BS or Art

8.5×11 in. pen and ink.
This is the second one done during my downtime while at this past years art prowl. The subject was actually from some words I had put on my blotter, “art can be elusive,” in my basement studio.(by the way that is my blotter in the background on this photo) While thinking about that this piece took form…drawing about words I try to link most objects, although it isn’t a hard fast rule. In fairness to the process this was finished at my desk and not during the art prowl…the biggest clue…note the bottle of terro, i am sure most art shows wouldn’t require it It was just an interesting object in my line of site and filled the void presented on the paper. Same could be said about my glass of ice cold diet coke. The rest? … they are almost just positioned doodles in a pen and ink composition. But none the less these are fun to do even if all never get completed or see the light of day…lol

BS or Art? Art can be so elusive to most people, but we must all try our best. Ken Knieling 2011

PS…If it makes my work seem better to you thinking BS is short for cow manure then i am fine with it…but the truth is it stands for Bored Scribbles , used that in college and it still fits . As to if it is ART?…well that is in the eye of the beholder, right?

Fear or Boredom

8.5x11in. pen and ink.
For those in my neck of the woods Sweet Sally’s in Cookeville,Tennessee has 16 of my pieces on display. Stop by have a coffee and sandwich or a nice pastry and see my work. Should be around thru June.
When one has a show in a local art prowl, and not in one area, people coming thru can be feast or famine at times. I am not much of a book reader so I start drawing, mushing stuff together, trying to make it fit. During this past art prowl I did three pieces, two I will share…the other, let’s just say it was good exercise.
One of my early visitors started talking about taking pictures of bears in Alaska…needless to say my imagination started going from there. As for any wording my piece didn’t come with a spell checker . Can’t say I had any conversations about zombies, Frankenstein, or spiders but then it was my imagination running un-checked.

Testing new input hardware

9×11 mixed media…
Using a Asus TF700 tablet, which has a 8mp camera on the back of it. Also trying WORDPRESS software for Android with latest patches and such.

Had to use another way to add “featured image pic” but i think its going to work…this really allows me to have nice portability with my gallery pics and from a blogging standpoint it would be great, to say the least…wouldn’t replace using a camera for gallery files but when i am out and about…one stop shopping, plus a wi-fi connection to post…i am too cheap to pay for connectivity anywhere USA Few more tests and we will see if this will be a keeper…other than it doesn’t run abode flash (no free hulu , i have been impressed especially with picture quality…stay tuned…
…Well the last hurdle I couldn’t clear, connecting to our printer, I am sure there might be work arounds but that starts taking away the value of this tool…i must say it is easy to get hooked on touch screens, course why wouldn’t an artist love that feature …so I will continue the hunt.

Wave @ Larry, Jane

15×20 in. mixed media on illustration board

This is the second time I have used these forms in an airy above earth type abstract. Each time I feel like doing something else below the form but as I spend time with it…it is just right the way it is. The titles speak to my family roots or at least plays with those roots…as i am sure those that know us will smile. I tried to make the clouds more abstract and at least one over the shoulder critic pointed out the clouds don’t have holes in them…well mine do A couple of people have pointed out these shapes are like kites, I see that, but honestly I wasn’t going for that…but for the viewer art can be about what you see and what amuses you…the mind is a free space after all. Now maybe if I add a bowler hat and a green apple, hmmmmm…nah too corny
Oh, for those just finding me you might try looking at my earlier posts, my style is abstract but as you will see I bounce around as to the type of stuff I do…just a suggestion,thks.

Over Nemaha County @ 3900 Feet

15×20 in. mixed media on illustration board.
LONGER EXPOSURE AND DIFFERENT LIGHTING, BETTER PHOTO,TRY CLOSE-UP NOW. When I published this newer photo it deleted everyones likes and comments that were on at the time, SORRY,my bad...
Found some long forgotten hot pressed illustration board and it is wonderful to work with using my medias. After playing with a few colors I set out to make use of the play piece, hate to waste anything…must be GREEN as possible. For days I kept at clouds, sky, and farm land before it came to focus in my mind. Rectangles! The patchwork land from above is rectangles, the sky is one big rectangle on the canvas…why not make the clouds out of many rectangles…and who wouldn’t want to fly in a rectangular shaped balloon. Everything seemed to fit and I got a little inventive making the balloons from triangles so to play with colors. I must admit it took me hours to settle on the balloon colors, and only when I used white for the middle 3 did it come together for me. From a distance the clouds seem very cloudly shaped, but as in most of my works you need to get up close and personal to see what is happening. I am pretty pleased with it…EXCEPT…Part of my vision was to use netting below the balloon with another shape for the gondola…MIGHT STILL HAPPEN or MAYBE DO ANOTHER PAINTING WITH THAT IDEA…I guess I need to live with this piece for awhile and see what speaks to me.

