Peter Koenig Art https://peterkoenigart.com/ Peter Koenig Art Tue, 21 May 2024 18:40:16 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 Peter Koenig Biography https://peterkoenigart.com/2024/05/21/peter-koenig-biography/ Tue, 21 May 2024 17:34:52 +0000 https://peterkoenigart.com/?p=6984              PETER’S ARTISTIC PASSION TOOK MANY DIFFERENT FORMS OF EXPRESSION OVER THE YEARS, AND BEGAN IN GRADE SCHOOL DRAWING PORTRAITS OF CLASSMATES. HIS ARTISTIC CAREER BEGAN IN NEW YORK CITY DOING DEPARTMENT STORE DISPLAY WORK. NEXT HE WAS EMPLOYED AS A GRAPHIC ARTIST FOR A LARGE PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY. IN 1996, […]

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]]>             "The Squire Two" Graphite on vellum by Peter Koenig PETER’S ARTISTIC PASSION TOOK MANY DIFFERENT FORMS OF EXPRESSION OVER THE YEARS, AND BEGAN IN GRADE SCHOOL DRAWING PORTRAITS OF CLASSMATES. HIS ARTISTIC CAREER BEGAN IN NEW YORK CITY DOING DEPARTMENT STORE DISPLAY WORK. NEXT HE WAS EMPLOYED AS A GRAPHIC ARTIST FOR A LARGE PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY. IN 1996, WHEN HIS DEPARTMENT WAS CLOSED DOWN AND THE COMPANY CHANGED HANDS, HE STARTED HIS OWN BUSINESS CALLED “CREATIVE PAINTING”. FOR SEVERAL YEARS, PETER DID INTERIOR HOME PAINTING, SPECIALIZING IN FAUX FINISHES AND MURALS. HIS FIRST ACCOMPLISHMENT IN THIS AREA WAS FOR A LOCAL HISTORIC CHURCH.

            IN ADDITION, IN 1998, HE NAMED AND WAS A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE ARTERY GALLERY IN MILFORD, PA. THEN IN 2004, HE WAS DISCOVERED AND COMMISSIONED TO DO A LARGE BODY OF WORK FOR A POPULAR NEW JERSEY RESTAURANT, CONSISTING PRIMARILY OF VINTAGE SIGN BOARDS. AS A RESULT, IN NOVEMBER OF 2006, HIS WORK EARNED HIM A PLACE IN THE PRESTIGIOUS WILTON CONNECTICUT HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S AMERICAN CRAFTSMANSHIP SHOW.

            PETER KOENIG WAS A MULTI-FACETED ARTIST WITH A NATURAL ABILITY TO DRAW AND PAINT ALMOST ANY SUBJECT MATTER. HIS WORK HAS RANGED FROM VINTAGE SIGN BOARDS AND LANDSCAPES, TO STILL LIFE AND ABSTRACT ART. PETER WAS ALSO ADEPT AT PORTRAIT PAINTING, AND WAS A SKILLED ANIMAL ARTIST AS WELL. BECAUSE OF HIS ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE TALENTS, AND DEDICATION TO HISTORICAL ACCURACY, PETER GAINED NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR HIS MUSEUM QUALITY TAVERN AND TRADE SIGNS. PETER WAS CHOSEN BY A PANEL OF EXPERTS, CONVENED BY EARLY AMERICAN LIFE MAGAZINE TO BE LISTED IN THE DIRECTORY OF TRADITIONAL AMERICAN CRAFTS. PETER EARNED THIS HONOR FIVE TIMES WITH 2007 BEING THE FIRST AND 2016 BEING THE LAST TIME HE WAS HONORED AS WELL AS THE LAST TIME THAT HE ENTERED. PETER’S TAVERN AND INN SIGNS WERE FEATURED IN THE 2007 AND 2009 DIRECTORY EDITIONS AS WELL AS THE DECEMBER 2011 EDITION FEATURING AN ARTICLE ON TAVERN AND TRADE SIGNS.

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]]> “Arlene I” https://peterkoenigart.com/2024/02/21/arlene-i/ Wed, 21 Feb 2024 22:02:09 +0000 https://peterkoenigart.com/?p=6236 “Arlene I” – Pen and ink illustration, unfinished. Circa 1980 – ’81. When going through dad’s studio, as I’ve said in previous posts, I found pieces that I haven’t seen since he did them. It was great to find these, because they brought a flood of memories long forgotten. This unfinished pen and ink is […]

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]]> “Arlene I” – Pen and ink illustration, unfinished. Circa 1980 – ’81. When going through dad’s studio, as I’ve said in previous posts, I found pieces that I haven’t seen since he did them. It was great to find these, because they brought a flood of memories long forgotten. This unfinished pen and ink is a family friend that used to work with my mom at Nyack hospital and once in a very blue moon, babysit me and my sister when mom and dad were in a pinch. There are very few of dad’s portraits that survive today because most were commissions or gifts, and back then, he never consistently took pictures of his work. I remember dad sitting at his art table and working on this one, and thinking at the time, how great the detail in the eyes were. Dad loved doing eyes on any piece he was doing, whether it was an animal or a person. He always made those eyes look like they were following you wherever you walked, and that both creeped me out and intrigued me at the time. “Arlene I” is no different as the eyes portray a lot of emotion and depth.

