Blue Stone...

Charles Gniech, Blue Stone, 36" x 15", acrylic on canvas, 2006

In many cases—when I'm exploring new technique—I work on smaller canvases like the image above from 2006. Creating these painted "sketches" allows me an opportunity to make adjustments to my process before moving on to larger surfaces. And sometimes the sketch becomes a finished piece in itself. Blue Stone is such a piece. Additional work from this series can be seen at gniech.com


Detail: Blue Stone, 36" x 15", acrylic on canvas, 2006

Moving Thoughts

The above image, titled "Moving Thoughts", measures 36 x 48" and was created with acrylic on canvas. This piece comes from a slightly earlier body of work, but has the same basic surface imagery as some of my recent posts. Created in 2006, it was also shown at the North Central Exhibition this past summer. The color departure for this piece was an exploration in vibrancy. The warm tones mimic that of rare metal surging through prehistoric rock and creating vein-like patterns. Additional pieces can be found at gniech.com

Image: Charles Gniech, "Moving Thoughts", 36 x 48" acrylic on canvas, 2006

Surface Verte

Also from the "Surface" series, this painting—titled "Surface Verte"—was created after spending some time in Paris this summer. The lush green tones of the beautiful parisian parks were the inspiration. The canvas, 24 x 48", is acrylic on canvas and was first presented this past summer in a three-person exhibition at the Schoenherr Art Gallery of North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. The show was titled "Meditative Surfaces" and included work by Maggie Meiners and Deanna Krueger. Additional pieces of my work can be found at gniech.com

Quiet Surface

The above piece is titled "Quiet Surface" from 2009. It is acrylic on canvas and measures 24" square. The genesis of this body of work stems back—more than fifteen years—to when I was obsessed with the various stone circles of Great Britain. At that time, I had the opportunity to travel to Britain a couple of times each year, spend a few days in London, and then head out to the countryside with little more then a duffel bag and a sketchbook. There are more then 430 prehistoric stone circles in Great Britain, and at that time, I was only able visit a handful during each adventure.

I find it interesting that the visits to those sites continues to effect the production of my imagery even today. I plan to use this blog to tell the stories of my adventures and to present the work which continues to be produced as a response to of those experiences.

Meditation III

From a body of work titled "Surface Paintings" from 2009

My exploration of the meditative surface patterns—influenced by various prehistoric monoliths—continues with a series of works comprised of mostly neutral color tones. The color shift is based on observations in nature, which seems to relax the human psyche. Additional work from this series can be found at gniech.com

Image: Charles Gniech, Meditation III, 48" x 36", acrylic on canvas, 2009