by so many people and it is especially pleasing that this is happening with two works from my new series, Kendall Expressions. 

 I see continual change in my approach to my own type of Expressionism with each new painting and I look forward to starting the next one the day after Christmas.  I am forcing myself to take a break and enjoy the Holiday but that does not mean I am taking a break from promoting my work online.  Workaholics are hopeless.  As my mother always said, some people are not happy unless they are miserable.  I prefer to think of my work as what keeps me going.

Be sure to check out my Special Features on Fine Art America!  All prints have a thirty day money back guarantee including shipping! 40% off regular price!

My husband has a new name for all the tail gators that drive him crazy to and from work.   He calls them Lead Foot Lame Brain drivers.  One of these days I swear one of them will just drive on and over my car and keep going.  Where is the fire?

Pleased to sell prints of Near Smithfield Plantation and What a Rat....

I am so pleased to sell prints in the form of greeting cards of Near Smithfield Plantation to a great Virginia patron on Zazzle!  This pastel painting is a special one for me.  It is one of my many award-winning works.  Famed pastelist Daniel Greene awarded me The American Artist Award for this colorful, exciting work.  This pastel took a long time and I put a lot of visual complexity in every square inch of it.  The color nuances never end and the expression is extremely intense.

I am also pleased that I added another painting to my Kendall Expressions folder and it is receiving a lot of hits as well as two other paintings in the same folder. Lion Explosion and Galloping Red have been stumbling for over a day and I hope they continue to make the rounds on Stumbleupon.com where I have a number of my paintings.

My wireless mouse has been irritating me to the point of distraction today.  No matter where I position it on the pad it keeps clicking off and I see the connection lost sign to slow me up again.  I have decided that mouse is too nice a word for this miserable rat!   It better shape up or it will be a flying rat out the window.

Sold another Original to a great Virginia patron and mega chips...

I am very pleased to sell one of my original hand-colored lithographs to a great Virginia patron!  Near the Cascades is a special scene for me.  I have lost track of the number of times I walked up to the Cascades in the Jefferson National Forest in Giles County, VA.  This is one of the views of the creek at the beginning of the two mile walk to the falls.  I have also been in the water which is very cold but it is so refreshing after the hike which is mostly up.

The original is gone but prints up to 48"x60"are available on paper or canvas, framed or un-framed and there are other versions of the same scene.  Be sure to check it out!

I am very exciting about my current painting and hope to upload it tomorrow afternoon.  I think it is the most exciting Kendall Expresssion so far! It is teeming with life and energy!

A fast food company has been advertising a mega chocolate chip cookie.  My husband's response to this is Mega Chocolate Chip equals Mega Hips.  I think he is right.  Too much emphasis on sugary, fattening carbs in this country.  We need to get out the fruit!

Pleased to Sell Another Print of Burning Shore and My painting is still hijacked...

I decided I would like to blog more than once a week to keep my friends informed on what is happening with my work and since I just sold another large print of one of my favorite paintings, Burning Shore, to a great Arizona patron, this seemed like a good day to write some things down.

Burning Shore is my favorite small gem paintings.  The original is owned by a great New York patron but print sales are growing of this captivating piece.   It is available on my website and one just about any kind of household and business item - even toys on Zazzle!



 http://www.zazzle.com/newriverartist



I just notified a lawyer about the theft of my second best-selling print, A Break in the Clouds, on Funstatic.  I have sent a Cease and Desist order but the email came back.  I hit their red delete button on their site and filled out their form three times and the painting is still there for free downloads.  I posted three comments on their site demanding they take it down to no avail.

Let's see what a lawyer can do about this.

I usually try to have something funny in my blogs but I don't think I can manage that twice a week so I will hopefully have something in the next blog.

Be sure to check out my Special Promotions on Fine Art America and check out my drawing, "Reaching Out", on The Mindy Project!

Hijacked Painting , Pleased to sell another print and I will hold it up to the screen...

The internet is a dangerous place and I am very unhappy to announce that my second best-selling print was hijacked from a site and put on another site where people can download it for free.  So far, there have been 290 downloads and I am one outraged artist!  I sent a cease and desist email and it was returned to me so I am looking into other avenues of action.  I live to paint but I do not work for free.

On a lighter note I am pleased to sell prints as postcards of Sweet Pea in The Morning to a great Nebraska  patron.  This is one of my favorite Blue Ridge Parkway paintings of a scene at Rock Castle Gorge.  I used to tease my naturalist husband, Clyde Kessler, that he should have a mail box at this sight.  This is one of his main birding and butterfly locations and he has led many hawk watches there.

