Windows Locked and Blinds Open

9×12 in. markers on pad board

Ever wonder what to do with the pad board when you finally finish a pad? They make a wonderful surface for markers and ink and take acrylic finishes well, leaving a nice surface finish. This is a doodle finished out and detailed to come up with this urban type setting…not sure about modern or not, but love the flow back and forth. The shapes are ones i have used in the past but never as many or varied. Without the white this may be a nice exercise but with the white i find it a fun piece to look at and drift about the composition. The silver helps and is a nice contrast to the white. Gold and copper markers contrast well with the natural color of the pad…and the black helps to finish it off. Was tempted to add letters as accents but the piece was fine without, will log that idea for the next time. Title…in a crowded city I would hope this to be true.

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Frito Pie and My Saddle Oxfords

11x14in. mixed media, cut-outs.
I have mentioned before that I have been going thru my old college day’s stuff, well this is one that I cleaned up. This was a drawing class at Ottawa taught by Pal Wright with models.  I was hooked at the time on using a Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph No.00 Yellow head(one could tell a true user of these fine costly instruments, they had a black spot on their lips from sucking the ink at the tips to get them flowing again). It amazes me when I look at these drawings at the details I captured…gosh my eyes were sooooo much better then. The deal in class was we did a type of couture drawings, we were able to pick up and look, place and continue. Later in my 3rd floor penthouse/dorm studio (nicely lit desk in a shared room) I would embellish with color and cut out sections and place on fine colored papers. Needless to say imagination made them quite interesting, especially since we couldn’t fit a Chevy or Sonic sign in our classroom. Being fair though, it was my 3rd drawing class and one does get bored…and boredom in my case normally lead to creativity. Actually the most unusual thing about this drawing…the model was nude…I must have been thinking about car hops and lunch 😉

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.

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.

Going To Seed

Mixed media 12×18. What do you do with a piece that you love the colors but composition wise just doesn’t do anything for you…RECYCLE! A piece that was titled “111 Overton County,” got a second life and provided something special for me…”going To Seed.” This has some of the same elements as others in my Fall series (it is fact part of it) but I was a little more spontaneous in my line work. The image of the reflecting window helps to balance out my scene and actually gave me hope I was had something working.