We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful John Knell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with John below.

John, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I was in third grade and the year was 1976. Dad had been assigned babysitting duty with me on a Sunday morning before church as Mom had some meeting/activity she needed to attend.

My Dad’s usual Sunday morning ritual included stopping by a coffee shop along the way to the church to have a coffee with the boys and he saw no reason to change this fact just because I was in tow.

After getting settled In the shop, Dad with his coffee and me with my hot chocolate, I spied over by the wall one of those metal spinning racks of paperback books. Of course – being all of 8 years old, bored and looking for any small distraction to entertain myself, I was immediately drawn to the spinning rack of literary prose. And, to my delight and shining amongst them, was a Charlie Brown and Snoopy paperback with a bright yellow cover. Of course I knew, right then and there, that I had to have it.

Dad acquiesced and bought me the Charlie Brown book without too much pressure…probably just as much for his own reasons/sanity (i.e…to keep my quiet while he continued his b.s. session with the boys) as for my enjoyment.

Upon purchasing the book I was immediately lost in the world of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the gang. A fantastically whimsical world – drawn simply in black and white and perfectly showcased on the crisp white pages underneath my pudgy 3rd grade fingers. I was hooked and it wasn’t on the hot chocolate, b.s. session with the boys or going to church. I was hooked on the Peanuts and I knew I needed more.

Thankfully the tag along before church situation wasn’t an isolated incident as it happened for several months in a row. Dad dragging me along to coffee with the boys. Buying me a hot chocolate and Peanuts book to keep me quiet then, after a bit, it would be off to church…only to repeat the next Sunday.

After a bit my collection of Peanuts books had grown substantially and what had started out as simply a love for the books quickly transformed into a love to draw and create art based on the books.

Looking back I don’t remember the exact moment that I started drawing the Peanuts characters. All I really remember is a feeling….a feeling that made me want to express my love for these characters in some form and fashion and, in doing so, feel more a part of their world.

Consequently drawing was a perfect vehicle for that and I spent hours upon hours drawing not only comics from the books but also drawing my own comics based on the Peanuts gang.

Then, in the summer of 1977, something magical happened – the original Star Wars was released and like a lightning bolt to the chest….things would never be the same.

Overnight my Snoopy drawings became drawings of R2D2 and Darth Vader and it was at that moment, armed with a pencil, paper and an imagination fueled by that galaxy far, far, away, that I knew that the creative path was my calling. It was like Star Wars had flipped a switch deep down inside of me and a creative light bulb turned on – fueled by the creative passion that Star Wars had awakened in me.

It’s a light bulb that shines in me even to this day. It’s a light that still, after all of these years, sustains and nourishes me through all the ups and downs/successes and failures/times both good and bad, that naturally come in tow with pursuing a career in the creative arts.

And to think it all started .with a father who was tasked with taking care of his young son before church and the need for a distraction to keep said son entertained and engaged while he hung out with his buddies.

John, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I like to say that I make art for the art of connection as connecting with my audience through my work is essential to me and the work I produce.

A “visual ruckus maker” is also a term that I use to describe myself as I wear many creative hats and I absolutely hate being labeled with anything too specific.

Collage artist, illustrator, digital content creator, photographer, graphic designer, entrepreneur and writer are all areas of creative focus for me and it’s always my goal to try to weave all those complimentary disciplines into unique works of complexity, creativity and thoughtful storytelling.

I truly believe that when I am doing my best work – I am working with joy and passion from my own heart. As an artist I always want to translate what I am feeling and movie it directly to my audience through my work. I want them to participate in that process with me and I don’t feel that my work is complete until it is viewed by someone. If I can also bring something new to the table that causes a deeper change, whether it be through an idea, a fresh take/approach to my craft or a moment of inspiring beauty, then I have done my job.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I believe that NFTs should be another spoke on an artists wheel of product offerings.

While the market is very young, volatile and unpredictable – it is also something that shouldn’t be discounted and ignored. Especially as a long term growth opportunity for artists as more and more people get involved and comfortable in block chain technologies.

For me personally… I have an account on the OpenSea platform and, with my work being produced primarily in the digital space, having NFT offerings is a natural and something that I will continue to develop.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Looking back on my youth there were so many people continually pushing the “starving/you’ll never make any money as an artist” narrative that it’s surprising I even considered it at all.

I’m sorry to say that the constant chirping from the naysayers had a huge impact on not only my mental and emotional health during my formative teen years, while I started to figure out who/what I was as a person, but It also negatively affected my confidence in my talents and convection in my dreams. With so many folks that I loved and respected saying that pursuing art was a fools folly – who was I to say otherwise.

As a side note here…I actually even changed my initial degree path in college from Art to English as I could at least shield myself from the echo chamber by justifying the degree choice as a pre-law path. (i.e…..something that is a “respectable” career with opportunity attached to it.)

Some of this dream killing was done out of love and concern. Some of it was done out of fear of something not the “norm” or “too risky”. Others did it out of meanness or spite. Whatever the reason – my memory is filled with all sorts of captured moments of folks delighting in and/or sternly lecturing me on the pitfalls of pursuing a career in the arts.

To add additional internal stress to me, and fuel to the naysayers fire, I was next in line to take over my family legacy of our 100 year old mortuary as I was anointed at birth (actually – anointed the moment I was adopted but that is another story) to be the heir apparent to my father’s side of the business.

Consequently, and as you could imagine, my father wasn’t keen on any career choice that didn’t involve me taking over the family funeral home business.

I eventually settled on a “compromise”. Consequently, after completing my studies in English and earning my degree, I went back to school and got a second degree in graphic design.

I enjoyed the field of graphic design very much as I found the creativity and problem solving around the job to be rewarding and fulfilling. Plus – learning about how to produce creative work under a deadline and on budget is something that still serves me well.

But, after running my own freelance design shop from 1999 – 2016, I decided enough was enough and it was time to ditch the graphic design side of my creative brain and transition over to full time artist.

They say that opportunities arrive when you are ready to receive them and this is definitely the case here. I don’t look at my time in the design profession as a waste and/or regret taking that career path at all. I honed many creative skill sets that still serve me very well today. Plus – what the field taught me about composition, spacial relationships, typography and digital workflow have all been invaluable to me as a fine artist.

While it’s not as loud or as omnipresent today as it was during my youth – Teddy Roosevelt’s “The Man in the Arena” speech is something that brings comfort and rings true to me today. It is something that I use to quell the negative echo chamber that pops up from time to time in my own arena. I wish I would’ve had it available to me back then.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.johnknell.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnny_kc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnKnellArt
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-knell-126a/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/johnny_kc
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnny_kc

Image Credits
Nicole Bissey Photographer