Recent Work

“Lennox is a magical mixture of sea, sand and sunshine – often overlaid by a blanket of soft salt spray. These landscape abstracts are my musings on the patterns found on the beach, the trees, the seaweed, foam on the beach and mysterious patterns in the sand. “

I have been captivated by the fleeting beauty and stories of flowers for many years now - to me they represent life - it has been said that in a flower you find birth, sex and death. For me capturing a flower in my painting is capturing a moment in time. My most recent body of work was started during 2020 Lockdown and continues now. I have been drawn into layering in symbols of hope through the motif of moon and flowers - all of which have their own messages. Many of these flowers deliver strong memories of my time growing up in South Africa as well as living in England and, of course, here in Australia.

'He Brought me Flowers' - Kay Knights

Cosmos are one of my most favourite flowers ever - I love their fragility that comes with a very tough resilient nature that allows them to bloom en masse in some fields across Africa - you could drive around a large bend and be met by a carpet of colour for miles! The Hoopoe bird is native to Africa and are distinctive for their crown of feathers - they were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt and were depicted on the walls of tombs and temples. When you give a bunch of cosmos flowers you are giving the person the universe! The flowers symbolise order, harmony and balance.

$695

Oil on Canvas 60cm h x 75cm w

'Cover me in Sunshine' - Kay Knights

Times are tough - this was painted during the nights at home while so many communities in the local areas have had their lives totally upended by the awful floods of the Northern Rivers this year. All I can do as a release is paint - and these yellow roses found their way through me to the canvas. As the words of the song say Cover me in Sunshine, Shower me with good times, Tell me that the world's been spinning since the beginning and everything will be alright!

Sold

Oil on Canvas 30cm h x 30cm w

'The Light Within' - Kay Knights

As women we try so hard to be everything for everyone. We don’t spend much time looking and reflecting on the incredible strength and beauty that is inside each and every one of us. There is a light inside all of us – we just have to let it shine and acknowledge it. In legends, the Peony is linked to healing and attraction, and since the Chinese word for ‘Most beautiful’ also translates to “Peony” it makes sense that they are known to symbolise beauty and love. These Peonies in my works reflect the light and love inside us all.

$1250

Oil on Canvas 95cm h x 125cm w

'There is Light Where you Will Be' - Kay Knights

As women we try so hard to be everything for everyone. We don’t spend much time looking and reflecting on the incredible strength and beauty that is inside each and every one of us. There is a light inside all of us – we just have to let it shine and acknowledge it. In legends, the Peony is linked to healing and attraction, and since the Chinese word for ‘Most beautiful’ also translates to “Peony” it makes sense that they are known to symbolise beauty and love. These Peonies in my works reflect the light and love inside us all.

$900

Oil on Canvas 95cm h x 95cm w

'There is Light Where you Were' - Kay Knights

As women we try so hard to be everything for everyone. We don’t spend much time looking and reflecting on the incredible strength and beauty that is inside each and every one of us. There is a light inside all of us – we just have to let it shine and acknowledge it. In legends, the Peony is linked to healing and attraction, and since the Chinese word for ‘Most beautiful’ also translates to “Peony” it makes sense that they are known to symbolise beauty and love. These Peonies in my works reflect the light and love inside us all.

Sold

Oil on Canvas 95cm h x 95cm w

'We are Stardust' - Kay Knights

This is a larger piece. Titles tend to come to me as I am painting and I just let them sit in my head for a while to see if anything more suitable presents itself. This one felt ethereal and I have been reading about extraordinary statistics about hydrogen in our bodies and that we can say that our bodies are over 90% stardust. I must say this really appeals to me! As women I feel we are really affected by the moon and stars alongside the fact we are also fragile yet incredibly strong. These are Peonies which symbolise love, beauty and happiness.

Sold

Oil on Canvas 80cm h x 80cm w

'I Am I Said' - Kay Knights

A smaller piece finished recently - oil on canvas. I was drawn to paint this - it's a reflection on being an older woman. We are still feeling all the things we did years ago and remembering how it felt to feel totally sensual and beautiful in a moment. As women grow older we often feel 'unseen' but we are so very worthy and have earned every crease and imperfection - they all add to our story even if we aren't in the first lush of youth.

$675

Oil on Canvas 50cm h x 40cm w

'Mother's Gift - Kay Knights

One of my mum's and my favourite spring flowers! Freesias are known for their delicate blooms and beautiful scents of citrus. Usually, pink freesias are seen to represent motherly love - the love that a mother has for her son or daughter. Yellow freesias symbolise the idea of joy and renewal. They can also be used to represent friendships and the true shared between friends.

The flowers were named after a botanist, Friedrich H.T. Freese, by a fellow botanist, Christian P. Ecklon. Named as a tribute to the friendship shared by the gentleman, the freesia's symbolism holds true to this initial origin.

$395

Oil and pen on Canvas 30cm h x 30cm w

'Cycle of Life'- Kay Knights

I was gifted a beautiful blue waterlily by a lovely Japanese lady who also goes by the name 'Kay' in Australia. I felt compelled to paint it. In Greek culture waterlilies represent modesty while in Egyptian culture they symbolise unity of people. The Blue waterlily is especially revered due to its ability to produce fruits and blossom at the same time. As a result they stand for the cycle of life - birth and death as well as rebirth and is prominently featured in ancient Egyptian temples.

