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.

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!

Sold another canvas print of Marsh View at Pawleys Island and On a mission...

So glad to sell another print of Marsh View at Pawleys Island.  This is one of my best sellers and I hope to sell many more. The original is still available but it is 41"x60".  I hope to find a patron that would like a large landscape for their home or office.  It is one of my favorites but I want to find a home for it.  I am one prolific artist and I like to see my "children" move on out into the world.  Looks like I may be getting another commission so I had better get the one I have now done soon.  I have never had to wait so long for each layer to dry due to the change in white oil paint.  I had better count on that in the future or find a manufacturer that has not turned white paint into something a littler thicker than melted butter.  This is going to take some getting used to.

My husband and I often wonder why some drivers go so far over the speed limit in town only to end up at the same red light the others end up at.  Why are some people in such a hurry?  Could it be their butts are on fire and they have to get some where fast to put it out?  Or, as my brother-in-law says, they must be on a mission for God so we have to get out of the way.  I like both reasons.  Love to laugh!



Be sure to look for "Reaching Out" on The Mindy Project". It is in Mindy's office and so far there have been shots of it on the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 8th, and 18th episodes.



Check me out on www.thehourofjoy.com with Joy Sutton who wants to be the next Oprah!  I am on Episode 5 Stardom.

Not therapy to me and Making a Cake

I am so glad I paint and play the piano!  I have noticed that people with difficult lives are encouraged to take up an art form for therapy.  Well, I didn't know when I became involved with the arts at a young age that it was considered a type of therapy.  I just love what I do and I hope I can keep on painting and playing the piano my whole life! Having a wonderful time working on some small paintings.  It will be great to scan them in so patrons can either buy the original at a much lower price than my larger works or buy huge prints of them.

A few days ago I decided to make half of a  German Chocolate cake for three reasons. One,  my fructose intolerant husband can't eat cake. Two, my son does not like German Chocolate cake ,which I find almost impossible to believe.  Three,  I can't eat a whole one before it starts slumping over and dying. I have had to fight the battle of the bulge my whole life so I try to avoid things that I would like to sink both hands in and stuff into my mouth.  But, as I told my husband, sometimes you have to have something that is bad for you, and he added, especially if it is good.  What is gooder(bad grammar intended) than German Chocolate cake? Not much unless you get out the pecan pie! That may be better depending on who makes it.



Don't forget about my best-selling print, "Reaching Out", on The Mindy Project!  My appearance on The Hour of Joy will be March 10th.  I'm looking forward to seeing three of my favorite paintings on TV!



As always, I have weekly specials on large canvas prints of my popular paintings on Fine Art America.  Check them out!

Not Oprah and I thought I had CTK...

A few days ago I sent out my newsletter and one of my friends sent me an email to find out when I was going to be on The Oprah Show.  My title was Kendall Kessler to be on Television with the NEXT Oprah.  Joy Sutton, former WSLS newscaster now has a show, "The Hour of Joy" on Sunday mornings on FoxTV out of Roanoke.  At her party she made the comment that she wanted to be the next Oprah so I thought that would make an eye-catching title.  I guess it worked but I hope everyone reads the email to know exactly where I will be seen on April 3rd!

I have noticed that scientists have discovered a new disorder called PBA.  Some people have uncontrollable fits of laughter or crying.  They laugh or cry so hard that they gasp for air.  I have had the laughing part since I got married.  My husband is hilarious and sometimes we think we may have to call 911.  I just thought I had CTK, short for Clyde Thomas Kessler. but now I know I have some sort of disease.  Maybe I should get a lawyer and fight for disbility benefits.  My husband thinks I qualify for a handicap sticker.  Just kidding arround!   I have lived with CTK for a long time and I think I can continue to handle it without the medical profession's help.

Be sure to look for my most popular drawing on The Mindy Project!  I didn't see it last week.  It is in her office and there have been a lot of shots of it on the 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 8th episodes.  Hope to see it this Tuesday!

Also, be sure to check out my canvas print specials starting tomorrow.  Just click on the Limited Time icon on Fine Art America.  Mine are usually on the 2nd or 3rd pages.