A few weeks ago we discovered that we had a mouse in the kitchen leaving lots of calling cards on the counters and drawers.  My husband decided to order a Have a Heart mousetrap so he could take it somewhere else rather than killing it.

He called me up about all the options.  After a long list I asked him if he would like me to see if I could find the mouse, hold it up to the computer screen, and see which one it liked best.  His reply was to ask the mouse if it could do a better job than our wireless one and we would hire it.  A little mouse humor to brighten an artist with a serious copyright infringement to contend with.



Don't forget about my Special Promotions on Fine Art America! 40% off popular paintings with a 30 day money back guarantee, including shipping!  You can't lose!

Also, look for my drawing Reaching Out on The Mindy Project.  It was visible on a hilarious episode called The Wedding Crushers!

Sold Prints of Peaks of Otter, Rock Castle Gorge, Smith Mountain Lake and I don't eat nuts...

My work continues to get around the country!  This week three different paintings went out on a key chain, apron, and postcards to Nebraska, Florida and Virginia.  It is great to be able to sell originals, prints on paper or canvas, and paintings on just about anything imaginable!  Be sure to check out my work on Zazzle and if you don't see the painting you want on an item, let me know!

http://www.zazzle.com/newriverartist

I was rather frustrated this week with my current Kendall Expressions painting.  It took a number of turns and then nose dived into something completely different from the others in this series.  I like it but it wasn't what I wanted and I can't figure out what happened.  Oh well, happy accidents are part of painting so I am just going to go with it and use a different approach on the next one.

My family has been spending a lot more on groceries these days due to my husband's malady and my desire to eat organic.  I left off peanut butter years ago when I ate too much of it in college and got sick of it.  I decided that I need to add some nuts to my diet so now I am eating some organic peanut butter most days.

I never have liked nuts that much.  I told my husband I don't eat nuts - I am descended from them, marry them, and give birth to them.  Just joking!  I love all members of my family!

Don't forget about my drawing, "Reaching Out", on The Mindy Project!  It was visible in last week's episode entitled The Wedding Crushers.
Hilarious episode!

Sold Two Original Paintings to Two Great Virginia patrons and a Hen Party...

Sunday I was very pleased to sell two original oil paintings to two great Roanoke, VA patrons! A family drove down from Roanoke for a lovely studio visit.  A daughter was intending to buy a painting for her mother for Christmas and the mother decided to buy another one for herself!  I greatly enjoy opening my home and studio to art and it was a lot of fun discussing my artwork with the mother and her two daughters.  They are considering future sales so I am sure I will see them again sometime.

Also, a postcard with one of my more popular paintings, "Other Pears", was sold on Zazzle Sunday to a great patron in Frederic Wisconsin!  My artwork gets around!  I have many paintings on just about everything on Zazzle - including puzzles!

My writer husband, Clyde Kessler, is always playing around with words and I love all his jokes.  His most recent funny is a name he came up with for a Hen party that went wrong.  Fowl Ball.  He really will punnel me to death one day!



Be sure to check out my special promotions on Fine Art America and my work on home, computer, office, and phone accessories on Zazzle.  Here is the link.  Christmas is coming!  Artwork makes for a great gift!    newriverartist's Store at Zazzle

Sold Three More Best Sellers and L.D...

I am so pleased to sell prints of favorite paintings over and over again!  A few days ago another print of A Break in the Clouds, Blue Ridge Jewels, and Wildflower Current went to a great patron in Alexandria, VA!  Wildflower Current is the only painting of the three that is still available and I hope someone decides to buy the original.  It is a stunning painting with exquisite color contrast and flowing motion.  I'm sure I will sell many more prints of it in the future.

Just finished another Kendall Expression and uploaded one of my favorites, Lion Explosion, to Zazzle.  Galloping Red is a wonderful swirl of energy and it has been uploaded to Fine Art America and Zazzle.  As I have mentioned before,  I love to work with red/green contrast and this is an excellent example of my preference.  The galloping motion of the horse is echoed throughout the painting with intense, expressive brushwork.

A few days ago I was talking to my husband about my personal way of learning.  I have a photographic memory but there were times in school when I thought I was taking longer than most of the other students to understand a concept.  Once I fully understood something I had it cold.  Since this is typical of students with one form of learning disability I told my husband I may be a little L.D.  He said, you mean Luscious Dreamboat?  Now that's a smart husband!  He's a keeper!

Be sure to check out my Special Promotions on Fine Art America! 40% off regular price of prints of popular paintings!

So Pleased to Sell Prints from My I Love the Beach Creative Photographs and Wind it back...

