More on the Beautiful Peaks of Otter on The Blue Ridge Parkway and It Flies!

Distant View of The Peaks of Otter    12"x 16" original oil painting    

Professionally framed         $484.00

Print on paper or Canvas available at        KENDALL KESSLER ART

My Artwork

As usual I have had a rough start with Wordpress due to the fact that I am somewhat computer challenged.  Oftentimes they don't make sense to me and I get confused over how different sites are set up.  

I started with a post on The Peaks of Otter and thought I had published two but now I see the second one is still a draft so here I go again.

Also, if anyone reading this can tell me how to take my posts out of Peaks of Otter category which is listed on all of them in my posts section, please do!  I'm not sure how that happened but I don't want The Peaks of Otter to be the category selection for all my posts.

Deer at The Peaks of Otter     Original Oil Painting     30'x 40"      $2425.00

Prints on Paper or Canvas available at    KENDALL KESSLER ART

Farm Pond   Original Oil Painting has been sold

Prints on Paper or Canvas available at    KENDALL KESSLER ART

Life with the Word and Bird Man - Clyde Kessler

My husband works on a computer all day long and is much better at understanding them than I am .  We have a wireless mouse at home which drives us crazy!  We regret switching from the attached mouse.  

Ours is one rotten little rodent!

Lately it was moving so slow that it took forever to get things done on my website and other sites.  My husband opened it and spent a long time cleaning it.   I thanked him and told him my mouse has wings now!  He said, with a frown, that is a bat.  Oh well.  I will take a bat over that slow rodent any day!

The Mindy Project is Back on The Air!

I am so pleased The Mindy Project is back on TV with a new episode this Tuesday at 9:30pm on FoxTV!

Be sure to look for my best-selling print, "Reaching Out", which was chosen out of over 3 million works of art on Fine Art America to be on the show!  It is in Mindy's office and there have been many shots of it last season and this season!

Reaching Out     Original charcoal drawing      24"x18" on white paper in white mat          $894.00

Prints on paper or canvas available at     KENDALL KESSLER ART

Another Painting of Roanoke near The Blue Ridge Parkway and I can't find it...

My Artwork

Campbell Avenue       Original Painting has been sold

Prints on paper or canvas available at     KENDALL KESSLER ART

Here is one more of my paintings of beautiful Roanoke, VA before I move on to other great places in Southwest Virginia.  This one is a great celebration of the beautiful pear trees that adorn Campbell Avenue.

I always include my phone number on the back of my paintings and was very pleased when the buyer called me to tell me how thrilled she was with the painting.  She hung it in her office.  I have seen her a number of times since then and she always tells me how much she loves it!

Near the Cascades     Original hand colored lithograph proof has been sold

I have other versions of this lithograph that are available on my website

Prints on paper or canvas available at    KENDALL KESSLER ART

Computer Challenged

I am getting a lot of likes on my About page on Wordpress which is much appreciated but when I go to look at the people I follow I am taken to Gravatar which I am not sure I want to join at this point.   So, please be patient with me.  I didn't grow up with computers and they baffle me at times.

Life with the Bird and Word Man - Clyde Kessler

My husband and I are noticing signs of aging that we don't like.  I'm sure no one likes the memory problems and general ditziness that we all get if we don't die young.

The other day I looked up Alzheimer's symptoms to make sure I am not developing that disease.  I found a list of symptoms of aging with two rows.  The first one was Alzheimer's and the second row was age.  

All of my symptoms are found in the second list.  Yea!!!

Yesterday I said to my husband I just can't cut the mustard anymore.  He said he couldn't even find the mustard!

Radford Roosting Festival

The festival is tomorrow so I wanted to print the information one more time!

Radford Roosting Festival

RADFORD, VA -The Radford Visitor’s Center will be celebrating the 7th annual Radford Roosting Festival on Saturday, March 29rd in Bisset Park from noon – 3 pm.  Families are welcome and there is no admission charge.

This year’s festival will include live birds, educational birding stations, a photo contest and children’s activities.

There are three scheduled presentations that are sure to be of interest to attendees.

