Robert Knight

Born in Melbourne in 1953, Robert Knight chose a career in sign writing. Three decades as a professional sign writer gave him a thorough grounding in composition, draughtsmanship and paint application. For thirty years, inside the artisan beat the heart of the artist. At first the challenge of the more creative sign writing tasks provided the outlet for Knight’s creative talents and as time went by he had some tutoring through his local community arts centre and eventually was mentored by well known Victorian artist Terry Collins who recognised his great natural talent.

Today Knight paints full time with a breathtaking assuredness across a range of styles and subjects. He is as at ease with portraiture as he is the Australian landscape and his trademark composite abstracts of the Australian eucalypt forest. He has been awarded many prizes and commendations in art competitions in Victoria, and his outstanding artistic ability was recognised in 2004 when he was judged the winner of the Australian Art Excellence Medallion Award, the coveted annual national award of the Australian Guild of Realist Artists.

Although Knight loves to paint the Australian bush in both traditional and non-traditional styles, the city is becoming increasingly important to him as a subject for paintings. He continues to strive for the highest standard possible. He is a sought after demonstrator of his unique contemporary style and has won several major awards. His work is held in corporate and private collections in Australia and overseas.