Pleased to sell another print of Burning Shore and It isn't funny...

I am so pleased to sell another print of one of my favorite paintings to a great patron in Mobile, Alabama!  The painting is owned by a New York patron and I miss it.  It was one of my Small Gem paintings and was 5"x7".  It is great that patrons can get a huge print of this beautiful painting.  It is one of my most expressive works.

I can't think of anything funny right now.  It is hard to joke around after tragedies.  Humor is one of life's joys that keeps me going but I can't help but be quite sad right now.  My son is no longer in school but if I had gotten a call that he was killed at school I'm not sure I would be here right now.

I am looking forward to being on The Hour of Joy on April 3rd!  It will be great to have my paintings on TV.  I love what I do and will be thrilled to talk about my work to such a large audience.

So far on The Mindy Project my best-selling print "Reaching Out" has been seen on the2d, 4th, 5th, and 8th episodes!  It is great to watch a show and see my work there!



Be sure to check out my weekly large canvas print specials on Fine Art America and Happy Holidays to everyone!

My First Youtube Video and He maybe he didn't get into Yale...

After much frustration and watching tutorials by young people that grew up on a computer I have finally got my first Youtube video about my artwork up! I didn't think I would ever figure out Audacity or the movie software on my computer.  It is always simple after I understand how to do it but I really have a hard time catching on.  It doesn't help that the kids on the tutorials talk at the speed of light or, at least, that is how it seems to me.  I am going to do this, then that, adjust this, take my cursor here, select that, go to the other side of the screen and select something that has tiny letters and bingo, you got it!  Oh well, I am nothing if not stubborn.  I did get it and I will continue to get it so the videos look and sound better.

I watched part of a movie called the Nim project which was an experiment with a chimp in the seventies.  A family decided to raise a chimp as if it were a member of the family.  It was interesting at first but then I just couldn't get into it so I sent it back.  I told my husband that I did want to find out how it turned out so I would look it up on the internet.  He said the chimp was probably either turned down for Yale or is now a congressman.

 The Mindy Project airs next Tuesday at 9:30 p.m.!  Be sure to look for my most popular nude, "Reaching Out" in the main character's office!







Also, check out my canvas print sales for this week on Fine Art America!

Audacious Recording and I'll just get it Some Place Else...

It is bad enough that I have so much trouble with computers but now I am trying to use Audacity to record my music for some short videos and I am as confused as ever.  The good thing is now I can hear my weaknesses and am working to correct them so my amateur efforts sound reasonably okay.  You really can't hear yourself play so this recording stuff is very helpful.  Musicians that perform in front of people are absolutely amazing to me.  I even get nervous playing for a recording that no one has to hear but me.   They either have nerves of steel or are just used to being on stage.  I never got used to standing in front of a class.  I was always sick to my stomach but I did it anyway.  So glad to be a full-time artist now!

The new law about soft drinks is a real crack up!  I wish we could legislate health but I think it is impossible.  Prohibition didn't work and now soft drink limits are just going to stir up a lot of jokes such as, "If you won't sell me a bigger drink I will just go somewhere else!"  People will be boot-legging large gulp colas and speakeasies will crop up again. Seriously, I wish everyone would be more careful to keep their weight down.  The tremendous increase in Diabetes type 2 is the result of our obesity problem.  I think there should be a weight watching course of some sort in elementary school.  If children are taught good eating habits I think they will continue to use them as they grow up.

Just eleven more days until I see my best-selling print, "Reaching Out", on The Mindy Project!  I hope the show is a success and I hope the print will be located where it will be easy to see.  I hope I won't be yelling, "Get out of the way!"

My First Text Scam and Portland Oregon?

A few days ago I received my first text scam which was a big surprise.  I have been getting frequent scams on the internet for years so at first I thought this was a legitimate local buyer who really wanted to see more pictures before deciding to purchase the painting.  I actually took two more pictures - one with the frame and one without.  I took great care to get them exactly right and then sent them to the scammer.  He didn't answer right away so I thought he was not happy with the pictures.  Then I got the standard scam letter in which he said he was completely satisfied with the pictures and he would pay $20 more if I took the ad off, and, of course, he would send a check and a private shipping agent to get the painting.  I am always polite with these people but I would like to cuss them out big time. What a bunch of creeps!

