Chris Knight

Having spent many years doing freehand architectural drawings, my first attempts at painting consisted mostly of watercolors. But I found that I was really just doing architectural sketches and then adding a little color wash, I really wanted to loosen up and paint. So, I got some oil paint and started with studio painting.

After I retired, with more time to paint, I began plein-air painting. I loved working directly from nature - it's fast, exciting, high risk and most rewarding. But I found that plein-air work is hard, with so much gear to carry around, wet paint to transport, canvases to store, and easels to mess with. Not great for travel painting.

During the pandemic I discovered Gouache - the answer to all my issues. Water based, no terps, really fast drying, no wet canvas, my paint box is tiny, but I can recreate my oil painting pallet with eight colors in my little box, and my sketch book fits in my lap.

 I can now do a quick small gouache sketch plein-air, capturing the essence of the scene, colors, composition, and atmosphere and it all fits in my little pack. I can then do a larger studio painting from the field sketch, either in gouache or oil. This is how the Canada Snowbird painting was created.

As I  write this, I am departing for a two-week road trip in the morning and the sketch kit is packed and ready to go.  I hope everyone enjoys the show!