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?

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6th Finger

9×11 in. mixed media.
Been kinda of on a dry spell lately, so I went to my fall back…chasing the best finger/orange/soda piece. As some of you will remember I finished this out and shortly after my creativity returns…and I start putting pieces out again. I did try drawing some thoughts on paper, but nothing seemed to jell or seem worth going after. So here I am with another finger piece…if this works, things will be back to normal/creative productivity. Yes that is popcorn on top of the soda can…what you have never try it?

The 5th Finger

8.5×11 in. mixed media. It would be nice to have one of the big art supplier’s stores near me so I don’t have to wait for ground shipments. That is the offset of being able to get on-line and get stuff you need but the wait can be frustrating…unless you are one of the 1-%ers that have disposable income to fuel the shipping giant UPS.
Well at least with this idle time I did create another in the series of finger works. Question: if we have ten fingers, then once I reach the 10th piece, do I keep going? or do I start on toes? This piece was going to be just a simple drawing, but I couldn’t resist…had to stretch myself and add color. Got a real nice surface texture going by spraying acrylic finish from a distance, the surface took colored pencil and crayon like sandpaper but not as harsh. So waiting for supplies isn’t a total waste … 🙂
PS…GET OUT AND VOTE

The 1st Finger

8×11.5 in. ink.  The drawing that started my obsession with these objects. I believe it was part of an abstract drawing assignment, not sure where the objects came from…imagination maybe…or school trash bin? 

This is as good as any time to share with you the artists that have influenced me the most as I promised weeks ago. These people represent what I admire the most in art… using color, shape, texture, movement, and feeling.   At some point in time I have been exposed to these artist by book, TV, internet, and in galleries…and when I see any of these works in galleries I can look at them for hours…

Kooning,Monet,F.Stella,J.Stella,Dali,Hopper,Johns,Mucha,Rosenquist,

DeMuth,Diebenkorn,Duchamp,M.C.Escher,VanGogh,

Indiana,Klimt,Picasso,Thiebald,Wyeth,Rockwell,Kupka,

Giraud (Moebius),B.Wrightson,Frazetta,Neiman… I know there are works I really enjoy by other greats, but this group has first dibs on me.

The 2nd Finger

8×11 in. mixed media. My first piece done on a Mac512 using McDraw about 1986.That isn’t old age spots  in the left hand corned, but spray acrylic that didn’t like the parchment paper… I made it work like background texture, each spot is outlined in white. 

Boy was I proud to sling that portable machine over my shoulder, in it’s tan apple case with logo, and take it to my computer class at Washburn University in Topeka. Everyone was so jealous while they had to hack around with Apple II’s doing art, very crude, and I was doing my thing freehand with my MacMouse. Loved the mirror option, doing one half while the computer made sure it got the other half down. Funny thing was I had broken my left arm, i am a lefty, and watching the screen and mousing away with my right hand I was getting very good at being a righty…so much so whenever I used a computer from then on, I was right handed…but believe me I couldn’t hardly draw with my right to save my life (still can’t)…but i could on a Mac.You had to have imagination also, since the screen was only in black and white…just as well color printers for the Mac at the time were very limited, thus mixed media if you wanted color. This was a great machine for conture drawing, I did several full sized drawings of people’s faces and liked the look better than pen or pencil, and no messy paper…just a nice colorful floppy disk with label. Just wished at that time it would have been battery powered.

The 4th Finger

12×16 mixed media.  Well I am back, the show at the Putnam Library is going well, just finished putting up the 2nd wave of pictures. But more importantly I have started to make pieces again. What better way than to try my 4th version (the 3rd finger) of the soda, orange, finger and cloud themed piece.  Still think the best is yet to come on this series…stay tuned.