Press
St. Louis Magazine, Design StL: For local artist Lauren Knight…
St. Louis Magazine, Design StL: Last summer, painter Lauren Knight…
Mother Artist: In our inaugural Mother Artist’s story…
A Fairytale Escape, St. Louis Homes and Lifestyles Magazine: If Beatrix Potter’s charming characters…
Artist Statement
New to the world of painting, I grew up in a household where art was both revered and depended upon as livelihood; my father was an artist and photography professor, my mother his muse and sounding board. Much time was devoted to drawing and making collages during my childhood, along with running barefoot in the woods down the street from my home. As an adult, I experimented with amateur photography while blogging for several years, inspired to document my three young sons and their exploration of the outdoors. In 2017, ready for a new chapter, I picked up a paintbrush, committed to learn how to paint and see the world in a whole new way.
Inspired by the natural world, motherhood, and the experiences of childhood, I paint what I love. In Emil/The Sick Day, I portray my youngest son cloaked in a blanket in the April sunshine, exploring a single blue jay feather, oblivious and innocent to the magical world unfolding behind him: the arrival of spring and new life. In Nearly Twelve, my oldest son looks knowingly at the viewer as he embarks on adolescence and all the weight and wonder of impending changes, while the portrait Oliver explores the headstrong and determined nature of my middle child, as he faces off at the dinner table with a raven in a field of dying sunflowers. Symbolism peppers most of my family portraits. The Green Chair is a thread throughout much of my work, meant to represent the role of Mother, as holder-up, supporter, comforter, and behind-the-scenes prop to family life.
My most recent works are inspired by nature: primarily what grows in my beloved garden. I find inspiration in the changing colors of the flowers that bloom briefly but vibrantly during the growing season. In the winter, my focus shifts to the houseplants that have all but overtaken every room of my home.
I credit much of my artistic vision to my childhood obsession with children’s book illustrators like Maurice Sendak, whose vivid imagery ran rich with meaning and detail, embracing the darkness and dangers of childhood, while simultaneously celebrating the beauty and innocence of each age.
Through my paintings, I hope to inspire a rich appreciation of the calming simplicity of a house plant, a whimsical and fleeting moment of childhood, and the joy in finding whatever it is that moves you in life. I strive to reveal awe to the viewer, to behold the beauty of nature: in short, to slow down and really see what is alive all around us.