Going Around in Circles and The Only Thing the Doctor will discover...

Most painters start out having a ball with paint and turning out a lot of things they like without a lot of effort. Then they start to discover all the intricacies of what they are doing and they try to control the paint too much and bye bye happy accidents. Then they try to balance between control and accident and worry over every brush mark, large or small, as the painting takes on a language all its own. I'll bet most painters would agree with what I just wrote. These steps lead to life long circles. I try to tell the painting what to do and it tells me what to do as I keep modifying my approach with each work. Painting is never boring. Right now I am using a much more traditional thin to thick technique I haven't used in a long time. Round and round. Where I stop nobody knows. As long as I am here I will paint.

Last Friday I had an MRI for pain in my rear end and leg. Since the pain is in the muscle and does not exist 24 hours of the day I figure the only thing the doctor will discover from the MRI is that the insurance doesn't cover the cost and I will have a big copay. Let's hear it for insurance!

Painting, More Painting, and When was the Last Time You saw a Green Heron?

I have been enjoying returning to some paintings that I haven't sold yet and working on them here and there. I rarely do this. Once I finish with a painting I move on to the next one and let the other one live. It is so easy to get too worked up over one. It is hard to return to a painting due to the fact that I am always changing my methods even though they always have my touch. I have to remember what it was that motivated me to do the painting in the first place and the particular approach I took then. My palette has lightened up over the years which is typical of many painters but recently I have returned to darker colors in current work. I go around in circles but they are all extensions of me. I love what I do!

My husband, Clyde Kessler, is a well-known naturalist in the New River Valley and has been asked to become part of a business venture to promote tourism and wildlife studies. He leads tours for a new group called Radbird and was an excellent guide this past week-end at Bike Virginia in Radford. What a wonderful float down the New River from River View Park to Bisset Park! This tour was called the Green Heron Tour as there are always a lot of Green Herons on this part of the river. We were all pleased to see many Green Herons, and a Great Blue Heron that showed up right on cue as did around 50 other species of birds. It is great have such a knowledgeable husband who dedicates so much of his time to educating the public about the wonders all around us. There are so many wonderful things to do that don't require batteries.

I Hate this Part of the Conversation and I did not like her Hair

Paintings talk back. I always start out with a plan but somehow the painting always takes over and starts telling me what to do. Then I get to the point where it seems successful except for a few things that are bugging me. This is always the worst part of the conversation. Many paintings are in danger of being destroyed at this stage so many painters put them away for a while and then decide if it is truly done.

Usually the parts that seem so wrong don't seem like much at all after some time has elapsed. I always try to let paintings live. I destroyed a lot of good paintings when I didn't understand this part of the process. Got to tear myself away and work on something else.

I was looking at my students evaluations and wondering, like a lot of other college teachers, how did we get to the point where students tell us if we are effective teachers? I don't understand what their qualifications are for evaluating me? I get great evaluations but I know of very tough, demanding teachers that get poor ones. I don't think my course is easy but perhaps it is. I hope my high evaluations are for what I teach and not how difficult the course is.

I tease students about this all the time. I tell them that when they have an advanced degree, have taught on the college level, have a family, and work in the community then they can tell me how good a teacher I am. I also tease them about the written comments. Students give great criticism. I didn't like her hair. They always laugh on that one.

The Painting is Working and Why People Say Swear Like a Sailor

I live to paint but it is a serious discipline. Over the years I have discovered so many personal directions that my abilities are stretched every time I paint. As most painters will tell you, what worked for one painting doesn't necessarily work for another painting. I have only discovered one absolute direction for all paintings and that is to not let much time go between each session. It is like playing a musical instrument. I have to be at it everyday. If I miss a day then I seem to lose my place in a painting. Years ago I discussed this with Dorothy Gillespie when she graciously taught a course at Radford University. She certainly agreed. My current painting is working out but I have to get in there and keep going.

Last night I was thinking about the saying "Swear like a Sailor". In my experience, that has been true but I wonder why we have that saying. My husband said if you had to spend all that time on a boat with no place else to go what do you think you would say? I mean no dis-respect to sailors. My father was a medical officer in the Navy during WWII and I miss him and his sometimes colorful language very much.