Classes and the Sale of Wildflowers Near Fancy Gap

I am so pleased to have more freedom this semester as I only have two classes. It is great to have more time to work at what I live to do. I get depressed if I can't keep up my painting schedule. The process is much more complicated than the average person realizes. It isn't just a matter of picking up a brush when inspiration strikes. Art is an intense discipline and I can't go more than one day with out losing something that pertains to the particular technique I am using for each work. I have been building on a style that is unique to me even though people can see similarities to various established styles. I lose something and gain something with each painting. I have learned over the years how to let them live and not work them to death.

Control and accident. I have said this before but I think one has to be a serious painter to truly understand this difficult balancing act. As Dorothy Gillespie once said to me in so many words, "Painters always have this feeling that they are falling off a cliff when working." It is a job that is only partly thought out. The rest is a leap of faith.

As always I am so pleased that I recently sold one of my favorite paintings. "Wildflowers Near Fancy Gap" is one of my favorite paintings and I know the patron greatly appreciates it.

Currently I have paintings on ebay and always on ebay classified for Blacksburg, VA
Prints on clothing, paper products, and kitchen wares can be purchased at www.zazzle.com/newriverartist

Hope to post the final state of Reaching Out soon

I have been having a great and challenging time working on oil paintings and a pastel at the same time. I am very pleased with the final state of "Reaching Out". I have been wanting to use some previous drawings as starting points for expressive pastel works and I am off to a great start. I love the direct approach of pastels and the beautiful cosmetic like surface they create. When people ask me for portraits I try to talk them into pastels.

Anyway, here is the final state of "Reaching Out" which I will post on kendall-kessler.artistwebsites.com as soon as the weather is good enough for me to get an outdoor shot.

Back to Pastels

I decided a while ago to take some of my black and white figure drawings from years ago and re-interpret them in color. I have wanted to get back to my second medium which is soft pastels. Most artists work in more then one medium but oil paint is the one I married for life so it is tricky working in what some call a drawing medium. I prefer to call pastels painting without a brush.

It is such a direct medium that it is tempting to simplify the technique when it is just as complicated as any other medium. One great thing about pastels is they are extremely forgiving. I love being able to change my mind without waiting for it to dry like oil paint. I am pleased with the somewhat electric effect I have achieved so far. I think I am close to done and will post it soon.

Here is another painting, "Blue Ridge Mountain" from my current show at Mill Mountain Coffee and Tea in Blacksburg, VA. The show will be there until January 15th.

Reaching into the Past

Since we are snowed in I am able to work more than usual. I am excited about my current portrait of my husband and son. The photograph that I am basing the painting on is twenty-five years old. Since then I have been through so many different approaches to oil painting that they are all converging in my head as I paint this one. I started out using the traditional thin-to-thick method of layering oil paint but I have since explored many levels of the impasto technique. I still apply the paint in layers. Most oil paintings are made that way but I am often asked if I use a palette knife as the brushwork is visible on close inspection.

It is so exciting to look at the photograph and make visual decisions partly based on the photograph, partly based on my personal expression, and partly based on combining various impasto techniques. Painting is a magic act. I balance between control and accident and arm wrestle it down as Paul Frets once told me.

Here is another painting I want to add to my portfolio when the weather improves and I can get a good outdoor shot.

Blogging and Looking for Hours

So much to do all the time. I wish someone would add hours to the day. Today I put in several hours on a portrait of my husband and son. The painting is based on a photograph I took when my son was nine months old. I have done a number of portraits of them from photos but I didn't think this one would work but now I realize it is an excellent start for me to build on with my personal expression. I am so excited to be reaching into the past with this work but I need to take better pictures for several pages of my website portfolio, work on images for my classes next semester, work on items that need repairing in my house, spend time with my husband, son and friends... The list goes on and on and all she wants to do is paint!

Here is one of the paintings I want to add to my portfolio among many others that I need good weather and good light to revise. Hopefully I will get some of that done next week. I am especially proud of the brushwork and delicate color contrast in this painting, " A Tree Poem".

Check out my work at kendall-kessler.artistwebsites.com

Line Dancing and First Place on Fine Art America

The Country Line Dancers are at it again. We have a performance the 27th and the 29th. I live to paint but line dancing is definitely second place.
My painting, "Dominion Skating Rink" took first place in Maximum Expression Through Minimum of Means today. It is great to be appreciated! I am having a wonderful time going back and forth between oil paint and pastels right now. I haven't met the medium I don't like but oil paint is my main love.

I will be glad when the weather is better so I can get back to updating my portfolio. I am on page five but I am anxious to get the whole thing straightened out. I have to take the shots outdoors due to the inadequate light in my studio.

I have a number of items on auction on ebay right now. Check them out! Also check out the paintings on ebay classifieds for Blacksburg, VA.

Just Hung a show At Mill Mt Coffee and Tea and did not knock over a single person

Sunday my husband and I hung my latest show, "This and That" at Mill Mountain Coffee and Tea in Blacksburg, Virginia without any problems. It is always tricky to hang a show in a business but it was early and I am pleased to say I didn't bump anyone.

I am, of course, joking. I have hung so many shows I could probably do it blind-folded if my paintings were lighter. Most of them are 30"x40" and on hardboard. I usually do it by myself but my husband offered to help so I took him up on it.

The show looks great and I have already had numerous compliments. Compliments are great but I hope to get some sales. There are landscapes and a few portraits. Please check it out! The show ends January 15th.