Loading Away and It is always a good day...

Still working away at uploading artwork.  The slides are not too much of a problem as long as I have ink in my printer but the ones I have to take outside are quite a pain.  Right now I am taking pictures of flat ware so I am taping them to the wall which is much easier then dragging my easel outside.  Still having a great time with my Kendall Expressions folder.  These paintings are my personal take on Expressionism which has always been a favorite style of art for me.  I like to switch mediums every now and then so it is great to be in Acrylics again.

We were at a friend's house in Childress and noticed the chickens that were walking around their yard.  They don't have chickens, but their neighbors do.  They looked like they were having a great day pecking everything in sight so I mentioned that to my husband.  He replied that it is always a good day when you are not on the menu.  He certainly has a point there.

Be sure to check out new work in Kendall Expressions!  I am working on a new one right now and hope to have it up soon!

Also, don't forget my Limited Time Promotions on Fine Art America.  I always have three up!.  Forty percent off the regular price!

The second season of The Mindy Project will air September 17th and I am looking forward to seeing my best seller on the set.  I hope they have more scenes in her office where it is located.

My Expressive Side is Taking over and The No Bell prize

I have always considered my paintings to be an expressive form of Impressionism.  I am fascinated with the intricate colors of light and shade but I also strive to put my emotions into my artwork.  Right now I want to let my expressive side take over in a series of wildlife paintings.  I hope to achieve an expression that will grab the viewer into another world.  We will see how it goes.

My husband has come up with a great idea for a new prize for under achievers.  He is going to call it The No Bell award.  This award would be for all the people that don't really accomplish much.  I can think of a lot of people that would win the No Bell award or the Not Quite a Ding a Ling award.

The Mindy Project is on Mondays right now.  It has been renewed for another season!  It is fun to see my drawing in her office.  Check it out!



Also, be sure to check out my Limited Time Specials on Fine Art America!  I try to have three up at all times!

On the Wild Side and Maybe I need a sign....

I used to think that artists didn't really return to old paintings to re-work them.  I was wrong.  I have done that on a number of occasions and am doing that right now.  Pierre Bonnard, one of my heroes would work on three paintings at a time and turn them to the wall when he wasn't working on them.  I cover mine, too.  Paintings will drive you crazy if you let them.  I don't want to go crazy.  I like painting too much.  Anyway, years ago I did a painting of a tiger's head and didn't like it at all.  I put it away and when I was cleaning some things out I found it and decided to work on it again and it is coming right along!  Wild animals can be a a great experience in oil paint!  Colors and brushwork flying all over the place!

Tonight as I was making a right onto a gravel driveway in Montgomery County I slowed down so as not to mess up my car with ruts.  I still got off the main road in a reasonable amount of time but the car behind me screeched on the gas pedal to let me know what a jerk I was in his opinion.  I have to turn into this driveway every Friday so maybe I need a sign on my bumper  that says this driveway is full of ruts so I am turning slowly.  Give me a break all you creepy tailgators!

I have a large stencil with my Studio advertisement and phone number on the back windshield.  When we got home my husband answered the phone and all he heard was a loud, screetching whistle.  Maybe that was the guy that was behind me.  You think?

Don't forget about my Limited Time Promotions on Fine Art America!  40% off of large canvas prints of popular paintings!  Check it out!

Sold another print of A Break in the Clouds, one of Wildflower Current and Maybe they struck a rock...

So pleased to sell another large canvas print of A Break in the Clouds and my first print of Wildflower Current!  Both of these paintings are very special to me.  My husband, Clyde Kessler has spent countless hours researching birds and butterflies at Rock Castle Gorge on The Blue Ridge Parkway which is where A Break in the Clouds comes from.  Wildflower Current is one of my best celebrations of color and texture!  It is a vibrant beauty and I hope to sell many more prints of it.  The original is still available.  A Break in the Clouds sold the first time I exhibited it.

I have both paintings in the Limited Time Promotions section of Fine Art America.  They are on pages three and four.  Check it out!  Large(24"x36") canvas prints at 40% off available for a short time.

http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/all/special+promotions?page=3

http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/all/special+promotions?page=4

I get a lot of scammers on my phone regarding painting sales.  I have mentioned in previous blogs about the scammers that want to send me a check that is more than the price of the painting and then I am supposed to pay their  private shipper out of the excess amount.  Of course, the check is bogus and I would be out the money I send the shipper that never shows up if I were stupid enough to fall for the scam.  Funny thing.  I stopped getting the scams for such a long time that I said to my husband that maybe the head scammer sent out a message to not waste your text money on me.