Scheduled presentations are:

12:00 p.m.-Jason Davis/SELU

‘Flying family dynamics: Bluebirds, parenting and stress’

  1:00 p.m.- Sarah Foltz

‘Town & country: How to be an urban bird’

  2:00 p.m.-Jessica Zielske/The Mountain Lake Conservancy

‘Avifauna & geology of Mountain Lake’

Also scheduled is a not-to-be-missed bird walk prior to the festival with Clyde Kessler, local bird expert with Radbird, an outfitter and touring company that specializes in interacting with local birds. The walk sets off at 9 a.m. from the Radford Public Library, 30 West Main St.

More Roanoke Beauty near The Blue Ridge Parkway and The Radford Roosting Festival this Weekend!

My Artwork

Leaving Roanoke       Original tempera painting in white mat   18"x24"     $864.00

Prints on paper or canvas available at    KENDALL KESSLER ART

Here is another Roanoke painting that looks at the Blue Ridge Mountains from the inside.  In "Leaving Roanoke" I have captured a special moment when the car lights and street light have just come on but it isn't dark yet.  

The colors of light and shade are still prominent and the mood is serene even though the traffic is heavy.

The view of the mountain ridge reminds us of  a great city that is nestled in the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains!

Ferrum  Original Oil Painting has been sold

Prints on paper or canvas available at   KENDALL KESSLER ART

Kendall Kessler Youtube videos

I also have some of my work on Youtube!  Please check out my paintings there as well as my website.  I am an amateur pianist so I included a number of piano pieces I like as background music.

I have one about my Beautiful Nude series which includes my drawing, "Reaching Out", which was chosen out of over 3 million works of art on Fine Art America to be on The Mindy Project.  

It is in the main character's office and there have been many shots of it in various episodes.  The show took a break but will be back in April.

Here is the link!    KENDALL KESSLER BEAUTIFUL NUDE DRAWING ON THE MINDY PROJECT

Life with The Bird and Word Man - Clyde Kessler

The Radford Roosting Festival is this week-end and we are hoping for good weather so the Bird Man can do his thing and entertain participants in his bird walk!  Don't miss it!

Radford Roosting Festival

RADFORD, VA -The Radford Visitor’s Center will be celebrating the 7th annual Radford Roosting Festival on Saturday, March 29rd in Bisset Park from noon – 3 pm.  Families are welcome and there is no admission charge.

This year’s festival will include live birds, educational birding stations, a photo contest and children’s activities.

There are three scheduled presentations that are sure to be of interest to attendees.

Scheduled presentations are:

12:00 p.m.-Jason Davis/SELU

‘Flying family dynamics: Bluebirds, parenting and stress’

  1:00 p.m.- Sarah Foltz

‘Town & country: How to be an urban bird’

  2:00 p.m.-Jessica Zielske/The Mountain Lake Conservancy

‘Avifauna & geology of Mountain Lake’

Also scheduled is a not-to-be-missed bird walk prior to the festival with Clyde Kessler, local bird expert with Radbird, an outfitter and touring company that specializes in interacting with local birds. The walk sets off at 9 a.m. from the Radford Public Library, 30 West Main St.

More Star City Beauty near The Blue Ridge Parkway and Chasing Tigers...

My Art work

Foggy View from Mill Mountain   Original painting  Professionally Framed  30"x40"x2"     $2625.00

Prints on paper or canvas available at     KENDALL KESSLER ART

Here is another great morning vista from Mill Mountain in Roanoke city which is in the Blue Ridge Mountains and near The beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway.  In this painting I emphasized my brushwork to enhance the visual energy of the scene.  

One of my favorite compliments on my work is that it reminds people of the work of Vincent Van Gogh who is one of my favorite artists.  I think both of the paintings in this blog are good examples of his influence.

My favorite compliment is that many people say they want to touch my paintings.  I consider my surfaces to be unique, intense expressions of my feeling for nature so I am not surprised when I hear that response to them.

