Troy Knight, the Galveston Art League’s new Featured Artist, will exhibit photos and paintings from noon to 6 p.m. Fridays-Sundays in the league’s gallery at 2117A Postoffice St. in downtown Galveston. Knight’s pieces, along with dozens of additional artworks by league members, will be posted and offered for sale on www.GalvestonArtLeague.com.
Knight was just 18 and a soldier in the U.S. Army when he bought his first camera, a Kodak Signet 80. “The Korean landscape was bleak, the faces of my buddies were sad, and the Koreans were living in desperate times,” says Knight, who captured all of these images in his pictures. Upon returning to civilian life, he snapped “new babies, new cars, new houses, birthdays and all those wonderful experiences that make life rich and full. I filled albums with pictures from that trusty Kodak,” says Knight, who lives in the Clear Lake area of Houston.
Knight’s travels inspired him to expand his photography equipment. “I traded in the now-defunct Kodak for a larger and more up-to-date model, bought more lenses, moved from film to digital, and finally realized that the camera could be an artistic tool and not just an instrument to record family activities.”
Following a visit to the nonprofit Galveston Art League Gallery, he decided to display some of his photographs there. “Not even realizing what I was doing, I entered a juried show. Two of my entries made the show, and one of the photos earned a ribbon. The experience opened a new world to me.”
Knight uses his camera daily “to capture the essence of a culture, the spirit of a landscape and the heart of a story.” Although most of his exhibited artworks will be photography, Knight also is showing a few of his abstract acrylic paintings. “My primary medium is photography, but I have now enjoyed working acrylic abstracts. It gives me another avenue of expression.”
When he sells a photo or painting through the Galveston Art League Gallery, Knight says “it’s a joy to know that some of my pictures have emotionally touched others and are now in their homes, that I get to share the story of these photos with others and that I get to continue to grow as a photographer.”
The Art League advocates on behalf of area artists working in diverse media. Founded 108 years ago to promote visual arts and art education in the Galveston County region, the league is composed of both artist and non-artist members. The organization has always been governed by volunteers and has never had a salaried employee. To join or to learn more, visit www.GalvestonArtLeague.com or email gallery2117@gmail.com.
