Lauren Knight

Lauren Knight is a St. Louis-based self-taught painter, avid gardener, and former writer who began painting in 2017. Her works range from still lifes including a variety of textiles, plants, and flowers, to portraiture, to scenes of her extensive backyard garden. 

Artist Statement

My creative work resides in the realm of joy. My art has naturally evolved from an intense noticing of the world around me from a very young age, to seeing beauty and sharing what I see, how I see, with others. The majority of my work begins as a color story in my mind, often inspired by what I’ve observed in nature and my garden, and ends with an illustrative but realistic representation of the subject. The use of natural elements, with the saturation and intensity of color dialed up, speaks to the sensitivity with which I experience the world around me. Joy emanates from saturated, vibrant colors that demand to be seen and celebrated, as much as the subject itself. 

I paint because it feels urgent and important to me, even while the subject matter appears simple or ordinary. Within that simplicity is fragility; a flower exists in its flower form for merely a moment before energetically transforming into something else. In this sense, the painting marks time, exclaims “I am here! I exist!” From delicate and papery poppies on impossibly thin stems, to robust waxy red cabbages glistening with dew droplets, to the neon stems of rainbow chard, the subject matter speaks for its glorious self. And yet, I am aware of how unaware we can be in noticing these wonders in our daily lives. My hope is to inspire the viewer to slow down, look closer, and truly see the world around them.