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Author: Ken
Herding the Horses – new Linocut
While on a painting trip out in the country, i watched a sheep dog, herding a group of horses into the barn. The farmer, cussed at the dog, and told it to quit, but I think the little pup, couldn’t resist it’s instinct. When the horses ventured outside of the barn, it would herd them back inside.
I knew that I wanted to make a print about the spectacle. When I returned to my studio, i started carving the image into a block of wood. I quickly realized that the wood wasn’t the right material for the image I had in mind…i have learned with art, that it’s ok to fail and start over…that’s how we learn and get better.
I started over, this time cutting into linoleum
I was a lot happier with my second carving of the scene. Linoleum was a better material to carve the thin blades of grass and fur of the dog and horses
At the Log Cabin Print Shop, revealing the first print 
Herding the Horses – 6×8″ linocut on 8×10″ paper Plein Air Painting – Goldenrod and Ironweed
Going to try something different today…I’m WALKING to a location to paint. Since I’m carrying all the video and painting gear, it’s forced me to get down to basics. Will try to live stream, provided I didn’t forget my cellphone or brushes.
Going to try something different today…I’m WALKING to a location to paint. Since I’m carrying all the video and painting gear, it’s forced me to get down to basics. I really want to paint this goldenrod (kentucky’s state flower) and ironweed…but not sure how close I want to get to the ticks?!
the finished painting!
Plein Air Painting at the Stone House in May’s Lick, KY – 19 September 2020
The weather is cooling down, so I have the outdoor painting bug!
I decided to visit my friends, Mike Averdick and John Gerwe. Two friends that live nearby, who have been restoring an old stone house from the 1700’s.
Most of the trees still have their leaves, which makes it a little tricky to get certain views of architecture. Behind the house are some apple trees, and a clear view of the house, so I decided to paint there.
Here’s a 1 1/2 hour long LIVE video with a walk around the house, and the first hour of painting
here I am getting started on the underpainting 
a close up–working on the colors in the painting 
the painting…almost finished-with the stone house in the background 
…just needs a few finishing touches! Thanks Mike and John for the hospitality! I had a great time painting at the house! I want to come back later, when the leaves aren’t in front of the house 🙂
Plein Air Wednesday – 16 September 2020 – Aberdeen, Ohio
The weather is finally cooling down. That means it’s time to get the paints out and do some plein air painting!
Some artist friends and I (8 of us) decided to meet at the river park in Aberdeen, Ohio, to paint from life. Since we’ve had a sudden drop in temperature, the cool air hitting the warm river water caused a lot of fog.
photo of fog lifting–after an hour of painting! I’m used to using the directional light from the sun to make colors and shapes look good in a painting. Fog diffuses all that light, and mutes the colors of the landscape…making painting from life a bigger challenge for me.
Every now and then, I have been broadcasting LIVE videos on facebook, while i make art. With this scene being such a challenge, i thought i’d try to tackle it with an audience watching the struggle. If you are interested, you can see a replay of the video here:
During the live demo, I decided to challenge myself, and use a limited palette. A palette that does not include the color BLUE. My goal was to demonstrate that the color choices aren’t as important as values (dark and light). To my eye, a foggy morning scene has LOTS of blue in nature, so painting from life without using blue would be tricky…but if i am careful about my values, it should still look ‘right’
palette with titanium white, cadmium yellow, cadmium orange, quinacridone magenta, quinacridone violet, viridian and grey – no blue Another challenge of painting ‘plein air’ (from life) is that the sun moves, and the scene is always changing. Towards the end of the painting, all the beautiful fog has disappeared!
In addition to the challenges of the limited palette, fog, and a changing landscape; it was the first time I had ever seen many of my artist friends in person since the pandemic started in March…so there was some long overdue socializing as well.
In spite of all that, i’m happy with the finished painting. I learned a lot about fog and color theory…and captured a memory of a really fun day!
We had so much fun, we are going to try to meet (weather permitting) again in 2 weeks (september 30, 2020). If you live close to the Maysville area and want to join us, send me a message for more details.
