Waterfalls Near The Blue Ridge Parkway and The Cedar Mountain Witch...

Another Look at Five Mile Mountain  Original Oil Painting   25"x40"   $2025.00

Prints on paper or canvas available at   KENDALL KESSLER ART

Five Mile Mountain near The Blue Ridge Parkway has a beautiful waterfall that I painted three times.  I did one for my father-in-law and then decided to do two more versions of this beautiful scene. 

I have always loved creeks and spent a lot of time around them when I was a kid.

We were fortunate to live in a suburb that bordered a small private residence that had a large field and a creek running through it.  It was my favorite place to be and I often went there by myself. 

It is no wonder I married a naturalist.

Secluded Water Fall       Original Oil Painting    14"x 11"       $313.00

Prints on Paper or Canvas  available at       KENDALL KESSLER ART

Here is another wonderful  Mountain legend from Blue Ridge Highlander.com!

Witch of Cedar Mountain

Just before you get to Dahlonega coming from Union County, at the crossroads GA 60 and Highway 19, you ’ll notice a rather tall stack of stones in the center of the junction with a large plaque accompanying.  

The plaque tells of the Cherokee princess Trahlyta, enchanted with great beauty obtained from “Witch of Cedar Mountain.”

It is was said that the witch knew of the secrets of the magic springs of eternal youth located 3/4 of a mile from here. Trahlyta’s tribe lived on Cedar Mountain north of Dahlonega.  Trahlyta was to said to drink from a nearby Fountain of Youth to maintain her renowned beauty.

Legend has it that Wahsega a rejected suitor kidnapped the great beauty Trahlyta.  Taken far from her homeland she lost the enchantment of her beauty.  Dying of a broken heart and away form the powers of the magic spring Wahsega promised to return her to her homelands and bury her near the magic spring.

Laid to rest under a large stack of stones, Trahlyta remains legendary to her people and her beloved mountains.   Travelers who passed by the stone covered grave often add a stone to the stack for good fortune.

Life with The Word and Bird Man - Clyde Kessler

My husband and I get very irritated with technology.  We both agree that the improvements in technology are, for the most part, helpful, but everything is getting so complicated it is difficult to keep up.   

I cussed, in private, big time after my Aperture program was upgraded.    Nothing much was changed and then a week after it was up-dated my files disappeared.

My husband up-graded his phone and we can't figure it out.  The manual has to be viewed online.   When you can't just pick up a phone and use it then there is a high probability of loud cussing by the owner.  

We both did that yesterday.

Sometimes I wish I had grown up with computers.

Purgatory Mountain on The Blue Ridge Parkway and The Blue Ridge Discovery Center

My Artwork

Another gorgeous spot off the Blue Ridge Parkway is Purgatory.   My husband took me there for inspiration and I was fascinated by the view and the name!

Near Purgatory 

Original painting has been sold

Prints on paper or canvas available at Kendall Kessler Art

Purgatory Mountain rises above the Great Valley. The  road passed through the town of Buchanan, at the base of the mountain.  The strenuous trip down the path and around sharp bends of a creek had stagecoach and wagon drivers referring to the trip as "going through purgatory." 

The creek became Purgatory Creek, and later the mountain took the same name.

I got the above information from Blue Ridge Parkway Guide by Virtual Blue Ridge.

Here are some more of my Blue Ridge Parkway Vistas!

Cloud Dance

Oil painting 30"x40"  $2425.00

Prints on paper or canvas available at Kendall Kessler Art

Over the Edge 

Original painting has been sold

Prints on paper or canvas available at Kendall Kessler Art

Life with the Bird and Word Man

My husband works closely with The Blue Ridge Discovery Center which is a wonderful organization that aims to get children and adults out into this beautiful mountain region.

My husband will be assisting photographer Nancy Kent on April 12th in Wildwood Park in Radford, Virginia with a program called Shutter Bugs.  

They will teach children and adults about the flowers and insects in the park and how to get great pictures of them!

I will add more about their programs in future blogs!

Mission

Blue Ridge Discovery Center inspires creativity, discovery, and critical thinking through interest-driven and hands-on activities focused on the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Our Vision

We believe that there is no better way to ensure the well-being of future generations than to provide creative and fun opportunities for people to engage their surroundings, look closer, question, and share their findings with others.

More Fancy Gap on The Blue RIdge Parkway and Food Discrimation...

My Artwork

I am pleased to sell two small prints on my website of my flower paintings.  I am especially proud of my florals!  The colors and textures sing!

Color Swirl

Prints available on paper or canvas in a wide range of sizes on my website

Original painting (12"x16")with solid wood molded frame is $660.00  The painting does not have black borders. 

Fancy Gap

My naturalist husband, Clyde Kessler, has always been a great help to me for my mountain sources for paintings.  Fancy Gap on The Blue Ridge Parkway is one of my favorite settings for my unique visual interpretations.  I am always astounded by the colorful atmosphere of this gorgeous mountain region.

