The 4 Poles

10×14 in. mixed media. A piece from my circle and rectangle period, note signature…not quite as embellished as current. Other than some acrylic this was done mainly with colored pencil and watercolor pencil. Actually if you follow the piece around it was somewhat mathematical in my selection of colors and sizing…then at some point i started adding parts that didn’t follow that rule but felt right. This was the piece that really made me feel good about staying with abstract shapes for my themes. It also presents some challenges as to presentation, due to my working to the very edge. When I mat a piece I always feel like I am hiding part of the expression and my viewers are missing something I intended to be seen. I have given some thought as to mounting them to a black or white mat-board, but haven’t felt good about any process/glue techniques yet. If anybody out there has any thoughts on this, please drop me a comment or line. My e-mail is ken_knieling@hotmail.com. Thanks

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You Can Only Clean Fish Once

9×12 in. mixed media. Details on the lighter areas not showing very well, you will have to take my word on there is more to be seen. Used some of that 42 year old ink in getting my colors just right. Had a few on lookers thinking I was doing something with football laces or clocks…nice observation but can’t say I was on that path. Watercolor paper does such a nice job of taking my early layers before I start glazing over with finishes, inks, and acrylic. Not sure I have mentioned my process in naming pieces before…once I have completed a piece I spend some time with it and see what comes to mind…I have almost as much fun doing this as I do working on them. Not sure what my titles say about me as an artist but I do know it is enjoyable. 

It Is Too Cold To Skinney Dip

11×14 in mixed media. The 3rd and final wave is up and running at the Putnam County Library and this is one of the pieces. Not  sure how normal shows go but I was able to provide the public with 27 hand picked works over a 2 month period, 9 at a time. Feedback continues to be very favorable from visitors, which is greatly appreciated.  Thanks again to Stacie Johnson.

On to this current piece…nature and the elements, kind of played with a reflective type theme…water, deep and shallow and moonlight…are those snowflakes?…maybe…is that mountains?…possible .  The colors and texture have a brisk cool feel to them, and I really enjoyed changing the shades and hues as the trees came thru the piece. I might over-play the white outlining, but at this point I can’t see the work without it. I have used this style and technique on several pieces now, each one creates a different but pleasant mood for me while glazing at them…I hope it catches you in a similar fashion.

The Other Side

Mixed media 10×14 in. Variation of several ( Between, How Many Trees Make A Forest, The Stage Is Set.) of my other bubbleheaded tree works.  At some point I may revisit these and either on a much smaller or much larger scale try to expand upon this. I don’t believe those are the great pyramids so I have added mountains to the mix. 🙂

Pueblo Layout In Black

Mixed media 12×18 in.  When doing a lot of my work I find working with a colored heavy paper part of the process, this one started as black.  (for those that might know him… professor Pal Wright… Mr. Wright,  I almost covered the whole sheet.) I did several under-layer imagines before I started covering the paper with tissue paper and then started working on top of that then more tissue paper then line and acrylic work. This was another piece that I let take me where ever it wanted…I just followed with my imagination and colors.  When observing after it was completed, I couldn’t help but get a southwestern vibe with the yellows and oranges. The line work made me think about layout drawings or floor plans. I really like how the acrylic colors pull all of the other tissue paper colors into this piece, making them fit.   I could get philosophical about the greens and nature, Indian culture and… but that would be BS…the colors work for me and I find this to be pleasing to look at, puts me in a good place.  Mission Accomplished!

Flour And Water Doesn’t Make A Peter Max

A 19×24 in. extremely mixed media. Before I get back to my current stuff I thought I might at least show one more, my first mixed media circa 1972. It was during a time when I was trying many different approaches to art and I personally liked Peter Max and the Beatles. (who didn’t at that time) This was about the time I changed majors from architecture to art education. It was also the first time I discovered tissue paper and recycling less liked art, of my own of course. This work uses flour, tissue paper, ink, pen, sand, paper, elmer’s, varnish, and papermate flairs. For being 40 years old it looks brand new, shining just it did then…can ya guess where the recycled art was useful?