Last night I did a LIVE video while making an oil pastel painting on my home made cotton rag paper. The broadcast shows my process from start to finish, and is almost 2 hours long. I sped the playback up for those who want to see the process in less than a minute. Thanks again everyone who hung out with me in the studio last night, that was a lot of fun!!!
Hi everybody! It’s been awhile since I’ve.made a live video, so I thought I’d dust my oil pastels off, and see what I can make with them. This process can go quick, especially when I work small, so maybe you’ll get to see the whole process from start to finish. I don’t know what will happen…especially with art! My energy is usually spent by the end of the day, but The a live audience adds a little pressure, so maybe ill make something amazing. Lets see!?
Block printed goodies from my sewing friends!
Remember a few weeks ago, when I started printing on fabric?
how awesome is this?!?! a mask with my Woodcut on the fabric?!?! thank you Polly and Toni! I love it!!! it’s really comfortable too!
One of my favorite things about printmaking on fabric, is getting to see my friends use my designs to make something new and unique. It’s even more exciting when these handmade masterpieces arrive in my mailbox as a gift!!! Thank you so much Beth Akins!!!!! I love it!!!!!
I’m trying a few new things
I’m trying to find the perfect social media/life balance. For the month of September, I’m trying something new- I’m limiting my social media: only posting on facebook on Mondays, Instagram on Wednesdays and twitter on Fridays. My goal is to stop spending too much time on social media, while continuing to share and stay in touch on a regular basis.
So far, the experience has been good. I’ve been a lot more productive. For Monday’s facebook post, I made a LIVE video, where I showed off a series of new linocuts.
You can watch a replay of the video here:
I also talk about the changes I have been making to my website. I’m making some big drastic changes that will make the site more up to date with modern technology. It’s going to take awhile, so please be patient while working on it.
If you are interested in supporting my work, and adding some of the linocut cards to you collection, below are some links to help you do it. Thanks again for your support and patience during this move.
HANDPRINTEd NOTECARD UPDATE:
I’m not very smart. I shared my last post with only 10 notecards in my “inventory” . Your response has been overwhelming! I’m thrilled that so many of you love our USPS and want to send hand printed cards to your friends and family! I have heard that buying stamps is one of the best ways we can support the USPS (and your local artist!) I am in the cabin making cards right now. They will take a few days to cure, but I will ship them “hot off the press” by the end of this week. Thanks again everyone! You truly keep me going and give me purpose.
Houston, we have a problem. I discovered a box full of fabric scraps, and got distracted printing on fabric. Any sewers/quilters with ideas of what I can do with these?!? This ink is machine washable!
Thank You USPS
I’m an artist in a rural town. Even though my town is very supportive of the arts, there just aren’t enough people in the region to support a full time artist. A majority of my sales are through my website, and shipped from my local post office. During the pandemic, when all my in-person sales opportunities vanished overnight, my online sales and USPS have been my saving grace. I’ve been able to work from home and keep my head above water during this difficult time. Thanks to my wonderful patrons and the US Postal Service
While spending time in Mexico, i fell in love with the land, people and culture. I seriously considered moving there. The big reason I decided not to was; they did not have a postal infrastructure anything like ours in the United States. My business would not have the access to the rest of the world it does right now with the USPS.
Now that things are being slowed down, and the service is being scaled back to save money (or whatever), i’m starting to look at private delivery services. Since this is a small town, they don’t have an incentive to serve this community. The UPS store is open only 5 days a week; from 11-2pm — that is only a 3 hour window of time. There is always a wait, and the price is about twice as much as the USPS.
The disruption in postal service is adding stress to an already difficult time for my business. I know I’m not alone. I don’t like getting on a soapbox on this website, i’m not trying to make some politicial statement, or start any arguements (thats not why I’m here—i’m not in a political party—don’t want to be in one–please don’t go waving your policital party flag in my comments… i will delete them. I just want to share my support and appreciation for a non-political service of the US Government. Thank you postal workers for everything you do!
if you like this notecard, and want to support your favorite artist AND the USPS, by having it shipped…and again by mailing it to a friend(win-win-win), you can order it from the Printmaking section of my gallery, there is a selection of notecards, order some hand printed woodcut and linocut cards, then go to the USPS and get some stamps!
thank you for coming to my TED talk