Blue Ridge Parkway Artist is Looking Forward to The Book Signing Party and Fun with Birds...

Blue Ridge Parkway Artist

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https://youtu.be/5k77zseKBEc

Be sure to check out my Special Promotions at the bottom of the blog that end Saturday!

Clyde and I are looking forward to June 16th when Christ Lutheran will host a Book Signing Party for Clyde's book, Fiddling at Midnight's Farmhouse!  I am pleased with the illustrations I did for the book and they will be flashed on the screens.  I will bring the cover illustration in a frame.   Hope we get a great turn out!  The book is now available on Amazon!  Check it out!

 

 

Fiddling at Midnight's Farmhouse   Original  Oil  painting  NFS

Prints on Paper, Canvas, Metal, and Greeting Cards Available at  KENDALL KESSLER ART

Link to this Painting      

https://kendall-kessler.pixels.com/featured/fiddling-at-midnights-farm-house-kendall-kessler.html

Life with The Word and Bird Man - Clyde Kessler

Haven't heard a funny from The Word Man lately, he is too busy trying to get to the remote fast enough to click off people running for office and ranting his usual rant about politics.  Since he is also The Bird Man, I like to ask him about birds when we go walking. 

I am not up on migration patterns and oftentimes I see a bird I don't think I know and then find out from him that it is one I do know.  They sure look different from different angles and in different light. 

I did see a cute bird joke about migration on the internet.  The picture is of two birds covered in snow on a tree branch.  One of them says to the other, "I told you we should have migrated."

 

 

 

 

Check out Originals on Etsy at  https://www.etsy.com/shop/towheehillstudio?page=3

 

 

If you like my work but don't have any more room on your walls be sure to check out my paintings on just about anything but the kitchen sink on

Zazzle!

Here is the link!      http://www.zazzle.com/newriverartist

 

 

Check out my My Paintings on Ebay

www.ebay.com/newriverartist

If the address  does not work, put Kendall Kessler in the search!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be sure to check out my Special Promotions that end Saturday!

40% off Regular Price with a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee!

 

 

 

Smith Mountain Lake  16" x 20"  Oil  Painting $670

Prints on Paper, Canvas, Metal, and Greeting Cards Available at  KENDALL KESSLER ART

Link to this Painting  https://fineartamerica.com/featured/smith-mountain-lake-kendall-kessler.html

Click on the 40" x 30" canvas print for the 40% discount.

There is a money back guarantee that includes shipping fee!

 

 

Lion Explosion  16" x 20" Oil Painting   $670

Prints on Paper, Canvas, Metal, and Greeting Cards Available at  KENDALL KESSLER ART

Link to this painting  https://fineartamerica.com/featured/lion-explosion-kendall-kessler.html

Click on the 30" x 40" canvas print size for the special!

 

 

A Break in the Clouds  Original Oil Painting  SOLD

Prints on Paper, Canvas, Metal, and Greeting Cards Available at  KENDALL KESSLER ART

Link to Painting   https://fineartamerica.com/featured/a-break-in-the-clouds-kendall-kessler.html

Click on the 36" x 24" size canvas print for the special offer

 

Thank you for looking at paintings by an artist of The Blue Ridge Parkway

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!

Check out my New Painting and Yeah Baby!

I have been working hard on three large paintings that I have finally decided to cry uncle on.  I like them and got most of what I was after, but as always, they are never good enough.  They will look a lot better later.  I am now immersed in what some artists call "Pure Art".  Representational art has always been my thing but this is a great experience to just react to the colors, textures, and forms for their own sake and not referring to objects in the real world.  Music without words!

This first painting is "Summer Trail".  This is loosely based on a photograph I took of a grass path and wildflowers at Rock Castle Gorge on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  I am very pleased with the surface quality of this painting and the intricate small brushwork.  What can I say?  I hope people will appreciate it.


