SK shoes

canvas and markers

For Christmas I gave a pair of white canvas keds to my daughter-in-law with the promise to art them up. Was side tracked until we got the right size. Had to work hard on ideas and finally came up with SpeeDee, Statue of Liberty, Track/High Jump & personal best at TTU, Seattle,Knoxville, Crossfit Knights logo, kettle bells, Bailey and bigfoot. Seems like a lot to fit into a shoe but that’s why I call them  “Life Shoes.”  Only white left from the original canvas is the sign’s background held by SpeeDee (the first McDonald’s mascot before Ronald… figured that was a better choice than a big Ronald on her toes…plus SpeeDee makes for a good conversation). Can’t see on these shots but I did a couple of city scapes on the sides of the shoes. Yellow was a favorite color as was teal and grey.

First post of the year, maybe this will get my juices going again…later.

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Thanks 2013

Size TBD, same with medium, currently a photo by K.Knieling 2013

Had to post on this last glorius day of 2013…so what to post? I have several blank canvases,… lots of sketchbook stuff (dated),… and hundreds of photos that may or may not inspire a piece. So I have gone the photo route,… as i know this one will be piece I am sure to tackle in 2014. Kansas farm land winter of 2013, in good old Nemeha County (Pony Express Route) near the Nebraska border.

I also want to post to thank all of you, for taking the time to journey through my BLOG these past 2 years. Your comments, likes, and visits have been a big boost to my creativity, and I appreciate you.

I am looking forward to 2014 & whatever my steady left hand (with an occasional aid from the right also) may come up with. This may be the year i do a selfie on canvas…after all, any artist at some point in time is required to do this…right?

SEE YA NEXT YEAR

The Show Is Starting

16×20 in. mixed media on illustration board

Things are getting exciting around here, I am having an artist reception at our local gallery here in Cookeville. (Art a’ la Carte ) Not sure the town is excited, but we are around the house, have to get some good finger food and few last-minute details ready for Friday evening.  The art looks good hanging all together, like a gathering of … well you get the idea. Hopefully I won’t talk people’s’ ears off too much.

As for my latest piece to post, it a continuation of Lines Too Storm. Layers and layers of weather coming in, each different in color and shape.  Had several more overhead lines in this originally but it just didn’t look right, so I had to cover and redo most of the middle…but that isn’t why the darker colors are there. They were always part of the original concept/idea i had for this piece. I have several more ideas along these lines,no pun intended, I will keep you posted as they come to life.

Speaking of storms, the weather is supposed to be a better than fair chance of rain…which will keep people away no doubt…maybe i will catch a break.  At any rate the show will stay up until early December, so that will make up for the bad weather. Nice to talk to people about your art but more important/meaningful to get people to view what you have done.

Wildfires Stop 4 No Man…or Woman

12x16in. mixed media on canvas.

Been awhile since i have posted on my blog, but I am back again! Getting ready for a show at Art a’ la carte November 22nd. Calling the show “Celebrations Twenty-two”, based on 3 facts:

• 1. it is on my anniversary (thank you Jane )
• 2. it is the  date of the opening reception/meet the artist
• 3. and my featured work (Chaos in the Bay) will be in the “Kansas City Voice,” an annual art publication on …page 22 coming out in November.

Hope to see a few people there that have followed my blog.

As for this latest work I fell back on my forest fire series. Using a new canvas  type for me, comes in pads “ALLWAYS” by Crescendo. Took my inks well with very little bleed and had a nice texture to the surface, just enough tooth to work nicely with pencils. Once I put my finishes on it looked like vinyl, which is way different than what I expected. Will do a few using this to explore the possibilities with my styles. I do wonder if some of you have used this type of canvas before and your thoughts.

Not much to say about the work itself…at least to me it seems very obvious. Fire sweeping thru a forest area, with some man-made features and the sun peaking and playing off of the event/smoke and haze.

Public Works

9×12 marker and pencil on paper.

Not as spontaneous as “Will Work 4 Robots,” but a fun piece inspired by those that work our streets in the 22nd Century. A moveable speed sign now that i think about it could be considered a speed trap in some areas… 😉  My converse wearing ticket giver has had a few run-ins with none too happy customers by the look of the dents…must be why there is such a high serial number on them. These are the type of coloring books i wanted as a kid, but had to settle on Disney and Lone Ranger themes growing up. This is how i spin my wheels between my abstract works…lots of fun, give it a try…love to see your results.

Reflecting on a series

6 Mixed media pieces on heavy stock colour paper coated with polyurethane.

Haven’t got any big pieces in process currently, so I thought it might be nice to review a series that was inspired by the fall, leaves and water. The part I am most proud of  was staying within the original idea yet having different looks. Schooled and practiced painters may find this second nature, for myself it was a challenge. The first in this series is the one on the top right, and the last was a bit of a cop-out by just going black and white. I have displayed them as a unit/series once and it felt good. Each has a story as to why it is different from the last, maybe at a one man show I might get an opportunity to bore someone… 😉   As a normal course  of artistic creativity I tend to jump around a lot, which keeps me from being bored and juices flowing, but at some point I want to explore where some pieces might lead me. We may never create the next world’s masterpiece but if we don’t stretch with the creative spark we achieve, how will we know what is possible? Curious how others feel about this, feel free.