Ruddy Man
Conor Knight
- Sitter: William Joseph Knight
- Medium: Oil on Canvas
- Dimensions: 92cm x 122cm
- Representation: This artist represents themselves
About the artwork
Joe Knight was born in Belfast in 1947. As a young man he aspired to become an artist, applying for a scholarship to art school, but his application was unsuccessful. After living through part of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, he eventually immigrated to Australia with his wife in 1992 and spent the next thirty years working full time and raising a family. Art was something he did in the margins of everyday life.
Growing up, his son Conor Knight watched him copy works by Lucian Freud and Van Gogh, finding scraps of paper around the house covered in pencil and pen drawings. Joe never formally pursued art, but he remains Conor’s greatest supporter. A small artwork is visible in the corner of the composition, a quiet nod to the path not taken. “The opportunity he never had,” says Conor, “is what continues to drive my practice.”
About the artist
Conor Knight is a self-taught Brisbane-based painter working primarily in oils. Using the alla prima technique, applying wet paint to wet, his work carries an immediacy that imbues his subjects with life and movement. A three-time Brisbane Portrait Prize finalist, he has held multiple solo exhibitions across Sydney and regional New South Wales.
