Back to Closing the Door and Do you think it was because of Parents Weekend?

When my son was a toddler I would close the door of my studio so I could get some work done. He hung out with his Dad for an hour and then would come and knock on the door. An hour is better than nothing. My paintings have become so complicated that I have to cover them when I am not working on them so I am not bothered by what needs to be done. I need a lot of time to paint as I always work wet-in-wet. I have gone back to closing the door and I tell the family to stay away so I can work. They can handle that. There is never enough time for an artist.

My husband is a self-taught naturalist and he gets up at the crack of dawn to check out the wildlife, especially the birds. He rarely sees people at 5:00 in the morning but he had a story to tell Saturday. He was checking things out by the New River at Bisset Park when he saw something swimming in the middle of the river quite a distance from the shore. It was a young man swimming. The morning was cold enough that my husband had a jacket on so he was very surprised to see someone stand up and look over at him. We talked about a number of reasons for this incident and then I remembered this week-end was Parent's Week-end at Radford University. I jokingly told my husband that he was hiding from his parents because his grades were bad.

Working on the Next Show and There is no place like this Dump!

Time to get to work on the promo for my next show that will be up January 15th at Zeppolli's in Blacksburg, VA. I used to put on more than one show a year but now I find I am doing much better selling on the internet so one a year is enough. I have sold a lot of paintings locally but I do live in a hard sell area. Radford is not Chicago by any means. Got to get the details together to attract some attention. I still don't have a title for the show because I am not sure I will finish a painting that I wanted to center the show around. Just have to wait a little longer to get the title together.

We live in a modest active solar home that is all we need but it is a little cramped so we do plan to move eventually. It is great having everything one one level and I have a nice studio that my brother-in-law added to the house before he got married and had five kids. We haven't seen him since. Just joking! Whenever we are away on a trip when we get home my husband says over and over again, "There's no place like this dump!", "There's no place like this dump!" Just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz!

Better Day in the Studio and Why My Marraige Works

Yesterday I arm wrestled a painting down. Still not happy about it but it is much better. Now is the time to let it live for a while and then see if I want to go back into it. I'm back on the balance beam but still shaky. Painting will drive me crazy if I let it. I refuse to let that happen. Too much else to do.

New promotion on one of my favorite paintings, "Marsh View, Pawleys Island"! I have 20"x24" canvas prints for sale until June 18th. The price is $136.00 which is about 30% off. Just check out the Limited Time Only section on kendall-kessler.fineartamerica.com

My husband and I figured out why we hardly ever argue. I never listen to what he says and he never listens to what I say. Just a joke! Love you, sweetie!

Sale of Blue Ridge Morning and My Screetching Dog

Sold another print yesterday! A great patron from Providence, Rhode Island, bought a framed print of Blue Ridge Morning. It is great to be appreciated! I live in such a beautiful region of Virginia. My father used to tell me that when he flew he was always impressed with how beautiful Virginia looked from the air. I try to stay out of airplanes but both of my parents loved to fly. I never tire of trying to capture beauty. I agree with Georgia O'Keefe that it isn't possible to really reproduce anything but it is such an exciting experience to try. Of course, I am also adding my own expression into the work which adds intense emotion to the painting.

I have, for some time now, been working on updating my images for reproduction. Since I have to take the work outside I have to have the right light and weather conditions. It is tedious work and my dog has figured out a way to make it an extremely aggravating experience. I have to put her in the pen and it is too hot so she cries the whole time I am working. I tried tethering on the shaded car port and she cried anyway. Yesterday I tethered her to a tree in the shade that was near me and she squealed. I have had it for a while! I am waiting for cooler weather to continue. Such is life!

Special Promotion on Three Favorites and Good-bye Goats and Chickens

Right now I have three of my most popular prints at a greatly reduced price here on FAA. Just go to the Limited Time Only section above. "Breakers at Pawleys Island" and " A Break in the Clouds" are on page one. "A Pair" is on page two. Just four days left! My artwork will light up any home or office. One patron emailed me to tell me that when she and her husband divorced, my painting was the only thing they fought over!

