Meet the Members

Niagara

Ehren Knapp

www.ehrenknapp.com

“I’m working to surround myself with things I admire. What I admire I paint. I’m a big fan of airplanes. I respond to the freedom they represent. I marvel at their complexity, as evidenced in the science of flight, and I marvel at their simplicity, as expressed in the wing, a perfect melding of form and function . I am inspired by the shear magnitude of heroic acts, performed in the preservation and advancement of humanity, in which the airplane has played the most important part and I am awestruck by the shear magnitude of destruction the airplane has wrought against humanity. It is a physical object, it is a terrible object, and it is a wondrous object. The airplane represents the entire gamut of human endeavor and frailty. It is an amazing invention and it is my intention to not only convey my admiration for these machines but also to use this particular subject as a conduit through which other truths can be expressed to people who may not care about the object itself but can appreciate the artwork’s content.

Stylistically, I approach the paintings one at a time. The method of representation is dictated by the content, though the essential subject remains the same. As of yet, my level of experience demands that I alter my painting technique to suit each unique work. If, for example, the piece requires a restrained hand, then the technique will be indirect and the colors realistic or subdued. If, on the other hand, the piece is boisterous and energetic, then the technique is direct and the colors are vibrant and popping. I am still exploring, developing my language, and searching for a voice.

Through painting the machine as my subject, I can express as many virtues and vices as I know and at the same time create tangible, real, admirable, objects with which to enrich mine and others surroundings.”

Ehren Knapp

Ehren resides in Erie, Pennsylvania, yet has lived and traveled extensively throughout the United States. He studied at the Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach, CA, Studio Art Centers International in Florence, Italy, and earned his BFA from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Edinboro, Pa, graduating Magna cum laude.

Specializing in emotional, fine art renditions of aviation and historical themes, he is also a well traveled muralist with work in San Diego, Boston, and Philadelphia.