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]]> “E. Terry & Sons” https://peterkoenigart.com/2024/02/15/e-terry-sons/ Thu, 15 Feb 2024 02:44:16 +0000 https://peterkoenigart.com/?p=6218 “E. Terry & Sons” – Early 19th century double sided watchmaker sign with period hardware. Mixed media and pine. This was one of the toughest signs dad ever did. Not only did he have to cut two separate pieces of pine to match each other, he also had to mold those two pieces together to […]

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]]> “E. Terry & Sons” – Early 19th century double sided watchmaker sign with period hardware. Mixed media and pine. This was one of the toughest signs dad ever did. Not only did he have to cut two separate pieces of pine to match each other, he also had to mold those two pieces together to make it look like one whole piece. In addition, he also had to paint both sides so that they matched perfectly. But dad was up to the challenge because it was that…a challenge. I think dad loved doing these signs so much because each one brought its own unique history with it. “E. Terry & Sons” was no different. Even the signs dad did that were of his own creation were special, because he relied heavily on the history of the “tavern and inn sign art form” and respected it tremendously. The detail that went into what some might call a primitive style of art, was very appealing to dad, because the history behind these signs was so interesting to him. One of the most attractive aspects to doing these signs was the aging process. The aging had to have the appearance of being random, as if the sign had been outside in the elements for years. I think when dad got to the aging process is where a lot of the fun began for him. Aging was a new “art form” for him, and dad always loved the challenge every new sign brought. The left photo is the finished product, and on the right is the sign pre-aging.

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]]> “Torment” https://peterkoenigart.com/2024/02/10/torment/ Sat, 10 Feb 2024 20:55:38 +0000 https://peterkoenigart.com/?p=6077 I absolutely love “Torment”.  I know this piece might seem disturbing to some, and the imagery might indeed evoke that…but that’s the intent. But what I love about this piece, is that it’s so raw… and that’s exactly what I told dad when I first saw it.(Finding it buried in his studio was the second […]

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]]> I absolutely love “Torment”.  I know this piece might seem disturbing to some, and the imagery might indeed evoke that…but that’s the intent. But what I love about this piece, is that it’s so raw… and that’s exactly what I told dad when I first saw it.(Finding it buried in his studio was the second time I saw it, and I had the same reaction) Dad was great at pen and ink illustrations, canvas paintings of still life and people, recreating vintage sign magic, and drawing life like looking subjects. But when he did paintings like this, it was like he let loose and was having a lot of fun doing it. In my opinion, and I’ve told him this, was that it was like a recharge of the creative batteries when he did pieces like this. It kept him focused and fresh. Abstract painting came effortlessly for dad because he loved it so much. It allowed him to spill onto the canvas all those ideas that were swirling around in his head while he was working on other projects. In other words, I love all of dad’s abstracts because they were so freeing for dad, and allowed him not to be confined inside the lines as it were. He was like a mad scientist when he was creating these abstracts, and that’s one of the things I will miss most.

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]]> “Daffodils” https://peterkoenigart.com/2024/01/26/daffodils/ Fri, 26 Jan 2024 00:57:45 +0000 https://peterkoenigart.com/?p=5926 Acrylic on canvas 17.5″ x 23.5″ handmade frame. Another still life by dad. When dad did a still life like this, he never just stuffed some flowers into a vase and went to work. He was very specific about placement. And no two still life’s were the same. Some had more of an impressionistic feel, […]

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]]> Acrylic on canvas 17.5″ x 23.5″ handmade frame. Another still life by dad. When dad did a still life like this, he never just stuffed some flowers into a vase and went to work. He was very specific about placement. And no two still life’s were the same. Some had more of an impressionistic feel, while others had more realism to them. Dad was always concerned of how people would perceive his art because he never did the same thing over and over again. He was always experimenting or choosing different subject matter. Some of this was because dad needed to keep his interest piqued. We had many long conversations into the night about his “eclecticness”, even up until before he passed. But in the last year, we agreed it was a benefit and not a hindrance. “Daffodils” was pretty popular. Dad actually made and sold prints of this way back when.

