What’s On Your Desk?

9×12 in. mixed media. The closest thing to a still life I have done since Shawnee Heights H.S. days and Mr. Miller. This is one of those pieces I do from time to time to recharge my creative juices, plus it keeps me productive. Fun to do the different shapes that adorn my desktop…note the pencil scribbles i put on the blotter, too much white had to do something. My current blotter is covered with ideas for names, web sites, spellings, simple sketches, and blots of color…maybe when i get ready to change it out i should frame it, might be interesting years from now.

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Cornsilk and Jasper Johns

9×12 in. mixed media. American flags by Jasper Johns are so iconic in modern art and I felt like doing something in that light, but different. Look close enough and you can see actual cornsilk in the piece, thought the name was just a bit of humor only…huh!  Love the colors in this and besides using the cornsilk i had, i finally found a good use of my polka-dotted tissue paper. Mixed media artists can be such hoarders, for stuff they think they might need in the future…worked for me this time.

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

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. 

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!

Haunting Aftermath

9×12 in. mixed media. From time to time I try to capture the aftermath or the beginning of a forest fire. I think it is because my sister works for the forest service in the western United States. Her dept. works on supplying the monies and resources so these brave people can work on prevention and fighting the fires when needed. Dauntless task, especially after the fire season we are having this year. My artistic visions fall more into the areas after the fires, and I try to create a feel of what was. In this piece the sun is shining brightly through a forest that is just a memory, reflecting off of ghostly trees rooted in bare exposed soil. I know nature has a way to start anew what these fires destroy, however in our lifetime these forest will never grow to be as majestic as they once were.  Other mediums might lend themselves to creating this piece better, but I was trying to use the ones I know best…pen, marker, tissue paper, pencil, and acrylic.