maven&meddler

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched friends spend pretty good money for a print that several thousand other people have, and then spend more than the print cost to frame it. This puzzles me since there is so much high quality, original art available for a very fair price.

One of my artist friends here in Reno, Nevada is Roger Kinnaman. I’ve know Roger for probably seven or eight years and he’s produced an amazing body of work in both pastel and mixed media. Roger has spent many years in Northern Nevada, and so has a great affinity for the area’s landscape potential, which he has successfully transferred to richly textured pastel paintings … one of which I just gifted to my sister-in-law as a wedding present.

Original art for a special Christmas present is a great idea, but of course should be considered for any other special gift occasion, too. His work starts at around $300 with the larger works sell for $1,600.

Here’s what Kinnaman has to say about his work:

The 24 x 34 inch pastels are chalk pastels drawn on a 30 x 40 inch sheet of black paper.  The black paper is responsible for the rich darks and vibrant color of these images.  Pastel is a very permanent medium in all respects except abrasion.  My pastels are well sprayed but minor loss of pigment will occur especially if the work is not under glass.  Glass is ordinarily used with pastel because the  static charge of plexiglass will draw pastel dust to its surface.

 

My technique on the mixed media pieces is to photograph one of my finished drawings and than produce a print of that image on my ink jet printer.  The limitations (color gamut) of ink jet printing are such that I need to rework the drawing to bring it back to the saturated color and interesting textures of my original drawing.  This methodology also permits me to explore variations in value, color, texture and composition in a new work.  The mixed media pieces are in effect each a monoprint differing from the original with the ink jet print acting as an underpainting for the new creation.  The monoprint typically has between 50 and 100% coverage of new pastel over the inkjet base.  The 12 x 18” size limitation results from me wanting to control every step of the process.  The largest print I can produce in my studio is a 12 x 18 on a 13 x 19 inch piece of paper.  A 12 x 18 inch image is nicely accommodated in an 18 x 24 inch frame. 

 

The drawings can be delivered framed in a reasonable distance of Reno.  If the drawings must be shipped, they will be shipped unframed.  A discount of $75 on the small pieces and $200 on the larger pieces will be given.  They should be framed in rag mats. iIf your framer wants to use museum glass make sure the type of glass he uses does not reduce contrast and sharpness.  A gasket mat with a reverse bevel is commonly used on pastels to produce a larger than normal space between the artwork and the glass. 

 

Feel free to call me with any questions.

 

Roger @ 775-324-4927

 

My website is kinnamanart.com and has over 100 drawings and paintings for sale as well as information on my extensive museum and gallery exhibition record. The email address is roger@kinnamanart.com.