It gets more complicated and Beyond the Toes...

Lately my paintings have been a great experience.  I am still, as Paul Frets once said to me, arm wrestling them down, but I am enjoying the struggle more than ever.  I am at the point in my development when all of the past methods are coming together and having a party on the canvas!  Complicated systems of colors and textures that add joy to my life. I can't imagine a life without paint.  Winston Churchill once said that and I may have mentioned that quote before but it bears repeating for us happy artists!

I still have 20/20 vision but the reading vision is a mess.  For a while I could put my feet out straight in front of me, attach the writing to my toes and read away.  Now I think I am going to need an extra pair of glasses to put my glasses in the case.  I guess one pair will have to stay out.  My husband can top that.  He actually asked people at his office where his glasses were.  He couldn't find them anywhere.  He was wearing them, and not on the top of his head.  On his eyes.  Bleary eyed computer nuts!  Still working away and I can still see so I just keep going.....

The Mindy Project has been off for a while.  Hope to see it and my drawing, "Reaching Out", in her office again soon!

Don't forget my specials in the Limited Time section of Fine Art America!  Large canvas prints of favorites at 40% off.

Lot of additions to my Portfolio and I wish they would give up...

Working away as always.  I am pleased that I am keeping up my self-imposed schedule to upload three pieces of artwork a day to try to catch up on paintings and drawings that I haven't included. I am also adding my new work and photographs. This is a rather grueling task since I have to photograph the items outside with a tripod.  I creep around my equipment.  It is so easy to break cameras.  One gust of wind and it could be all over.  The last shoot was excellent!  My back hurt afterwards but all of the paintings came out great!  That usually doesn't happen.  Something always goes wrong.  Glad to have a good shoot!

The scammers are back on my trail again!  I wish people wouldn't fall for their shipping scam so they would quit contacting me.  Now I get texts that just ask if the painting is still available.  I answer that one since it could be a legitimate inquiry.  The next one says they want to buy it and they will send a check.  I then tell them Paypal only.  Their next one is, okay, what is your address so they can send me a check.  Either they are dumber than a sack of hammers or they don't read my texts.  I guess they just send out the same scammer lines to everybody.

My husband says they should be put in jail and handcuffed to a chair in front of a computer that only has scams.  Twenty-four hours a day of forced scams.  Nothing else. Of course we could never let that criminal get out of jail. He or she may have learned too much.

Be sure to check for my Limited Time Promotions on Fine Art America!  And don't forget about my best seller, "Reaching Out", on
The Mindy Project!  I have missed a few episodes but I did see it on the 2nd,4th,5th,8th, and 18th episodes.  It is across from her desk.

Fantastic Feed Back from Great Patron and You would not bring back the Dinosaurs...

As I have said before I get quite nervous when I sell originals or prints online.  I am always worried that the patron will not be happy with the work.  Monitors are all set differently so I can't really know what they are seeing.  I am so happy, knock on wood, that so far I have only received glowing comments and no complaints.

Recently I received feed back for a painting I sold in California and I just had to put it here for others to see.  What a great compliment!

Stunning painting! Such vibrant, hues. This painting feels alive. Every time I pass it, it beckons me in-- bright, sunset hues, and undulating light. Very thoughtful seller, and perfect packaging. Thank you for sharing your gift with us!

The other night my husband was watching a Bewitched re-run and I decided to tease him a little.  I asked him what he would do if he had magical powers.  Since he is a staunch environmentalist he gave a mischievous reply.  He would bring back the dinosaurs and take away all our weapons.  Let's see what damage people can do to the earth if they are busy fighting off a tyrannosaurus rex with a rock!  He really is a sweet man.  Don't let that statement fool you!

Sold another print of A Break in the Clouds, one of Wildflower Current and Maybe they struck a rock...

So pleased to sell another large canvas print of A Break in the Clouds and my first print of Wildflower Current!  Both of these paintings are very special to me.  My husband, Clyde Kessler has spent countless hours researching birds and butterflies at Rock Castle Gorge on The Blue Ridge Parkway which is where A Break in the Clouds comes from.  Wildflower Current is one of my best celebrations of color and texture!  It is a vibrant beauty and I hope to sell many more prints of it.  The original is still available.  A Break in the Clouds sold the first time I exhibited it.

I have both paintings in the Limited Time Promotions section of Fine Art America.  They are on pages three and four.  Check it out!  Large(24"x36") canvas prints at 40% off available for a short time.

http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/all/special+promotions?page=3

http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/all/special+promotions?page=4

I get a lot of scammers on my phone regarding painting sales.  I have mentioned in previous blogs about the scammers that want to send me a check that is more than the price of the painting and then I am supposed to pay their  private shipper out of the excess amount.  Of course, the check is bogus and I would be out the money I send the shipper that never shows up if I were stupid enough to fall for the scam.  Funny thing.  I stopped getting the scams for such a long time that I said to my husband that maybe the head scammer sent out a message to not waste your text money on me.