Ridge Light    Original painting has been sold

Prints available on paper or canvas available at   KENDALL KESSLER ART

Life with the Bird and Word Man  - Clyde Kessler

As I have mentioned before,  my husband is involved with the Blue Ridge Discovery Center which is a wonderful organization that seeks to get people outdoors and enjoy and learn more about the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains.

Today I thought I would share a program called  CHASING TIGERS IN THE BLUE RIDGE

The Blue Ridge harbors so many treasures. In the Central Virginia Blue Ridge exists a phenomenal ecosystem, one that was probably shaped by raging braided mountain streams during the last ice age. It contains many disjunct species. In fact, over 90 species that are well outside their typical range have been documented here. It’s an odd mix of coastal plain, Appalachian and northern plants and animals. While several rare and endangered species exist here, today we focused on a well known Blue Ridge phenomenon: Salamanders.

The Rivanna Chapter of Master Naturalists hosted its annual salamander hike to this part of the Blue Ridge. With a strong group of nearly 30 people, we headed to the George Washington National Forest and into the heart of the 30,000 acre wildlife management area known as Big Levels. While we expected to see several species, the one that had our hearts was the State Endangered Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum). It has been documented at this site but rarely has it been seen.

Here is the link to the whole announcement!                CHASING TIGERS IN THE BLUE RIDGE

Roanoke, The Star City near The Blue Ridge Parkway and They wouldn't tell us...

My Artwork

Star City    original oil painting  25"x40"  $2000.00

Prints on paper or canvas available at   KENDALL KESSLER ART

I am especially pleased with the complicated system of color, the intense brushwork, and the overall mood of this painting.

The Star City

Another great Blue Ridge Mountain locale is Roanoke city which is near The Blue Ridge Parkway.  It is also known as The Star City.

It was originally called Big Lick and was established in 1852 and chartered in 1874.  It was called Big Lick due to the salt which drew wildlife to the site near the Roanoke River.  

The name Roanoke is said to have originated from an Algonquian work for shell money.  This was also the name of the river that bisected it and the county.  The river is probably where the shells came from.

I got this information from Wikopedia and my husband, Clyde Kessler.

Blue Ridge Meadow Sunset   Original pastel painting has been sold

Prints on paper or canvas available at      KENDALL KESSLER ART

Life with The Word and Bird Man - Clyde Kessler

Again, before I print this comment my husband made about people I want to emphasize that he is well-liked by all that come into contact with him and is the most diplomatic person I have ever known.  

He is quite a contradiction - a very sweet curmudgeon!

Sometimes I am in awe of all we can do.  Computers, airplanes, spacecraft,etc.  My husband is not as impressed with our accomplishments because of all the problems technology has created for this limited spaceship.

The other day I said to him that ants don't have computers.  His response was, if they did, they wouldn't tell us.

Then I said we can fly but we don't have wings.  He said there are so many people filled with hot air that they could probably get anywhere they wanted to go without an airplane.

Life with a curmudgeon!  Lots of fun!

More Beautiful Smart View on The Blue Ridge Parkway and Latest Poems published by Clyde Kessler

My Artwork

Smartview       Original pastel painting has been sold

Prints on paper or canvas can be purchased at          KENDALL KESSLER ART

I have not been to Smart View many times but both of the paintings I did from that site sold.  It is a gorgeous place and I'm sure we will visit again sometime.  My favorite Blue Ridge Mountain paintings include clouds.  I have always been fascinated by cloud shapes and the colors of light and shade on them.  I especially like the colors in the evening when the contrast is not so strong and the spectrum is easier to see.

Recent Print Sales

It is great to sell my paintings over and over again in print version!  On my website patrons can get my work on paper or canvas,  framed or un-framed, and in a great selection of sizes.  Some of them can be bought in around size 40"x60"!

Here are the latest print sales. The originals are still available.

Smith Mountain Lake   Original Oil Painting  20"x16"     $670.00

Prints on paper or canvas available at   KENDALL KESSLER ART

Near Smithfield Plantation    Original pastel painting        14"x22"   $648.00

Prints on paper or canvas available at      KENDALL KESSLER ART

Life with the Word and Bird Man - Clyde Kessler

 

My husband has had his poems published over 200 times in magazines and one of them will soon be in an anthology.

