Old School

featured artist: Nathaniel McKnight

Nat McKnight creates fresh images using traditional media.

“I am a firm believer in following the rules,” declares Nat McKnight, painter and printmaker.

“In art school, you have people who want to dive right into abstract expressionism, minimalism, all the new styles. And that’s totally valid, but what some fail to realize is that those movements were a response to, and an evolution from, the tradition of naturalism. If you take a look at the early works by modern, non-traditional artists, like the infamous Picasso, you will see that they all were very proficient in depicting the natural world as is.”

Nat’s work is very natural in appearance. He uses clean, well-intended lines and bright, fresh colors in his work. His figurative paintings and prints appear as if they could be in a magazine advertisement.

“To me, the canvas or paper is like a window to another dimension. I paint in order to capture what I see in reality, and my interpretation of reality allows the viewer to see how my mind processes the information.”

When asked about inspiration, Nat prefers fashion, natural beauty and the classics.

“Eye contact, posing, monumental figures…I wanted these paintings of my friends to be reminiscent of Archaic Greek Kouroi. There is a steadfastness, a monumental solitude in those statues that I try to instill into my paintings. The kouroi were treated like votive figures, objects of veneration. Painting is comparable to a religious experience for me.”

Indeed, the son of a preacher man, Nat has been somewhat sheltered from the world. Yet he interprets this as advantageous, for it has kept him from becoming desensitized in a world full of chaos.

“I never want to be overstimulated. There is so much trash and negative imagery proffered by the media. It can be too much. I pretty much gave up on television at school.”

Graduating from OU with a BFA in studio art last year, he has yet to figure out what to do professionally. “I’ve just always dreamt that I would be a painter, and it would be all romantic like the Renaissance; I would get a patron and paint my own Sistine Chapel. And then I graduate, and it’s like…oh. That’s not gonna work. Time to become a member of the real world.”
When asked why he doesn’t show his work on a regular basis, or even attempt to get his name out there, Nat gets tongue-tied. However, I get the impression that he knows exactly what’s going on.

“Well, it doesn’t help that I am somewhat reclusive by nature. And I tend to hoard. It’s not that I don’t want to profit from my work. But stage fright is a very real and powerful thing.”

Based on his body of work, I think Nat has little to worry about. Not only does he seem like a nice guy, his work stands out because it is good, ol’ fashioned realism. In an art world that gets off on shock value, political statements, and genre-pushing, it’s refreshing sometimes to just see things the way they are. Every viewpoint is valid.

“That’s not to say that I won’t ever divulge from the straight and narrow,” he says, continuing with, ”Like I said earlier, I believe in following the rules. Now that I feel I have a good, solid grip on realism, I am interested in breaking all that down and challenging myself to see and interpret the world in new ways.”

One way Nat has already done this is with his spiral drawings. Composed of one continuous line, these pieces are dizzying, and somewhat mathematical in their compositions.

“Umm, I don’t really know the meaning of these yet, or if I ever will. I started doodling this stuff as an eighth-grader. It’s crazy to see how it has evolved.” This could be Nat’s signature expression, like a new fingerprint. Besides on paper, he incorporates the spirals onto t-shirts.

“I love V-neck t-shirts and I usually customize them by hand with puff paint. I guess that’s pretty old school too,” he laughs.

“My favorites are the metallic, glitter, neon and glow-in-the-dark puff paints. They are SO AWESOME. I like the idea of taking a plain, fitted tee and transforming it into something luxe and “couture”. These shirts are one of a kind. No one else will have the same shirt…That is until I start mass producing!”

Nat has teamed up with local fashion house Weslet to market his designs, where he has his current line of 9 screen printed designs and several hand painted custom designs.

“For now, you kinda have to know me in order to get my work. But I like meeting new people and would love to share my visions with others.” HE WOULD . . .

Interested in Nat’s designs?
View and purchase his fashion line online at www.weslet.com