A day or so ago my husband and I were watching Let's Make a Deal which my husband likes after work to relax.  We were both surprised when the contestant won a trip to Portland, Oregon. My husband said, "What if he is from Portland, Oregon?"  Of course, he wasn't but he didn't look that excited and the audience didn't seem that impressed.  The picture showed the city in front of a volcano.  My husband said if he had won the trip the dormant Mt. Hood would probably go off as soon as he arrived.  No doubt!  Just kidding around!  I'm sure Portland is a great place to visit!

 Check out new uploads to my portfolio!

Back to Chasing Mineral Spirits Out and Ants Do Not have Teeth

I like pastels but now that I have finished my portrait of renowned violinist David Garrett, I am glad to be putting up with a noisy exhaust fan so I can paint in oils.  I read somewhere that visually oriented people have trouble with distracting sounds which is probably why I have to force myself to turn the exhaust fan on.  I also have a hard time with vacuum cleaners and I always cover my ears when the jets go over.  I like all mediums but oil paint is what I love the most.  Happy to be back, especially after a vacation with more aggravation then fun.

As soon as the weather gets warm we have trouble with ants.  This year is much better than past years.  My husband cut back a tree that was scraping the roof and found a number of ants nests near the house.  We hardly have any in the kitchen but we have a good number in the bathroom on the other end of the house.  I jokingly asked my husband if they wanted to brush their teeth.  He asked me what I would want to do if I spent my time crawling around in the dirt.  But, of course, ants don't have teeth.  They have a mandible.  My husband countered with how do you know?  Have you ever really looked that close at one?

I think that as time goes on we are turning into George Burns and Gracie Allen. We certainly are not anywhere as near talented as them, but our humor does resemble their style . I'm not sure which of us is which.

I Knew That Would Not Last and If There Were an Award...

When I started my latest painting I tried going back to a more traditional approach  using very thin layers and not letting the brushwork show.  Every once in a while I do that at the beginning of a painting and then decide it isn't me so I pile the paint on with expressive brush strokes .  I am very pleased with the energy in this painting.  I was listening to David Garrett's cross over version of Vivaldi's Summer and I think I captured that bursting expression that is in the music.  It is no wonder I entitled it "Tulip Dance".

My husband and I try to look reasonably put together when we go out but in our home we dress in clothes people probably wouldn't even give to Good Will.  My favorite pair of pants has a few holes, splotches of paint, and balloon out in the back.  My favorite shirt is baggy and has a hole in the shoulder with some other kind of stains.  My husband has a stained,  baggy shirt I doubt anyone would be caught dead in and the pants are a saggy mess.  If there were an award for worst dressed couple in a home environment, we would win it hands down.  My husband said he would beat out homeless people that haven't had a bath for ten years. 

Sold Two More Prints and He can not eat Bologna

I am so pleased to sell two large canvas prints of two beautiful Virginia mountain scenes.  The original Reflections on the James River is a featured painting in my current show, A Naturalist's Legacy in Blacksburg, VA.  The original painting of Near Purgatory was sold the first time I exhibited it.  It is great to be able to sell prints of these favorite mountain scenes my husband researches for birds and butterflies.  My husband has introduced me to many wonderful vistas on the Blue Ridge Parkway and surrounding areas.  Most of my paintings are based on these places.  He is a well known naturalist in the New River Valley and has dedicated his life to educating all age groups about wildlife and conservation of his homeland.

My husband's dietary problems are always the topic of conversation in a crowd.  Most people are not familiar with fructose intolerance and are surprised to find out there are people that can't tolerate most fruits and most vegetables.  Everyone asks him what he can eat.  At the Super Bowl the subject came up and a friend was naming foods and asking if he could eat them.  She was going down the list and when she got to bologna(some people spell it baloney) her son said my husband can't eat bologna because he is full of bologna so that would make him a cannibal.  What a comment and he can not eat bologna because of the additives.