Here is one of the five just published in The Writing Disorder!

DIPLOMACY

by Clyde Kessler
Trees here, never being trees,
are always born from growling binary stars
slumming the world. You can dream them
with a cluster of orchid flowers strangling
a flag, hoisting it inside a plum seed,
or home across your brow where all
imagination is suspect, and isolated.
You can fall from orbit, go crazy,
track the moonrise across fallout shelters.
You can divvy up the salt, the stress,
the last communiques, wolf pups, jonquils,
two dazzle bolts, three crates of kit puzzlers,
and the last bag of visors whittled from skulls.
Trees, never being trees, have been painted
towards our frozen city, to start new wars.
I read you the news, you read me a reply.
Our diplomats start shooting each other.

Smart View on The Blue Ridge Parkway and This is Spring?

My Artwork

Creek at Smartview      Original Painting has been sold

Prints on paper or canvas available at   KENDALL KESSLER ART

Another beautiful vista on The Blue RIdge Parkway is Smartview.  I have done one painting and one pastel painting of this great place.  I will never forget the day we had a picnic there.  I was teaching at Radford University and working hard at motherhood, painting, and housework and I was so tired I was practically lying down on the picnic table.

I still wanted to take some pictures to base some painting on so I got up and got some great shots of Smart View and then turned around and took a shot of the creek which was so peaceful.  

Most of my paintings are based on my photographs and slides.  Pein air painting is not for me.

My work is meant to be viewed indoors and it is done with many layers going from thin to thick paint.  If I paint outdoors and then bring it inside, it is a completely different painting.

Creek at Smartview was bought by a great Blacksburg patron who later commissioned me to paint a creek scene with his wife and a child by her side.  She was pregnant and knew nothing of this painting.  

A Baby shower was coming up and he worked on a baby tapestry that was the same size as the painting.  At the shower he had my painting under a sheet of fabric and his wife told everyone she already knew what it was.  She was sure  it was the tapestry. 

When he took down the sheet and revealed a painting with her and a child by a creek she was flabbergasted.

What a great gift, great surprise,  and a great husband!

Bluestone Lake   Original oil painting   30"x40"     $2425.00

Prints on paper or canvas available at    KENDALL KESSLER ART

Life with The Bird and Word Man - Clyde Kessler

My husband is quite a self-taught scholar and one of his favorite subjects is the weather.  He has been studying the patterns all his life and when he was a child he would tell his mother what to expect and she said he was right most of the time.

I always check with him if I am going out anywhere.   One time at an outdoor  show in Roanoke on a very sunny day he came up to me and said I had five minutes and then it would be raining.  Everyone around me thought he was wrong.  Five minutes later there was a river running down the road.

Needless to say he is concerned with what he calls climate disruption.  He agrees with scientists that think global warming is real whatever the cause which brings me to my blog title.  This is Spring?  There is another cold front on the way and I am not looking forward to it!

Bull Mountain Near The Blue Ridge Parkway and The Radford Roosting Festival..

My Artwork

Bull Mountain    original oil painting 11"x14"     $313.00

Original for sale at      TOWHEE HILL STUDIO

Another beautiful vista off the Blue Ridge parkway is Bull mountain.  I am especially fond of the color nuances and impasto brushwork in this painting.  My paintings are done in a series of layers and I put myself into every one of them.  

The last one is the hardest and that is when I really push to express my intense feelings for nature in every color and texture.

Bull Mountain is one of my more expressive works and I will soon have it on my website for print sales. Right now it can be bought at Towhee Hill Studio on Etsy or out of my home studio by the same name.

Color Ripples over The Blue Ridge Mountains    Original painting has been sold

Prints on paper or canvas available at   KENDALL KESSLER ART

The great California patron that bought Color Ripples over the Blue Ridge Mountains also bought two other paintings.  Most of my patrons buy more than one painting.  There are many local patrons that have four.

Life with the Bird and Word Man - Clyde Kessler

I wanted to again  announce the Radford Roosting Festival where my Bird man will be leading a bird walk.   Only nine more days. No admission charge!