I play the piano every day.  It is just part of who I am.  My family has a lot of artists and musicians and I was privileged to spend a lot of my time growing up with both of them.  As I have said before I like all kinds of music but I especially like classical. Baroque music flips me out and I love to play it.  The other day I was playing a very energetic piece by Handel with a loud, strong finish.  When I was done my husband said Yeah Baby!  I really felt the energy in that one.  Not, I don't like classical music, too many notes, or just sounds like noise to me, but Yeah Baby!  Now that is what a pianist wants to hear!

Be sure to check out my specials of Fine Art America in the Limited Time section.  I will have three up by Thursday.

It is Great to Talk to New Patrons and You have heard of the Hound of the Baskervilles...

The internet has made us all next door to each other which is great when you are selling artwork.  I really enjoy communicating with people I have never met and probably wouldn't have met without my website.  A patron from Sterling VA recently contacted me about purchasing some of my prints for his office and I have enjoyed our emails.  He bought one large canvas print and is considering buying more.  Coincidentally, my younger sister lives in Sterling and I'm sure she will drop buy to see the painting.  I have several paintings of her in my portfolio. The world truly can be a small place.

I am going to sound like a broken record but I can't believe how noisy the miniature doberman dogs next door are.  I don't want any one to think I hate dogs because I certainly don't.  We have a great little labrador mix but she is so old she hardly makes any noise at all these days.  The people that own the five screeching dogs were told a number of years ago that they could not have any more dogs due to negligence.  Social Services has since got them to clean up their act and I am not about to alert animal control and have their kid's dogs taken away. But why five?  I can understand two so they can keep each other company but five yappers is hard on the rest of us.  You have heard of the Hound of the Baskervilles.  Well, these dogs are the Howling Runts of Radford.  Sometimes the noise is so loud it sounds like they are all squeaking.  My husband said that maybe we could oil them.  How I wish we could!

So Glad to Sell Another Canvas Print of A Break in the Clouds and I Think I am one of Those People...

I'm so pleased to sell another large canvas print of one of my two most popular pieces of artwork on Fine Art America.  A Break in the Clouds and Reaching Out have sold more than any of my other paintings or drawings.  It is exciting to see my work so high in the search results.  If you put Mountains Paintings in the search, A Break in the Clouds is #3 out of 10,000+.  If you put Mountains oil  paintings in the search it is #1 out of 1790.  It is also #3 out of 6304 Nature Oil paintings.  I work hard at promoting my artwork and am pleased to see increased sales. 

On Facebook today there was a joke with Daffy Duck about stupid people.  The gist was that a day without stupid people would be... I don't know.  I'll let you know if it ever happens.  I decided to share the joke with my 1265 friends and a lot of people liked it.  A while after I shared it occurred to me that I couldn't really agree with Daffy Duck because I can be pretty stupid myself so I added that as a comment.  I added that I do some real stupid things but I don't think I am stupid 24/7.  I hope there aren't any people I know that would disagree.  I think we are all smart and stupid at times.  The trick is to be more smart than stupid.  Live and learn or is it live and learn too late?

Be sure to check out my weekly specials.  Starting tomorrow you can get 40% off of large canvas prints of A Break in the Clouds, Poppy Twirl, and Stepping Stones on the New River.

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.

Working on the Promo and I think They are telling One

"A Naturalist's Legacy" is scheduled to go up January 15th and, as usual, I am rushing around trying to get the promo out to the papers, getting frames together, mailing postcards to my mailing list, and wishing the guys would go back to work. The break is over but it has been snowing today so my husband and son will probably be home again tomorrow. Love them but I need alone time to start getting everything together and I was looking forward to an empty house tomorrow.

I am very excited about this show about my naturalist husband and I hope others will gain greater appreciation of this region through his efforts. A long time ago Loretta Lynn was being interviewed on TV and she was asked about her marriage which had a lot of ups and downs like most marriages. She said that when she heard couples say they never fought she thought they were telling one! I would have to agree but I have been very fortunate. No couple gets along perfectly but I did marry someone I love and honestly admire. He still won't pick up his socks but he is a great guy to me and I am proud to put on this show in his honor!

