Escaping Home from Covid-19, Patricia M. Knight, Abstract Expressionist, Ontario, Canada

"The piece I have submitted attempts to express the dangers to those forced to be out in the public arena during the pandemic. Essential workers need to travel during this perilous time when everyone is isolated and not able to provide support or even give a hug. The person in my painting is traveling back-and-forth, going to-and-from work. She is surrounded by risk at every level. Her expression and her posture show her determination to persevere and to keep herself as safe as she can. She is an essential worker. Not only does she face the disease of Covid-19 at her place of employment, but even her commute is hazardous. Her home is her refuge. Her isolation in her house keeps her alive and able to go out and do what she must all over again tomorrow. ‘Courage’…perhaps she should be called 'Courage’."

Patricia M. Knight lives in the countryside along the banks of the Niagara River in Ontario, Canada. She moved there recently from Toronto, Canada. The feeling of isolation under pandemic, she says, is even more present because she has left her community of friends and colleagues behind.

Patricia began exploring art seriously about 15 years ago. Her work is affected by painters such as Monet, Gauguin, and Picasso, as well as by the Abstract Expressionists. In 2019, Patricia completed an intensive online course focused on creating abstract pictures that "come from the soul”. After three months under the tutelage of Nicholas Wilton, her art changed immensely. Patricia just completed a second three-month course with Wilton, and her creativity has moved forward again.

Patricia says she is influenced by world events, particularly when nature turns on nature, and that presently her art is affected by the overriding consequences of the global Covid-19 pandemic. Patricia loves color and its power to express emotion, finding unusual items to use for collage, and incorporating these items into her larger canvases. She also says that everything about women is unique, exciting, and fuels her imagination.

Words: Jada Griffin

Art Under Quarantine is a global, multi-media platform for creatives. We are diverse and inclusive, and we welcome your offering. If you’d like to join the conversation, email SOUL

Escaping Home - Travel during Covid-19, Patricia M. Knight, 12 x 12” mixed media

Face-Off, Patricia Knight, 12 x 12 “ mixed media.

Artist’s statement: The pandemic has emerged a a huge, silent giant rampaging across the globe. Humankind is facing off, prepared to fight with all the knowledge at its disposal. The virus has its foot in the moneybag and is ready to change everything we know about the way we live.