Radford Roosting Festival

RADFORD, VA -The Radford Visitor’s Center will be celebrating the 7th annual Radford Roosting Festival on Saturday, March 29rd in Bisset Park from noon – 3 pm.  Families are welcome and there is no admission charge.

This year’s festival will include live birds, educational birding stations, a photo contest and children’s activities.

There are three scheduled presentations that are sure to be of interest to attendees.

Scheduled presentations are:

12:00 p.m.-Jason Davis/SELU

‘Flying family dynamics: Bluebirds, parenting and stress’

  1:00 p.m.- Sarah Foltz

‘Town & country: How to be an urban bird’

  2:00 p.m.-Jessica Zielske/The Mountain Lake Conservancy

‘Avifauna & geology of Mountain Lake’

Also scheduled is a not-to-be-missed bird walk prior to the festival with Clyde Kessler, local bird expert with Radbird, an outfitter and touring company that specializes in interacting with local birds. The walk sets off at 9 a.m. from the Radford Public Library, 30 West Main St.

More on Carvins Cove near The Blue RIdge Parkway and So glad to get this Email...

My Artwork

Carvins Cove   Original oil painting has been sold

Prints on paper or canvas available at        KENDALL KESSLER ART

•  
• Carvins Cove was a prepatory painting for my larger version, "Misty Morning at Carvins Cove.  Carvins Cove is the water source for Roanoke, VA.  I sold this small version and then started on the larger work.  It is the same locale but the paintings are quite different.

Carvins Cove is such a beautiful jewel in the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia!  I have lived in southwest Virginia my adult life and can't imagine living anywhere else!  I stare at my beautiful surroundings from my house and car and am always amazed by the magical atmosphere!

Sugarloaf Mountain   oil on canvas   14"x11"   $313.0

Prints on paper or canvas available at        KENDALL KESSLER ART

Sugarloaf is another mountain range near Rock Castle on The Blue Ridge Parkway

Life with the Bird and Word Man - Clyde Kessler

I like to tease my husband about all that he does for the natural world.  I don't know anybody else that gets up early to check on wildlife populations in their surrounding area.  On week-ends and when he is off from work, that is what he does.

Sometimes I call him Saint Clyde of Radford since much of what he does is what Saint Francis of Assisi did.  He hates it when I do that and gives me a sour look.  

He claims that what he does is what people are supposed to do.  But who else is doing what he does without payment?  He is not perfect but it is great to admire your spouse!

Satisfied Patron

Monday I mailed Beach Houses at Pawleys Island to a great patron in Maryland.  As always, it took quite some time to crate up a 30"x40" oil painting on masonite.  It has to be bubble wrapped and double boxed.  I am always glad to drop it off at UPS.

I am always uptight when I sell anything on the internet due to the different calibrations of monitors.  

I worry that the painting does not look like what the patron is seeing on their end.

I have never had an unhappy patron, and, as usual I received a glowing report about my work!  The patron could not be happier and now I can relax!

Beach Houses at Pawleys Island  

Prints on paper or canvas available at   KENDALL KESSLER ART

Beautiful Carvins Cove near The Blue Ridge Parkway and Walking Behind a Horse...

My Artwork

Magic Light at Carvin's Cove   Original painting has been sold

Prints on Paper or Canvas available at     KENDALL KESSLER ART

Carvins Cove

Another great place near The Blue Ridge Parkway is Carvin's Cove.  I have done three paintings so far of this beautiful section of The Blue Ridge Mountains and will probably do more in the future. 

Magic Light at Carvins Cove is probably my favorite!  I am especially pleased with the light effect and the cool colors in the mountains and water.  I think this is one of my most magical paintings and it was sold to a great Roanoke patron.

Carvins Cover Nature Reserve is the second largest park in the nation.  11,363 acres of Carvins Cove is protected by the largest conservation easement in Virginia's history and is overflowing with recreational opportunities including hiking, biking, fishing, and boat rentals.  There are more than 40 miles of trails.

