Too Much to do and the sale of Samantha

It is so hard to blog when you are trying to update a portfolio, get ready for a November show, teach four classes, and keep up with housework. I am worn out but I wanted to write about Samantha which I recently sold. The paintings and pastels that I did of my son's friends are very special to me. I was neighborhood Mom for many years and it was a wonderful time. I took kids skating, swimming, bowling, and fishing. They are all adults now and their portraits are more than paintings to me. They are monuments to some of my favorite years.

I hope they will all continue to be viewed in other homes after I am gone. I work hard to sell my work. I don't want them to be thrown away. I hope someone will see them and experience the joy I experienced in raising my son.

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.

I am Overwelmed by the Work I have to do

I have so many paintings to re-shoot that I am worn out before I start. I wish I had been born into the digital age. The 35mm camera techniques I was taught in school for photographing art aren't good enough for large prints. I have a collection of slides that look great on the screen but when viewed at full resolution are blurry. I uploaded many paintings on FAA before I even had the equipment to show me if the images were good. Most of my paintings are 30"x40" and are on heavy boards made heavier by the amount of paint I use. I have to set up outdoors in the sunlight which at times is so strong shadows are created by the brushwork on the painting. The clouds keep shifting today but I am going to try to get good prints. Yikes! What a chore! Such a long of list!

I am so glad I am a painter. Tuesday I received a big disappointment but all I needed to do was pick up a paint brush and all was well again. If I end up in a wheel chair I know I will still be painting. I hope I won't have crippling arthritis like Renoir but I will keep going. How wonderful to love what you do!

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

Smith Mountain Lake Ending this Evening on ebay

I thoroughly enjoyed working on a boat scene from Smith Mountain Lake. When I was young I spent a lot of time with my father fishing and crabbing on the Rehoboth Bay and the Chesapeake Bay. I have always enjoyed looking at boats.

This painting has a sensitive, colorful surface with small brushwork that makes for a varied surface that I am very proud of. My paintings are for people that appreciate a continual change in color and texture. They are complex, sensual, positive reflections of life. There is so much sadness and tragedy in the world. My paintings are positive assertions of what is good in life.

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

COLOR FLOW Ending today on ebay!

I am so pleased with the work I am turning out lately. I feel like a big weight has been lifted off of my shoulders as I just let the paint go and knock off all of the pre-conceived notions I have about process, public appeal, and style.

I had gotten to the point in my development after learning so many things about oil paint that it was becoming hard to just relax and enjoy what I do. I am back to that initial joy of handling the medium and I am truly coming into my own.

The world must see what I do. I must sell these works so they can live on their own. Be sure to check out "Color Flow" on ebay before the auction ends tonight. It is a feast of color and sensuous texture. A treasure.
impressionism drawings
impressionism pastels
impressionism mixed media
impressionism canvas prints
green canvas prints