About Travis Knight

Artist Statement
“Ars longa, vita brevis”, art is long, life is short.

This quote is the essence of why I am an artist.  Every day I see and feel the beauty of the world that surrounds us, and I am grateful that I am able to experience it.  Everything from the complex forms of the human figure to the simple beauty of a sunset.  It is this beauty that inspires me to paint.

I want to create art that captures these beautiful moments in time.  To create artwork that will convey what the world was like in a particular moment.  Which iconic figures shaped us as a society?  What events impacted our lives?  What feelings and emotions did we experience during all of it?

I love being moved and inspired by an idea or a concept.  By the visual power of what my eyes see.  I take it all in, harness its energy, and then I use paint, brushes, color, and design to create paintings that capture this remarkable world that we are all a part of.  Artwork that will let future generations know what we experienced.  Art is essential.  

      
                                             Artist Bio                                                   

Travis Knight paints artwork that covers a wide range of subjects and genres, but still maintains a connection to one another through the use of light. Travis loves the beauty of lighting and believes that everything we are able to appreciate visually is due to light. It is this light that reveals form and allows art to even exist. He strives to achieve the feeling if this light as well as the look of it. Light comes from a source that we must all respect and be grateful for. His hope is that the viewer will feel the beauty of the subjects in which he paints as much as they visually enjoy it.

Travis began his art career in the studio at a very young age. Both of his parents are fine artists, so he had to keep himself busy for hours on end by painting, drawing, and sculpting. He continued to pursue art through high school, but it wasn’t until he enrolled in art school in beautiful Encinitas, Ca at Watts Atelier that he truly found his calling. Watts Atelier is a traditional and classically structured art school taught by renowned artist Jeffery Watts. At Watts he spent two years solely mastering the fundamentals of drawing through live models, anatomy studies, and by emulating and dissecting the old masters works. For the next three years he painted from live models while learning different paint mediums and color theory. Artist such as Norman Rockwell, Frank Frazzetta, and John Singer Sargent taught him the essentials of masterful work.

While attending school Travis worked with his parents for Knight Design, a company they started based out of San Diego, Ca. Knight Design specialized in large scale murals and high end faux finishing. For 8 years they compiled an impressive portfolio of projects ranging from 25 ft. murals of Tuscan landscapes for fine dining restaurants to entire home themed projects throughout the Rancho Santa Fe area. It was here that he truly mastered his eye for color. It was his mother that showed him how to use pigments to “tweak” colors and glazes. The demand for color washes that had layers and depth required a deeper understanding of color relativity. He has applied his knowledge of textures and glazes from this work to his fine art paintings.

Working as a commissioned artist Travis found himself taking on projects with a variety of subjects and style requirements. He combined that with his own desire to paint all the world has to offer and created Emanio Art. A company that highlights and showcases his fine tuned abilities as an artist. He can now combine his fine art and murals with a gorgeous faux finish to create environments that make one feel as if they have stepped into a painting. He creates rooms that can be inspiring, motivating, and uplifting. He loves what he does and wants to share it with the world. Celebrate life!