A Message From The Artist

​

The above introduction was written by my eldest son who, along with his siblings, sat in my lap and watched me paint when they were children.  If I am an artist, it comes to me from a natural and raw source like ore in the ground, and it is a gift of God. I remember how, in my earliest years, I loved to get my hands on pencils and pens or an eight-count box of crayons so  I could draw images of the things around me.  In school, I drew little pictures along the margins of my work and doodled on my test papers. I owe a great debt to my late friend and mentor, Mrs. Anne R. Tuttle, who taught me in junior high school.  Our friendship began when she, to her great surprise, caught me drawing nude ladies in my text book! She, with her own funds, headed the art club in school, introducing me and others to the masters of art through books, films, and slides.  It was through my contact with her that I first came to use paints and brushes, and pastels, and wood cut prints and linoleum blocks. She was my guide, but my artistry flowed naturally from my fingers like a spring from the ground; and it is still a compulsion in my soul that I can not ever stop from upwelling.  I began college, but did not stay there more than a year, preferring to get my education the hard way: from my own eye, my own life, and my own marriage.  Years later continuing encouragement came from my friends Spence Guerin, a fellow artist, and from Gwen Lance, a gallery owner. I hope you enjoy my works and befriend them, for they are as much a part of me as my breath and my voice. 

​

- Van Knight