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]]> “Bobcat I” https://peterkoenigart.com/2024/01/26/bobcat-i/ Fri, 26 Jan 2024 00:35:22 +0000 https://peterkoenigart.com/?p=5923 “Bobcat I” – Pen and ink. This was the first Bobcat dad did in pen and ink prior to the one I posted that he did in 1982. This was done in 1980 or ’81. This of course, as many others, was hidden away for decades. Maybe it’s because dad didn’t like this one too […]

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]]> “Bobcat I” – Pen and ink. This was the first Bobcat dad did in pen and ink prior to the one I posted that he did in 1982. This was done in 1980 or ’81. This of course, as many others, was hidden away for decades. Maybe it’s because dad didn’t like this one too much for some reason and was very critical of it.  He might not have like it, but it was the first of many more to come.  Each pen and ink wildlife that dad after this was even better than the the previous.  Dad self admittedly acknowledged he was consistently learning something new no matter the medium he was working with.  In fact, dad was adamant about learning new things, because he wanted to be the best in any particular medium he challenged himself with.

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]]> “Moon” https://peterkoenigart.com/2024/01/26/moon/ Fri, 26 Jan 2024 00:25:21 +0000 https://peterkoenigart.com/?p=5921 “Moon” – Acrylic on canvas. 24″ x 30″. This might seem like a simple painting, but in the mid 70’s when dad was doing this, I was mesmerized. It’s one of the earliest memories I have of him painting. I would sit on the floor looking up at this painting like I was watching the […]

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]]> “Moon” – Acrylic on canvas. 24″ x 30″. This might seem like a simple painting, but in the mid 70’s when dad was doing this, I was mesmerized. It’s one of the earliest memories I have of him painting. I would sit on the floor looking up at this painting like I was watching the night sky. It was awesome. The way he painted the moon made it seem like there was light emanating from it. Truly extraordinary what dad could do with some paint and a brush.

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]]> “J. Carley – Furniture and Undertaker” https://peterkoenigart.com/2024/01/26/j-carley-furniture-and-undertaker/ Fri, 26 Jan 2024 00:20:12 +0000 https://peterkoenigart.com/?p=5918 “J. Carley – Furniture and Undertaker” – Late 19th century. Mixed media on pine. Dad hard at work. Sometimes the signs dad made were so big he had to take them outside. As you can see from the pics, it was quite the undertaking. Here, dad was applying last minute glaze and then sanding down […]

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]]> “J. Carley – Furniture and Undertaker” – Late 19th century. Mixed media on pine. Dad hard at work. Sometimes the signs dad made were so big he had to take them outside😀. As you can see from the pics, it was quite the undertaking. Here, dad was applying last minute glaze and then sanding down to age the sign even further.  These pictures were taken in hopes of compiling a process video for dad.  In his infinite wisdom, dad wanted to create a YouTube channel that would document his style and work ethic when it came to his work.  Unfortunately, it never came to fruition.  If we were able to accomplish that, I think it would have been fun, informative, and exciting to watch.

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]]> “Summer Sailing” https://peterkoenigart.com/2024/01/26/summer-sailing/ Fri, 26 Jan 2024 00:12:36 +0000 https://peterkoenigart.com/?p=5916 “Summer Sailing” – Acrylic on canvas 30″ x 24″. Circa 1977 – ’78. This was a gift that dad gave to his then mother and father in law. Dad liked this painting a lot until my grandfather complained that there were no seagulls in a painting that had boats and an ocean. My grandfather decided […]

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]]> “Summer Sailing” – Acrylic on canvas 30″ x 24″. Circa 1977 – ’78. This was a gift that dad gave to his then mother and father in law. Dad liked this painting a lot until my grandfather complained that there were no seagulls in a painting that had boats and an ocean. My grandfather decided that he couldn’t tolerate it anymore, and one day, proceeded to add four small seagulls to dad’s painting. They are faint, but if you look closely, you can see them. When dad saw this on a visit to the in-laws, he thought it was a desecration and never forgave my grandfather for that. From that moment on, dad hated this painting. I thought it was a funny story, but also understood why dad was upset.😁. I love this painting and still have it to this day.

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]]> “Crowfuts Inn” https://peterkoenigart.com/2022/08/31/crowfuts-inn/ Wed, 31 Aug 2022 01:39:19 +0000 https://peterkoenigart.com/?p=2778 Early American Life Winner 2007 Peter Koenig’s first entry into the prestigious directory of traditional American crafts magazine, Early American Life, garnered him instant recognition as a master craftsman in vintage signs.  “Crowfuts Inn”, as seen below in the article from August of 2007, was judged to be of museum quality by judges from well […]

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]]> Early American Life Winner 2007

Peter Koenig’s first entry into the prestigious directory of traditional American crafts magazine, Early American Life, garnered him instant recognition as a master craftsman in vintage signs.  “Crowfuts Inn”, as seen below in the article from August of 2007, was judged to be of museum quality by judges from well known museums around the country.  “Crofuts Inn” a rebus, let illiterate travelers know they could rent a bed and relax, by using pictures or symbols they would understand.  Shown at the Felix Valle State Historic Site located in the state of Missouri, “Crowfuts Inn” was photographed on the property of the 1819 Dr. Benjamin Shaw house.

 

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