I found this information on Carvins Cove in  the online publication Roanoke Outside.com

Misty Morning at Carvins Cove          original oil painting   32"x42"  professionally framed   $2952.00

Prints on paper or canvas available at    KENDALL KESSLER ART

Life with the Bird and Word Man - Clyde Kessler

 

When I say I married the Bird Man I don't mean I married someone that likes to look at birds once in a while.  Clyde is a serious conservationist and has been keeping records on bird populations since 1975.

He is working hard to add his 15,000 data reports to E bird at Cornell University.  For most of our marriage he has worked part-time with the  U.S. Forest Service in The Jefferson National Forest researching bird, butterfly, and dragonfly populations.

The Trojan Horse  

My husband and I didn't grow up with computers but now they are an essential part of our life and we are thankful for them in many ways but the computer can be a trojan horse.  We all have to be careful of harmful invasions.

I don't know if anyone else has called the computer a Trojan Horse but lately I think it is a fitting title in another way.  Between my husband's work and my artwork we spend a lot of time in front of a computer screen.

Lately I feel like I walked behind that horse and got kicked hard right in the butt!  I have to remember to get up every so often or maybe we should get a very high table for the computer so we can stand up!

More on Tuggles Gap on The Blue Ridge Parkway and The Radford Roosting Festival...

My Art work

Near Tuggles Gap   original oil painting 30"x40"      $2425.00

Prints on paper or canvas available at    Kendall Kessler Art

My husband's roots are deep in the Appalachian mountains and he has ancestors in Rock Castle Gorge and also in Tuggles Gap.  His  great-great-great-great grandfather Pryor Pendleton married  Mary Tuggles in 1807. 

I wanted to post another section of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Tuggles Gap.  The Blue Ridge Parkway has so many gorgeous vistas.  In Near Tuggles Gap I caught a section of the Blue Ridge with two churches across from each other.  I think the structures makes for a great focal point in this paintings.

Park in Floyd   Original oil painting has been sold

Prints on paper or canvas available at   Kendall Kessler Art

In Park in Floyd I had originally thought of painting the scene without the truck but then I thought it was a great focal point and color accent.  I'm sure the buyer of the painting at a gallery agreed!

Life with The Bird and Word Man - Clyde Kessler

I wanted to again mention the Radford Roosting Festival where my Bird man will be leading a bird walk.   No admission charge!

Radford Roosting Festival

RADFORD, VA -The Radford Visitor’s Center will be celebrating the 7th annual Radford Roosting Festival on Saturday, March 29rd in Bisset Park from noon – 3 pm.  Families are welcome and there is no admission charge.

This year’s festival will include live birds, educational birding stations, a photo contest and children’s activities.

There are three scheduled presentations that are sure to be of interest to attendees.

Scheduled presentations are:

12:00 p.m.-Jason Davis/SELU

‘Flying family dynamics: Bluebirds, parenting and stress’

  1:00 p.m.- Sarah Foltz

‘Town & country: How to be an urban bird’

  2:00 p.m.-Jessica Zielske/The Mountain Lake Conservancy

‘Avifauna & geology of Mountain Lake’

Also scheduled is a not-to-be-missed bird walk prior to the festival with Clyde Kessler, local bird expert with Radbird, an outfitter and touring company that specializes in interacting with local birds. The walk sets off at 9 a.m. from the Radford Public Library, 30 West Main St.

Tuggles Gap on The Beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway and So Pleased to sell Beach Houses on Pawleys Island...

My Artwork

Blue Ridge Magic    11"x14"  oil/canvas       $313.00

Prints on paper or canvas available at     KENDALL KESSLER ART

Tuggles Gap

Another beautiful section of The Blue Ridge Parkway is Tuggles Gap.  I especially like excursions there for the gorgeous scenery and for the Tuggles Gap restuarant!

I have done a number of paintings around the Tuggles Gap area and and especially pleased with Blue Ridge Magic.  This painting certainly shows the viewer how the Blue Ridge Mountains got its name!

Tuggles Gap is sparsely populated with only 39 people per square mile.  The nearest town larger than 50,000 inhabitants takes a little over a mile by local transportation.

