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Suburban Myth Phil Knoll
Above: Slight Chance of Rain, 2011, graphite on paper, 11 x 7 inches Cover: The Taste of Salt and Sweat (Homage to Hokusai), 2017, watercolor and colored pencil on paper on panel, 20 x 16 inches.
I believe I’m brave, and perhaps foolish to admit it, but I want my art to be fun. Fun to make. Fun to look at. Fun to think about. But that doesn’t mean my pictures aren’t serious. I attempt to confront important issues, focusing mainly on human arrogance. There is a great need to poke, prod, and expose the hubris of Homo Sapiens in my work. Sometimes the irreverence is obvious, other times it comes at you slant. But it is rarely lacking, if you look. For the curious (and I know you are), let me explain who Phil Knoll is. He began drawing before he was born. Onto the inside of his mother’s womb using the diminutive nail of his left index finger he etched complex images. But one is not born a card-carrying artist. After years of study–absorbing, rejecting, applying, formulating and surviving rejection–Phil could finally call himself an artist. A big influence? Seeing Peter Saul’s work for the first time while attending the University of Texas, Phil said to himself, “Holy Crap, you can do that?!?!” Saul’s work gave Knoll permission to do what he wanted. Others, like Alice Neel, Saul Steinberg, and Man Ray converse with Phil in the studio on a daily basis. And friends like Geoffrey Young urged the graphically preoccupied Knoll into embracing color as an attractive addition. Admittedly, there is a cornucopia of divergent styles to be found in mon oeuvre. I challenge myself to imagine what might be a sane response to life on earth. Then I choose the best vehicle to realize the vision, whether via realism, cartoon, or by stepping into the sneakers of other artists for brief raids on their genius. You can be certain I put my heart into my work, because there is nothing I won’t do to body forth the wit in my pictures. Beauty, that ungovernable international sensation, is the supreme goal. There is also an obsession to focus on the small within the large. What is the universe if not for its details? So as you graze these selections don’t trouble yourself with the trivial problem of continuity; please appreciate each image as the independent life force that it is. Together we can make the museum of the world a more acutely sensitive place in which to live. -Phil
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A Stroll Through the Woods, 2000, mixed media on canvas, 26 x 20 inches.
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Nature Study, 2018, watercolor and colored pencil on paper, 8 x 7 inches.
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Yar Yum, 2018, watercolor on paper, 6 x 6 inches.
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Those Little Bumps in the Road, 2007, acrylic and graphite on panel, 20 x 16 inches. 6
Lethe, 2007, acrylic and graphite on panel, 20 x 16 inches. 7
The Conversation, 2011, graphite on paper, 11 x 13 inches.
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The Rabbit Huntress, 2018, ink & pencil on paper, 9 x 7 inches. 9
Pup (Karma Portrait Series), 2018, watercolor and colored pencil on paper, 43 x 43 inches.
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Kitten, 2015, watercolor and colored pencil on paper, 42 x 42 inches.
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Odysseus Tempted by the Sirens, (Mythos series), 2020, watercolor and colored pencil on paper, 31 x 29 inches.
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Aphrodite (Sue from memory) (Mythos Series), 2020, watercolor and china marker on paper, 26 x 18 inches. 13
The Optimist (Homage to Jean Baptiste Huet), 2017, watercolor and colored pencil on paper on panel, 20 x 16 inches. 14
The Swordsman (Homage to Sir Anthony van Dyck), 2017, watercolor and colored pencil on paper on panel 20 x 16 inches. 15
The Buddy System, 2009, acrylic on panel, 20 x 16 inches. 16
The Golden Rule, 2009, acrylic on panel, 14 x 14 inches.
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Owl (Karma Portrait Series), 2018, watercolor and colored pencil on paper, 42 x 42 inches.
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Red Fox (Karma Portrait Series), 2021, watercolor and colored pencil on paper, 42 x 42 inches.
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Verism (Rock Hudson Changing into a Werewolf), 2015, watercolor and graphite on paper, 7 feet x 23 inches.
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The Jacksons, 2015, graphite on paper on panel, 14 x 14 inches.
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Legends of the Art World, 2015, graphite on paper on panel, 20 x 16 inches. 23
Crowns of Fire, 2020, watercolor and graphite on paper, 15 x 15 inches.
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Self Portrait, 2011, graphite on paper, 11 x 11 inches.
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A Deep Deep Sleep, 2000, mixed media on canvas, 26 x 20 inches.
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Moment of Clarity, 1999, mixed medium on canvas, 20 x 26 inches.
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Something Wonderful, 2014, watercolor and graphite on paper 42 x 42 inches.
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Niche, 2015, watercolor and graphite on paper, 44 x 35 inches. 29
Years of Hard Work, 2011, graphite on paper, 18 x 12 inches.
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The Artist in His Studio, 2012, graphite on paper, 11 x 12 inches.
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Pseudo Science, 2000, acrylic on canvas, 22 x 18 inches. 32
Dad of the Year, 2001, mixed media on canvas, 40 x 34 inches. 33
Juno (Back & White Series), 2021, watercolor and graphite on paper, 23 x 23 inches.
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Buster (Back & White Series), 2021, watercolor and colored pencil on paper, 23 x 23 inches.
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Ambrosia, 2000, mixed media on canvas, 18 x 22 inches.
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Imperfect Love, 2021, watercolor and graphite on paper, 6 x 6 feet.
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Left:120%, 2000, watercolor on paper, 11 x 9 inches. Right: Handsome, 2018, watercolor and ink on paper, 9 x 7 inches.
Left: Vista of Potential, 2018, watercolor on paper, 8 x 6 inches. Right: Aware of Being Self Aware, 2018, watercolor and color pencil on paper, 7 x 7 inches.
Left: Marilyn Garden, 2018, watercolor and ink on paper, 6 x 4 inches. Right: Amore, 2018, watercolor and colored pencil on paper, 8 x 7 inches. 38
Essay © Phil Knoll Photography by xx Design by Patrick Neal Many thanks to ...... Printed by Shapco Printing, Inc. www.philipknollart.com
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“ Phil included an image of my dog in one of his drawings! How great is that! Clearly, he is an amazing drawer. His process finds uses for the grid as well as for photographic source material, producing imaginative accumulations driven by a mad observation of almost clinical details. His work might be thought to be ironic, but for me his drawings and paintings have a straightforward, heart-warming earnestness. The expertise of his hand and the playfulness of his wit generate bursts of fresh air. His animal portraits alone light me up, make me feel better about being in this world where animals are so much better than humans.” –Barbara Takenaga “ Philip Knoll is a really inspired story-painter who likes to catch fish and let them go (no kidding). The important thing is his pictures have a lot to give, a lot to look at, unlike the crumby modern stuff that is mostly about (yawn!) itself.” –Peter Saul “ Knoll’s world, with all its manic charms, ranges wide and wild. While he’s never drawn a face he doesn’t like–even the evil ones!–amidst his trademark honesty and warmth there’s a species specific empathy shown to all his subjects. Not that the man has ever shied away from the dark side of fun. Lately, his portraits of animals, masterfully rendered at gargantuan scale, have raised the psychographic register a notch, and, quite frankly, they scare the shit out of me!” –James Siena
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