A few days ago they started up again!  My husband said maybe they struck a rock on the river and all their equipment fell off the raft they were living on.  They must have re-built and gotten another computer and cell phone.  Anyway, they still have no hope with me.

I am Loving it and Don't pull the plug...

I have always used photographs as the basis for my expressive paintings for many reasons.  The main one is the lack of privacy.  People mean well but I can't concentrate when people talk to me when I work.  If I set up an easel outside I am sure to get an audience.  I think I have mentioned this before but I am not positive so here I go again.  I had a friend that insisted on painting plein air and when people talked to her she would ignore them.  I can't do that and I know I have mentioned before that I am not a slave to nature.  Nature is my starting point and I take it from there so it is not necessary for me to paint from life.

Now I have included photography as one of my mediums and I am having a lot of fun presenting them as the end result!  It isn't anywhere near as satisfying to me as painting but I do enjoy it.  I have great respect for the medium, it just isn't what I do. Still, I think my photos are  very interesting additions to my mediums.  If you check out my portfolio you will find oil paintings, charcoal drawings, ink brush drawings,lithographs, etchings, aquatints, pen and ink, oil and soft pastel paintings, watercolors, colored pencil drawings and now, photographs.

Check it out!

My husband and I are completely dry in the humour department so I am going to repeat something I saw on Facebook that brought back memories.  A cat is lying next to a baby with a pacifier and the caption is, " Whatever you do, don't pull the plug".   I am third in a family of four children so I heard a lot of stories about my baby years.  It seems I was perfectly happy if I was fed and had my pacifier.  My two older siblings loved to pull it out.  I would scream and then they would put it back and I was quiet.  I know what that cat was talking about!

Be sure to check out my Limited Time Promotions on Fine Art America and look for my best-selling print, "Reaching Out", on The Mindy Project!

If you didn't catch me on The Hour of Joy you can see me on Episode 5 on her Website!  The show was March 10th.

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Up-loading Maniac and More Mirror Jokes...

I am trying to get a schedule going to improve  my portfolio.  I am one prolific artist and I have a hard time keeping up with adding my new work and getting to older work that needs to be photographed or scanned into the computer.  So I am trying to add three new items a day which is a lot more work for an already over-worked artist.  Hope I can keep the pace up so I can catch up on work I have been meaning to add for a long time.  Where is that fairy that will add more hours to the day?  I want to have a serious talk with her.

My husband is coming up with more mirror jokes.  I honestly think he still looks great.  He has never thought much of his looks but now he claims one of the mirrors committed suicide and fell off the wall when he got near it.  He also says he is afraid the bathroom mirror is going to hand him a lawsuit to get money to reflect him.  Not so!  I keep telling him the world is filled with short, fat, bald men and he is not one of them.

Be sure to check out my Limited Time Promotions on Fine Art America.  Great large canvas prints of my most popular paintings at 40% off!

Also, look for my drawing, "Reaching Out", on The Mindy Project on FoxTV Tuesdays at 9:30!  I have missed a few episodes but it was visible on the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 8th, and 18th episodes.

Check out my Photographs and Yes they do...

Painting is my passion but I also like to take photographs so I decided to add them to my portfolio.  I have noticed a number of artists have photographs along with their paintings or drawings or whatever.  I like to create spatial and colorful effects with the camera.  Most of my paintings start with a photograph I take but I change them considerably until I like my painting much more than I like the photograph.  As I have said before, photo realism is just not for me.  Got to have elaborate, complicated, expressive brushwork.  You can't reproduce a photograph with that in it.  Anyway, I am pleased with my new folder which is entitled I love the Beach Creative Photographs. I hope to sell prints of them.

On the way home from a vacation I was starting to get punchy behind the wheel so I decided it was time to goad my husband into saying something that would make me laugh.  I saw the sign that said traffic speed enforced by aircraft or something like that so I asked my husband if that meant an airplane would swoop down and give me a ticket.  He said no but they have a special airplane that swoops down and sucks up the offending car and then takes it right to the police station.  He says that is an old joke but I hadn't heard it before so it made me laugh.  Glad to be home!



Be sure to check out my Limited Time specials on Fine Art America and don't forget about my best-seller, "Reaching Out", on The Mindy Project.  I have had to miss a few episodes but there were

shots of it on the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 8th, and 18th episodes.  Funny show!