Lighting The Ridge           oil/canvas       11"x14"     $313.00

Prints on paper or canvas available at     KENDALL KESSLER ART

 

Beach Houses at Pawleys Island     Original painting has been sold

Prints on paper or canvas available at         KENDALL KESSLER ART

Yesterday I was so pleased to sell one of my popular beach paintings, "Beach Houses at Pawleys Island, to a great Maryland patron!  This is one of my favorite paintings and one of my favorite places to visit. 

We have been going to Isle of Palms the last few years but this year we are going to Pawleys which is the setting for a number of my beach paintings.

Life with The Bird and Word Man - Clyde Kessler

I wanted to be sure to announce the Radford Roosting Festival where my Bird man will be leading a bird walk.   No admission charge!

Radford Roosting Festival

RADFORD, VA -The Radford Visitor’s Center will be celebrating the 7th annual Radford Roosting Festival on Saturday, March 29rd in Bisset Park from noon – 3 pm.  Families are welcome and there is no admission charge.

This year’s festival will include live birds, educational birding stations, a photo contest and children’s activities.

There are three scheduled presentations that are sure to be of interest to attendees.

Scheduled presentations are:

12:00 p.m.-Jason Davis/SELU

‘Flying family dynamics: Bluebirds, parenting and stress’

  1:00 p.m.- Sarah Foltz

‘Town & country: How to be an urban bird’

  2:00 p.m.-Jessica Zielske/The Mountain Lake Conservancy

‘Avifauna & geology of Mountain Lake’

Also scheduled is a not-to-be-missed bird walk prior to the festival with Clyde Kessler, local bird expert with Radbird, an outfitter and touring company that specializes in interacting with local birds. The walk sets off at 9 a.m. from the Radford Public Library, 30 West Main St.

More Beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway vistas and Thoughts on Parties...

My Artwork

Purple Sunset on The Blue Ridge     original pastel painting has been sold

Prints on paper or canvas available at       KENDALL KESSLER ART

This Blue Ridge pastel painting is one of my favorites!  The wildflowers and color in the sky create a serene, beautiful mood.  I could never be sad in a place like this!

I have always been what artists call a colorist.  I carefully construct my work according to what I consider to be good principles of art and design but the colors always take off and lead the way in the expression.

Clouds over Buffalo Mountain  11x14   $313.00

540-257-3437

Original Painting and Prints on paper or canvas available at       KENDALL KESSLER ART

So far I have two painting of Buffalo Mountain.  In this one the mountain with it's distinctive hump is a little left of center on the bottom.  I am especially pleased with the energetic cloud effect.

The Man Who Moved a Mountain

In yesterday's blog I mentioned Bob Childress, who is known as the man who moved a mountain.  Here is a little more about him.

Bob Childress was born into the then isolated Buffalo mountain community that was full of violence and alcoholism.  He said his earliest memory was of his mother nursing his illness by holding a rag soaked in whisky to his mouth.

He was unable to attend school and often resorted to violence and began drinking heavily. He vowed to quit drinking after he witnessed a massacre at a court house. He entered law enforcement and eventually became a minister. 

 He returned to high school at the age of 30 in the same room school as his 6 year old son.

He was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1926 and was in demand by churches throughout Virginia and the Eastern United States.  

His desire was to return to his Appalachian community to help eradicate the violence and ignorance of the region.

Through his 40 years of ministry he built and led congregations at 6 "Rock Churches" of which 5 remain today.  

In 2002, the Churches were submitted to the National Register of Historic Places as the Reverend Robert Childress Presbyterian Churches.

Not bad for a boy from an alcoholic community!

I gained this information from my husband, Clyde Kessler, and from Wikopedia.

Life with the Word and Bird Man - Clyde Kessler

Before I write about something my husband said the other day I want to make sure everyone knows he is very well liked by all that come into contact with him and is one of the most diplomatic people I have ever met.

A few days ago we were talking about parties.  I am a painfully shy person so I don't really like to be around more than a few people at a time.  

My husband is essentially a very nice curmudgeon.

He said he wouldn't go to his own party!  LOL