A few days ago they started up again!  My husband said maybe they struck a rock on the river and all their equipment fell off the raft they were living on.  They must have re-built and gotten another computer and cell phone.  Anyway, they still have no hope with me.

I am Loving it and Don't pull the plug...

I have always used photographs as the basis for my expressive paintings for many reasons.  The main one is the lack of privacy.  People mean well but I can't concentrate when people talk to me when I work.  If I set up an easel outside I am sure to get an audience.  I think I have mentioned this before but I am not positive so here I go again.  I had a friend that insisted on painting plein air and when people talked to her she would ignore them.  I can't do that and I know I have mentioned before that I am not a slave to nature.  Nature is my starting point and I take it from there so it is not necessary for me to paint from life.

Now I have included photography as one of my mediums and I am having a lot of fun presenting them as the end result!  It isn't anywhere near as satisfying to me as painting but I do enjoy it.  I have great respect for the medium, it just isn't what I do. Still, I think my photos are  very interesting additions to my mediums.  If you check out my portfolio you will find oil paintings, charcoal drawings, ink brush drawings,lithographs, etchings, aquatints, pen and ink, oil and soft pastel paintings, watercolors, colored pencil drawings and now, photographs.

Check it out!

My husband and I are completely dry in the humour department so I am going to repeat something I saw on Facebook that brought back memories.  A cat is lying next to a baby with a pacifier and the caption is, " Whatever you do, don't pull the plug".   I am third in a family of four children so I heard a lot of stories about my baby years.  It seems I was perfectly happy if I was fed and had my pacifier.  My two older siblings loved to pull it out.  I would scream and then they would put it back and I was quiet.  I know what that cat was talking about!

Be sure to check out my Limited Time Promotions on Fine Art America and look for my best-selling print, "Reaching Out", on The Mindy Project!

If you didn't catch me on The Hour of Joy you can see me on Episode 5 on her Website!  The show was March 10th.

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Up-loading Maniac and More Mirror Jokes...

I am trying to get a schedule going to improve  my portfolio.  I am one prolific artist and I have a hard time keeping up with adding my new work and getting to older work that needs to be photographed or scanned into the computer.  So I am trying to add three new items a day which is a lot more work for an already over-worked artist.  Hope I can keep the pace up so I can catch up on work I have been meaning to add for a long time.  Where is that fairy that will add more hours to the day?  I want to have a serious talk with her.

My husband is coming up with more mirror jokes.  I honestly think he still looks great.  He has never thought much of his looks but now he claims one of the mirrors committed suicide and fell off the wall when he got near it.  He also says he is afraid the bathroom mirror is going to hand him a lawsuit to get money to reflect him.  Not so!  I keep telling him the world is filled with short, fat, bald men and he is not one of them.

Be sure to check out my Limited Time Promotions on Fine Art America.  Great large canvas prints of my most popular paintings at 40% off!

Also, look for my drawing, "Reaching Out", on The Mindy Project on FoxTV Tuesdays at 9:30!  I have missed a few episodes but it was visible on the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 8th, and 18th episodes.

Computers do not like me and That is why they do that...

I really have to restrain myself from taking a hammer to our computer at times.  I carefully composed an email newsletter that I sent out last night.  I followed the instructions to the letter as I always do and for some reason my rough draft was sent out instead of the final version.  So, instead of the location where I will be appearing with my artwork on May 7th, there is an incomplete sentence that is embarrassing.  From now on I will compose the letter on a word document and copy paste it.  This is the second time this has happened and there will not be a third!  I am going to try to cheer up now.  This is certainly not the end of the world.

I think I have figured out why there are commercials of the program included in the commercial breaks.   Now there are so many commercial breaks the producers show a bleep of the program because they are afraid you won't come back and then you will miss more commercials.  I'm not sure, but I think there are more commercial breaks then actual program.  I think I will time them.

I will be appearing with some of my work at the Pulaski Market Place on May 7th from 4-8pm!  Hope to see you there and don't forget about my Limited Time Promotions on Fine Art America!  Just sold another large canvas print of Marsh View at Pawleys Island to a great Virgina patron.

Also, check out my portfolio.  I have a number of new uploads!

Looking forward to my TV appearance and If I used pillows...

I am still excited about my TV appearance on My19 out of Roanoke VA this spring!  I am so pleased Joy Sutton asked me to be on her show,"The Hour of Joy" and the tentative date is April 3rd.  The show will be taped January 26th in front of a live audience.  I guess 20 years in front of college students will help me get through this.  My problem, as usual, is I should get ready for this early and pick out the paintings I will bring, but, as always,  I am more concerned with painting.  I have 3 small ones right now that I am achieving certain color and texture effects that I have never achieved before!  Painting is such a fantastic experience!  I will be sure to bring that up on the show.