Sold Another Print and What to do with the Curmudgeon that hates Doctors

I am so pleased to sell another print of "A Break in the Clouds". This is a view of Rock Castle Gorge on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. My husband has spent much of his time studying birds and butterflies there. I often tease him that he should have a mailbox there. It is very difficult to get a signal in that region. I hope his CD on Butterflies of the Blue Ridge will be out soon. The photographer needs to get his act together so this project can be finished.

I decided to put the bit about my curmudgeon husband and his reluctance to go to doctor on the Fine Art America discussion section. I did it mainly for humor as I know he will get to a doctor soon. There were a lot of fun responses about surgical removal of wallets, and pain being a notice to idiots to do something about the problem. My favorite was from the moderator. Her solution was to convince him he needed to go, then hire two huge, burly blokes to kidnap him and plant him at the doctors office :))

Mountain Vista Oil Paintings

My artwork is more about color and texture than anything else but I am essentially a representational artist with personal interpretations. Patrons can find landscapes, still lifes, portraits, florals etc. but they are all about my personal reaction to the world around me. For some reason I am more dissatisfied with my mountain scenes than my other work. The complexity of color, texture, and atmosphere in these scenes is so complex that I struggle to achieve that complexity in combination with my personal reactions. Therefore I am currently working on three mountain vistas which are all locales in the Blue Ridge mountains. My photographs serve as sketches which I enhance with much greater contrast and stronger color patterns. I can see why Paul Cezanne painted Mount Victoire over and over again. The atmospheric changes are mind boggling and the textural complexity is overwhelmingly intense.

The three scenes are from Rock Castle Gorge, Arnold Valley, and Purgatory mountain. I have put on the initial layers and am looking forward to finding the enormous amount of time it takes to complete my paintings. I hope I can achieve more of the atmosphere and textural complexity than I have done in the past. Painting is not something one knows how to do. It is a lifelong learning process. I couldn't be more hooked on the experience and I hope I will continue to fine ways to better market my creations. My studio, Towhee Hill, is open 3-5 Tuesdays and Thursdays or by appointment. I ask visitors to call ahead in case of emergencies. 540-257-3437

I Live to Paint

I live to paint. I sincerely hope that when I die I will die with a paint brush in my hand. I have many responsibilities that keep me from my work. My life seems to be a constant struggle to have time for what I consider to be my profession. I make part of my living selling my artwork and teach part-time at Radford University. I am married to an amazing poet, Clyde Kessler, who is also a self-taught naturalist and is working on putting out a CD on Butterflies of the Blue Ridge. We have one great son, Alan, who is the subject of a number of my paintings. Much of my artwork is about this beautiful mountain region, though I paint other scenes from other locales, figures and still lifes.

I am mesmerized by the continual interplay of colors in the mountains. I would have to agree with Claude Monet that all one can get is a "naive impression". It is impossible to capture all the colors and textures of one moment. My struggle is not to capture them but to use what I can capture in my own unique expression i.e. my emotional reaction to beauty. I am always being told that my work is like that of Vincent Van Gogh. My landscapes have the burning intensity that he has in his. I can understand why he felt like he was being "gripped by the throat" when he painted. He was expressing his reaction to what he was seeing and his inner expression.

Right now I am working on three medium sized paintings of an area near Rock Castle Gorge, an evening scene of Radford's Memorial Bridge, and some swamp flowers near Bisset Park. I base my paintings on photographs that I take and then interpret the colors and textures to express my reaction to each scene. I take pride in complicated systems of brushwork that are unique to me.

My dream, which I am sure I share with all artists, is for a rich patron to find my work and make it possible for me to work all the time. I can't eat them and I can't take them with me. I have paintings in private collections in eleven states. I hope to increase that number. Art agents are as scarce as hen's teeth. If you would like to view my work you can visit

http://kendall-kessler.fineartamerica.com/

www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/c/catalina