I am pleased that patrons are interested in my I Love the Beach photographs.  I am known for my award-winning paintings but I have always had a love of photography and most of my paintings are creative interpretations of my photographs.  I don't like to work plein air so my photos are my initial sketch.  This year I decided to add the medium of photography to my portfolio.

It is great to branch out into yet another medium and get positive feedback for it.  Two of my beach photographs stumbled for several weeks on Stumbleupon and then both of them were sold on Zazzle.  One on a mug and the other on coasters.  I mostly sell originals and prints but I also have some of my most popular works on Zazzle where people can buy my work on kitchen, office, phone, and computer accessories.

I know one home accessory my husband would like to do without and that is the alarm clock.  This past week-end I reminded him we needed to turn the clock back an hour.  His reponse was wind it back to the river and drown it!

Be sure to check out my Special Promotions on Fine Art America.  40% off regular price.  I almost always have three up.

Also keep checking on what's new in my Kendall Expressions folder!  Dream Horse stumbled for a week!

Pleased to sell another print of Reaching Out and I know this is emergencies...

So pleased to sell yet another print of my best-seller, "Reaching Out".  This drawing sure gets around.  This time it went to a great patron in Naperville, Illinois.  It has been great to see it in Mindy's office on The Mindy Project and I hope it continues to reach new homes and offices.

Just got back from a great trip to New York!  My friends and I took in a bunch of Broadway shows and had time for the Guggenheim and MOMA. Saw some great Pollocks, Picassos, Cezannes, and Richters!  What a great time!

Neither my husband or I have a funny this week but I did see a great one on Facebook.  A cat on a phone is screaming, "I know this is for emergencies only!  I said I am out of coffee!      

Now that is an emergency!

Be sure to check out my 40% off special promotions on Fine Art America! 

 

Never a Still Life and Swim off the Plate...

I am very excited about my current still life of an old purse in an intensely expressive style.  I am really getting into my own brand of Expressionism!  It is great to just react to the paint as feeling in these works.  The subject matter is secondary to the message about art that I am trying to convey. I pride myself on the amount of "life" I put in a still life.  They are anything but still- these are scintallating paintings!  I think the Kendall Expressions folder on my website is going to be a huge one.

My husband hates fish.  For years we hardly ever had it due to his dislike.  My son has no problem with it.  He eats any kind of fish or seafood.  My husband hates it all but he wants to eat it for health benefits.

His solution is to cover it with mustard.  The other night I mentioned to him the fish was swimming in mustard.  My husband's reply was he hoped it would swim off the plate and keep going!

Be sure to check out my 40% off Special Features on Fine Art America!

Glad to introduce another Kendall Expression and Cats all over the place...

My latest Kendall Expression painting, Sunflower Frenzy, is quite an exciting painting!  Sunflowers are of particular interest to artists.  The color, flowing motion, and beautiful leaf shapes draw us in to paint them the way they are, and, in this case, an intensely creative rendition that expresses our feelings about their beauty.  I am especially pleased with the brushwork and strong red/green contrast in this work.

I have been having so much trouble with our computer lately that I think there are cats all over the screen laughing at me and saying,  "We can take care of any mouse you have!"  We gobble up information and keep software from opening just to aggravate you and thumb our paws at your little mouse!"

Of course, a more reasonable explanation for my problems is that I have too much information on my computer and I need to take  much of it off.  Since that would take a lot of time I prefer the Cat Theory!

Beauty, Danger and The Blimpasaurus...

I just finished another acrylic painting in my new series, "Kendall Expressions", and am very pleased with the intense, vibrant color contrast in this one.  I wanted to combine the beauty of a wild animal, in this case the cougar, with the beauty of a wildflower field.  The title is one with several meanings.  To me, the animal is as beautiful as the wildflowers.  Both need our protection.  The danger is not really in the painting.  The danger is the lack of concern a lot of people have for both.

When I was a child I heard this saying all the time.  Nature will take care of itself.  I now know that is ridiculous and we have to be diligent to preserve our world.  If the honey bee goes, so does a great deal of our food.  I hope naturalists, like my husband, Clyde Kessler, can continue to educate people about environmental concerns.

My husband has a new joke about the Dinosaur Extinction Theory.  This is quite whacky but it is fun!  Instead of a meteor hitting the planet, maybe one dinosaur, the Blimposaurus, grew so big that it fell of a cliff and squished the others.  Not likely, but it does make for a comic image!

 
Be sure to check out my Special Promotions on Fine Art America!  Look for the clock icon under Shop!