Farm Near Fancy Gap

Prints available on my website

Original painting (30"x40") $2425.00

I have done so many paintings from The Blue Ridge Parkway that sometimes I forget how many I have done from one locale.  In my last post on Fancy Gap I mentioned I had done two paintings based on Fancy Gap but actually I have three.

I plan to do more but right now I am captivated by my own brand of Expressionism I call Kendall Expressions.

 In these paintings I am mostly working on wild and domestic animals to emphasize their energy with my energetic brushwork and strong color contrast.  I am working on my second Tiger painting right now and hope to add it to my folder this week.  I wish someone could add a lot of hours to the day!

Life with The Bird and Word Man

My husband, Clyde Kessler, is a well-known naturalist in The New RIver Valley and also publishes his poetry.  

He has been publishing a lot lately and was just notified today of five more accepted by  The Writing Disorder.  They will appear in the Spring online issue.         

He is also very funny - at least to me.  His humor is mostly word play which I love.

For some reason I have never liked pork.  Even as a child I could only stand to eat bacon if it was cooked to death.  My husband loves all pork and he says when it comes to food, I am pigoted!

Yeah, well he hates all kinds of seafood so I say he is seafood challenged!

More on Beautiful Fancy Gap

The Fancy Gap Turnpike was used as a stagecoach route from the South to the Great Lakes.

Horse-drawn coaches would stop halfway up the mountain to let the horses rest.

This area was known as Double Branches, where two streams cascaded across the road.

In the late 19th century the railroad came as far north as Mount Airy, NC. Farmers would drive their herds of cattle and sheep down Fancy Gap Turnpike to the railroad for shipment.

When the automobile came along, Virginia and North Carolina worked together to build a graveled road from Mount Airy to Fancy Gap and was finished in 1922.

At Double Branches a tavern and motel were built. During this time travel up the mountain was so difficult that motorists spent time at the tavern/motel cooling themselves and their cars.

Even after the road was improved in 1928, it was still an extremely arduous route and there have been many songs written about it's perils.

I found this information on a great essay by Ron Hall entitled Heaven is a little closer, Fancy Gap, Virginia

More About the Peaks of Otter and Just let Gravity do the Work...

 

Peaks of Otter History

My family has enjoyed this beautiful Bedford setting and it is one of many Blue Ridge Parkway sites my husband researches for birds and butterflies. I thought is would be interesting to include some historical facts about this beautiful place that has been an inspiration for a number of my paintings.

No one really knows how the Peaks got their name. There are no otters in the area. The most likely explanation is that two brothers, Charles and Robert Ewing named the peaks after otters from their native land.

There are many natural settings and rivers named for otters in Scotland and England. Charles Ewing and family members are buried at the foot of Sharp Top.

Europeans have known The Peaks for about two and a half centuries. Flat Top is the higher of the two and is 4,001 feet above sea level. Sharp Top is 3,875. Sharp Top appears higher but it is an optical illusion.

Sharp Top draws more visitors and Virginia's contribution to The Washington Monument was taken from the top of Sharp Top.

I learned about The Peaks of Otter from a great essay called The Peaks of Otter Story by Thomas A Markham. There is a lot more to read there if you are interested!

Life with The Bird and Word Man 

Today I was getting so irritated with a site I am unfamiliar with that I called my husband up to complain about it.  I love his solution to the problem.  Don't let it get to you. Open the window and let gravity do the work.  I almost did just that!

 I am still having a great time working on my Kendall Expressions and hope to have my latest one of a domestic cat up soon.

Don't forget about my Limited Time Promotions on Fine Art America!  I always have three selections up.

Artists have Trouble Washing their Hair and You probably will run out...

When I was in college I remember one of my professors talking about one of his professors who was extremely dedicated to creating excellent art.  He was so involved with his artwork that his hair was hardly every combed.  His life was a frenzy and he lived to paint, a phrase I use to describe myself.  Back then I was dedicated but I didn't live to paint.  Now I understand what that man went through.  There just isn't enough time.  Art is a jealous lover and the thought of washing my hair is a real pain. I get to it but there just aren't enough hours in the day.  I wonder if I will ever stop saying I need more hours.  Oh well, got to wash my hair.

As I have said before, I try to include something funny and I mostly rely on my husband for humor.  Sometimes I come up with something but most of the quips are his.  I write them down so I won't forget them and I am ahead of schedule right now.  I mentioned that to him but I also told him to keep them coming as I may run out.  He said I probably would run out on him because he is punning me to death.  Not so!  I love puns!


Don't forget to check out my weekly sales on three of my popular works.  The sale is about 40% off the regular price!  You can see them by going to kendall-kessler.fineartamerica.com and go to page two of the Limited Time selections.