$425

Oil and pen on Canvas 60cm h x 30cm w

'Road Tripping SA'- Kay Knights

Recalling road trips in South Africa where you could come around a corner and be met by fields of flowering Cosmos as far as the eye could see! I remember it as moments of pure wonder at their incredible beauty. Universal laws such as the theorem of Pythagoras, the tree of life of Kabbalah, the squaring of the circle or the merkabah, led to the Cosmos flower being associated with sacred geometry. This was used in the construction of churches as well as in temple construction, because there was conviction that the energy of the symbol would also be applied to it. It radiates harmony and perfection of sacred geometry and stands for infinity and perfect order.

Sold

Oil and pen on Canvas 60cm h x 60 cm w

'Mum's African Violets 4'- Kay Knights

One of a series of 4 - memories of my mum's violets grown in South Africa. My mum grew the most amazing ones in our hallway that got the afternoon sun. I found their symbolism interesting as the African Violet is a symbol of loyalty, strength, courage, devotion and the deepest of love commitment. Growing African Violets is a spiritual experience in itself teaching us less is more and strength is in the spirit, helping us to understand balance.

$295

Oil and pen on Canvas 20cm h x 20 cm w

'Mum's African Violets 3'- Kay Knights

One of a series of 4 - memories of my mum's violets grown in South Africa. My mum grew the most amazing ones in our hallway that got the afternoon sun. I found their symbolism interesting as the African Violet is a symbol of loyalty, strength, courage, devotion and the deepest of love commitment. Growing African Violets is a spiritual experience in itself teaching us less is more and strength is in the spirit, helping us to understand balance.

$295

Oil and pen on Canvas 20cm h x 20 cm w

'Mum's African Violets 2'- Kay Knights

One of a series of 4 - memories of my mum's violets grown in South Africa. My mum grew the most amazing ones in our hallway that got the afternoon sun. I found their symbolism interesting as the African Violet is a symbol of loyalty, strength, courage, devotion and the deepest of love commitment. Growing African Violets is a spiritual experience in itself teaching us less is more and strength is in the spirit, helping us to understand balance.

$295

Oil and pen on Canvas 20cm h x 20 cm w

'Send Me a Sign'- Kay Knights

The Christmas Cactus is spectacular and one I have been wanting to paint. There are a number of stories around the origins of the name. One of my favourites comes from Brazil which is the cactus' native land where they grow in shady humid forests above the ground in crooks of trees where moss and composted leave collect. The story goes that a young boy prayed for a sign of Christmas as a reprieve from the heat and humidity of the jungle. On Christmas Day he emerged from his hut to find the jungle had filled with the flowers of the cacti overnight.

$375

Oil and pen on Canvas board 20cm h x 25cm w

'I Hear the Drums'- Kay Knights

This is a reflection on my years growing up in South Africa - the Africans have a wonderful feel for shape and colour and their heritage. My landscape layers colours using intuitive mark making for the patterns and shapes from experience and memory - a visual diary from the past. This painting layers the symbolism of flowers on my abstract landscape. The beautiful contrasting colours of the (Strelitzia) Bird of Paradise flower typifies for me the people living in this beautiful troubled country. A flower of contrast and starkness yet such a glorious combination. The Strelitzia represents freedom and immortality.

Sold

Oil and Pen on Canvas 60cm w x 60cm h

'Dark Corners'- Kay Knights

Titled 'Dark Corners' the blue cornflower is an incredibly tough flower that stands up to all elements nature throws at it and displays its beautiful shades of blue flowers. I have memories of growing swathes of them while living near Manchester and drying them hanging upside down. I know a number of artists (like me) are strongly affected by blues - both the colour and the emotion. This year has affected all of us in so many ways.

Sold

Oil and pen on Canvas 30cm w x 40cm h

'Hope Springs'- Kay Knights

This was the seventh of a series I'm painting this year influenced by the Lockdown that has forced a stop of all planned travel.

Titled 'Hope Springs' finished off during home self isolation after visiting Melbourne. Scary strange times - for me it's the stress of not knowing from one week, or day, to the next quite what our future holds. Hopefully by our Spring we will be a little more secure about it all. I think we have a way to go before we are secure again but this painting is my message of hope and resilience. These flowers are all tough and will bloom along the sides of roads with no human care at all - beauty in adversity.

Sold

Oil and pen on Canvas 60cm w x 70cm h

'We're all in this Together'- Kay Knights

This was the sixth of a series I'm painting this year influenced by the Lockdown that has forced a stop of all planned travel.

Still in my 2020 theme - In this troubled time the moon still shines over all of us as we follow our destined paths in these crazy times. The flowers I have chosen are Cherry Blossom which is symbolic of renewal and the fleeting nature of life - their beauty and fragility accepting destiny. The Hawthorn is a sacred tree symbolising love and protection. May our world come together in a better way after this struggle.

Sold

Mixed Media on Canvas 60cm w x 50cm h

'After The Storm'- Kay Knights 2020

This was the fourth of a series I'm painting this year influenced by the Lockdown that has forced a stop of all planned travel.

Still in my Lockdown theme - after this 'storm' passes we will never see things the same way again. Across the world we share the same fears and desires. We still choose to see the light and a way forward or the darkness. I wish for our world some cohesiveness and shared kindness and honesty. Symbolised by Chrysanthemums and Honesty. Honesty has the most beautiful fragile, translucent seed pods and I have loved them for years. Generally, Chrysanthemums symbolise friendship, trust, joy, optimism and longevity - that's a lot for one flower!

Sold

Oil and Pen on Canvas 60cm x 60cm

Kay Knights Art

Flowers andAbstract Landscapes

Recent Work