Today we’d like to introduce you to Alicia Knight.
Hi Alicia, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born in Los Angeles, I am actually a third-generation Californian on both my mother’s and father’s sides. Growing up in Los Angeles, I was exposed to all kinds of life. I always looked up to people who could create art like they had some kind of magic.
I was searching for who I really was and what I wanted to be. That lead me down all different and interesting kinds of roads. Until one day on a trip to New York, I went to the MET gallery. I remember walking into that gallery and thinking this is it. I was in awe of the art, it made me feel something I had never experienced before. That was the moment I decided I wanted to be a painter.
When I came back to Los Angeles, I went to every art gallery I could find. I studied paintings to see what made them able to communicate down through the ages and create an emotional impact on me today. It was a magic that was so unexplained. I had an insatiable drive to make art that could communicate to everyone on that level.
When I first picked up a paintbrush, it wasn’t something that came completely natural to me. For years I would paint but it was just mostly random lines on a canvas. Then one day I had a feeling that I felt was so common to everyone. That feeling of excitement, butterflies, overwhelming of emotions, and a feeling of being hit in the stomach by a bomb. That feeling we feel when we first fall in love. That’s when I created a painting called Sonic Boom. That was when I realized this wasn’t just something I wanted to do as a hobby but for real. The art of painting to me is the art of universal communication. It is that medium where a complete stranger across the world living a completely different life can see a work of art and say to themselves, “Yeah, I understand and someone understands me and I am not alone.” I felt I had found my magic.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would say it has been an adventurous road. It is already a given that nothing is going to be completely smooth in life. There is always some sacrifice, always some heartbreak. There’s been weeks where I’ve had pennies in my bank account, wondering if I will be able to pay my rent. Then there’s been other weeks where I sold a big painting and I was living the good life. It’s all matter of how you ride over the rough spots and enjoy the smooth spots.
People can see the life of a painter as a glamorous life filled with creativity. It is, but you have to learn the business side as well. How to market yourself, how to get yourself in front of the right audience, etc. That took a lot of learning and hard work. It is something that I am continually learning and improving on.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a self-taught painter. I primarily paint with acrylic on canvas or wood. I love the concept of mass and simplicity. Showing a simple emotion but it having a lot of mass to it. Some of my paintings verge on the borderline of Pointillism, lots of small dots.
I like to focus on what the message or emotion of the piece is and work from there.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I definitely feel I am a risk taker.
One of the things I have always been adamant about is not allowing and not listening to anyone who wants to criticize my work. It takes enormous risk to be an artist in this world. Everyone has an opinion and thinks they are an expert. But in the field of art, there is no rules. It’s all opinion or preference. One person can love your work and one person can hate it. So be it. If I went around listening to everyone, I would never be able to get out of bed. I never believed I had to be miserable to be an artist and I think it takes a rebellious nature to have the guts to be happy and do what you love.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.aliciaknightart.net
- Instagram: @aliciaknightart
- Facebook: facebook.com/aliciaknightart
- Youtube: @aliciaknight-art
- Other: aliciaknightart.etsy.com