As I said in the last post, the neighbor down the street in this suburban neighborhood has goats and chickens. I'm still painting to the sounds of screaming babies, noisy children, boisterous neighbors, screeching cars, goats, and chickens. The neighbor is moving so I won't have nyaah, nyaah or cluck, cluck, cluck anymore. I must say, baby goats are so cute and the chicken crossed our street to peck around in our yard. What a hoot! Or, should I say, what a cluck!

Also, check out my recent upload of "Bluestone Lake"!

Wonderful Meeting with Senator Mark Warner in Draper, Virginia

Saturday my husband and I were invited to a special round table discussion with Senator Mark Warner who was the previous governor of Virginia. What a great experience! I talked on the importance of the Round the Mountain Artisans Trail that he founded when he was governor and my husband spoke on important conservation issues that are essential to promote effective tourism in Southwest Virginia. Senator Warner was most supportive and spoke on both The Crooked Road music program and Round the Mountain.

My husband, Clyde Kessler, is a well-known naturalist in the New River Valley and spends much of his time working with various conservation issues. He is actively involved in the preservation of several butterfly species that are in danger of extinction and will soon put out his CD on Butterflies of the Blue Ridge. Clyde was born in Ferrum, Virginia and his great uncle George Kessler was one of three founders of Ferrum College.

I was proud to be part of such an important discussion.

Where is "A Memory"

What a day! Everything has gone wrong. I haven't had time to paint and to top it all off I just discovered that one of my large paintings has disappeared. I have been trying to track it down but the last time it was out was at a gallery but they said I picked it up. I have a reasonably good image on my website where patrons can obtain different size prints but I am worried that it is not clear enough. I will try to modify it on aperture but I have a feeling I will only be able to offer small prints.


I hate to lose a painting. I can't figure out what happened. Years ago when I was a student one of my paintings was stolen. I hope the person wanted the painting and didn't gesso over it for their own use.

Anyway, if you have seen this painting, please send me an email on my site, kendall-kessler.artistwebsites.com
trees prints

trees framed prints

trees greeting cards

trees posters

mountains paintings

Color, Color, and More Color

I am so excited with my new anything goes approach to painting. I am doing some paintings totally from my imagination based on images that I have seen. I am reacting to the color in much the way the Abstract Expressionists did but with representational forms.

My paintings keep me going in a world of disasters. I read the other day that Henry Ford once said that History is one damn thing after another. I wish everyone would take the study of History more seriously. Of course we repeat the same mistakes since many think the study of History is unimportant. What could be more important?

Please check out what makes my life wonderful on ebay. Just put Kendall Kessler in the search. Also check out kendall-kessler.artistwebsites.com

This painting is "Clouds over Buffalo Mountain".

green framed prints
green greeting cards
green posters
trees paintings
trees drawings
trees pastels
trees canvas prints

Kendall Kessler's Home Oil Painting Gallery

I live to paint and my entire home is my art gallery. Eventhough I have sold many paintings I am extremely prolific and constantly see my efforts around me. I never get exactly what I want in a painting. I doubt that any artist ever does. I tell my students if they work very hard they can get close but what you want to achieve is always beyond one's present ability. Paintings either get worse with age or they improve. Most of mine seem to improve with age and the faults that seemed so devastating no longer seem significant. I have learned to let paintings live. I used to destroy them out of frustration but no longer. Now I have the burning desire to place them where they will be appreciated. I am now part of Round The Mountain which is an organization designed to attract patrons to artist's homes. I hope this will catch on when Radford has a trail on the site. The address is www.roundthemountain.org

Currently I am at a frustrating point in my development as an artist. I have found ways to make my paintings so strong that they look better without lights shining on them. I follow the impasto approach which dates back to the 17th century. I am frustrated because I have developed so many personal techniques that it is hard for me to just relax and paint. I remember reading somewhere that Renoir once said in so many words that his madness was to play with colors. I can certainly relate to that. I use so much white paint that sometimes I am inhibited by the cost of paint. All of the colors are so expensive now that I don't think I push a painting far enough. I do hope in these difficult economic times I will move more art. I will never quit painting or searching for patrons.