Yes I Know How To Spell Aluminum

20×24 in. mixed media. I be done! I’ve noticed the larger I work the longer I take to call a piece done, I mean much longer…not sure I could paint a wall. This piece was started in 1975 for my Senior Show at Ottawa University, now I can use it as a true SENIOR PIECE. I remember having a theme with education in mind, but for the life of me can’t remember what else I was going to do with it back then…what is the saying, I have slept a few times since then. What I have ended up with is a fun piece with interesting elements and good techiques. No real deep meaning or hidden message, just colorful abstract art…by the way the shadow people to the right were inspired by yearbook pictures…and yes my floating head is deep in thought and not about getting a Dr. Pepper.
PS the word was going to be ALUMNI

Working towards finish

Well a lot added since I showed last…at this point I am letting the piece simmer a bit and see how it feels in the next couple of days. I am really enjoying the thought process (pun intended
Stay tuned….later WOW 101 posts, been doing this longer than I thought, time zips by when you are enjoying yourself.

Work in process 2

Got some great feedback both online and in person. As you can see I have made some changes, I am feeling better about it…still not there I have to pull the slack in yet and do some more fine tuning…but it’s close.

Work in process

20×24 in. mixed media. Don’t usually do this but people have asked before and I am at a stall with this piece, for the moment. Education is a big part of the theme, in case no one noticed Just airing this out for general impression or feedback…maybe a light will come on and I will finish before the next post.

Window Treatments By Knieling

9×12 in. mixed media. Until after the 2012 Cookeville Art Prowl this will be my last post. This annual showing for area artists is something I have been going to or volunteering for many years…this will be my first time being one of the featured artist. Should be fun as I am sharing an area with my son Matt Knieling and his art. Please check out their site, and if you find yourself in the area stop by and say HI!
As for this post’s piece…another exploration work, mainly due to using the plastic netting…I could have lived with this before adding the netting, however after it is so much more than it was before…I love the highlights and the shades achieved…for sure a piece best seen in person and up close.

Sunset On Twin Peaks

9×12 in. mixed media.  Sometimes I try to keep it simple, especially when I am recharging the creative juices.  Tape, brush, markers, and white pen an exercise in using the tools at hand without getting too involved. A nice piece that will show well when matted and framed very simple…not sure it will match much, but it will be hard not to notice.

The Primrose Path Ahead

9×12 in. mixed media. The tissue paper is almost not existent in this piece, but believe me the bold pink paper is there under several layers of work. Did quite a bit of sanding and carving through the surface of this piece. I let the finial few layers fill the gouges with their color as the under layers didn’t pop as much as I would like. Might not show very well in the pic but I have a fair amount of fine white and black lines near the surface. The theme in this carries forward my use of circles and angles quite well and with the mix of mat board pieces the texturing is very nice. The title? It is leading towards something and red might be warning as well as orange, where green is off the path…so use caution when stepping down the yellow path laid out…works for me…what do you think?

Smile You Are On Camera

9×12 in. mixed media. Wasn’t Sure where I was going with this at first, but after the texture started coming thru the netting, everything started to fit nicely. The under layers in this were vastly different from what the viewer is seeing, but I am sure  the results wouldn’t have been as nice. The building up of layers to get the netting to settle in gave me a double bang, as they subdued the under layers quite well. Was going to place some dark rub-on fonts in this but the dark pieces of mat-board served the need better and doesn’t distract the viewer from the rest of the work. I also used a mat knife to dig thru the layers to add contrast and interest in several needed areas. Why the title? This piece feels like night in a  downtown area after a rain storm, some mist, city lights and glares reflecting the urban colors and maybe a photo flash here or there…it would be too easy to say the netting is like metal fencing, not sure about that however the squares the netting creates don’t feel organic but more like man-made structures. I don’t share this much normally about a work as I want viewers to figure for themselves what a piece says to them,however in this case I couldn’t resist…:-)

Taping Down The Views #2

10×14 in. mixed media. As I post this second in an exploring series I just finished removing my exhibit from the Putnam Library today. After being there for 2 months I was getting use to being on public display, type of thing I could get use to. Now I will have to wait until Cookeville’s Art Prowl in November, this is a two day tour of local artist’s works and studios through Cookeville, but mainly centered on their West Side businesses. They have a site check it out, Cookeville Art Prowl 2012, you might see another Knieling on display soon.

As to this piece… a variation on #1 continuing with my exploration with acrylic, marker, pencil and ink. I think these might look better on a much larger canvas but alast I can’t bring myself to work that large…yet!

Taping Down The Views #1

10×14 in. mixed media. Part of a series exploring basic shapes I did a year or two ago. Using tape like forms to isolate my colors and then circles to change the focus. The technique I used to make the sprout-like colors was very freeing. Taking several attempts to learn how to control, but isn’t that the joy of using new techniques/mediums.