The other day I was complaining to my nurse friend that sometimes I wake up with soreness in my hip at the ball joint.  I was wondering if my mattress is to blame and she said it could just be age.  Now no one wants to hear that!  She said I could try putting pillows under my legs to alleviate the pressure.  I am such a restless sleeper that I doubt that would help.  When I mentioned that to my husband he said I would have the pillows down his throat before the night is over.  I don't doubt that one bit!

Be sure to check out my canvas print specials on Fine Art America and look for my best-selling print on The Mindy Project Tuesdays at 9:30. There were great shots of it on the 2nd, 4th, and 5th episodes.  Since it is small it is easy to see the whole thing.  I haven't yelled get out of the way once!

Sold Another Original and You might be able to do a Big Hour if...

I am so pleased to sell another original oil painting of this gorgeous region to a great patron in North Carolina. It is always great to sell prints but I am mostly concerned with selling original works of art. It is what I do and I want to find homes for all of them.

I recently saw the comedy, "The Big Year" with Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson. The movie is based on a birding competition where enthusiasts vie for the most species viewed in one year. Since I have lived my adult life with a dedicated naturalist who mostly studies birds and butterflies, this was a great movie for me. I thought they did a terrific job and so did my husband. I wouldn't be surprised if my husband had the time to participate that he would win. He has seen over 200 species a year of birds just in the small city of Radford. Anyway, I jokingly told him that maybe I could do a Big Year. He said I might be able to do a Big Hour lying on the beach while someone else held the binoculars and collected the data. I want everyone to know that is totally false. I wouldn't be lying on the beach while someone else collected the data. I would be body surfing in the ocean while someone else collected the data.

Be sure to check out my limited time promotions this week on Fine Art America! Get a great deal on some on my most popular works.

I Think I will Report Them and Maybe X Squared Off...

I have tried in the past to sell paintings on Craigslist without success. I received scam emails but nothing more. I keep forgetting about the listings and then they expire. A few days ago I decided to renew listings and add some different ones. I like to try as many venues as possible to sell my artwork. I live to paint but I have bills to pay as one of my artist friends always says.

This time I can't believe the number of scams I am getting. Almost every time I check my email there are three or four scammers wanting me to take the listing off, wait for their bogus check, and they will send their private shipping agent. I guess these scammers are able to email listers without reading the advert. I put in caps that I do not send my artwork by any kind of private shipping arrangement and I only take Paypal. They would save us both time if they actually read my advert.

My favorite one is one I got from two different people explaining to me that they can't buy the painting right now because their cousin wrecked their car but they are having success with an online job and wouldn't I like to try that? I wonder what would happen if I hit the link they send. Probably computer wipe out. I get so many scammers that I haven't alerted Craigslist but I think I will on the next one. This is getting very tiresome.

On Facebook this week someone posted an Algebra joke. Algebra, quit looking for X. She is not coming back. My husband quickly added - Maybe she squared off with Y and Z and then found out she was greater than them. Love it!

Be sure to check out my Limited Time specials on Fine Art America!

Check out My Limited Time Promotions and You are Really Scraping the Bottom of the Freezer...

A Break in the Clouds

Prints on Paper or Canvas available at kendall-kessler.artistwebsites.com

I am excited about starting three large paintings and my new Limited Time Promotions on three of my most popular paintings.  I am pleased that I can offer 40"x50" canvas prints of Stepping Stones on the New River and Golden Farm Scene.  Also, 24"x36" canvas prints of A Break in the Clouds can be purchased for the next few days.  This is a great way to get beautiful canvas paintings at a greatly reduced price, approximately 40% off my regular price.  My new paintings will include another scene from Pawleys Island, Isle of Palms, and Rock Castle Gorge.  If my head is not in the mountains it is at the shore. 

As always, I like to try to include some humor in my blog and I have been really struggling for something this time.  My husband almost always comes up with something in our daily conversations but not much has been happening lately so tonight I tried goading him in to saying something funny.  My son's birthday is December 3rd and we didn't have any ice for his party that day so my husband went out and bought a big bag which is still in the freezer.  I keep forgetting about it and use the trays.  I asked him if ice goes bad and he said it goes so bad it eventually has to be arrested and jailed for being too slippery.  I told him I was going to use his comment in my blog and he said you are really scraping the bottom of the freezer if you are going to use that.  I love puns and it's all I have this time.  Maybe next time will be funnier.