Marnie McKnight

Marnie McKnight is a Sydney based artist creating works of true elegance. Marnie’s abstract art is reminiscent of cloud formations and the often dramatic collision between sky, sea and land. Simple palettes juxtapositioned with dynamic flashes of colour aim to capture emotions rather than images.

Originally from Ireland, Marnie moved to Australia twenty years ago. She received my first art competition win aged 11, gracing the front page of the Christmas edition of the local magazine and sold her first sketches when she was in high school. Her friends had commissioned her to draw their pets.

In uni, Marnie worked in a cafe and sold watercolours of our local village there. When she left Ireland, she travelled extensively and ended up in Australia with a corporate job. When she had her first child, she began to upcycle furniture, which quickly became a furniture design business with her husband. On lunch breaks at our workshop, Marnie would paint the timber offcuts, and one day her husband showed one of their stockists Marnie’s work, which led to selling some pieces in their store. It was immediately well received and within six months they had closed our furniture business to focus exclusively on Marnie’s art. That was about four years ago, and she have been painting ever since, with her husband also working in the business.

The sea and the sky are Marnie McKnight’s constant sources of inspiration, but often it is just about picking up the brush and seeing where the brushstrokes take her.

Marnie has a few different styles that she works with, and with the exception of portraits, every one of them relates to the sea in some way.

Marnie primarily uses brush on canvas, and tends to work on a few pieces at once, constantly moving them, turning them upside down, allowing and encouraging drips… but her secret weapon is gold leaf, which she applies non-traditionally allowing it to form its own shape.

Marnie McKnight exhibits primarily online, with her website marniemcknight.com and online gallery bluethumb.com.au. She also has works in stores around Australia such as Penny Farthing Design House in Sydney and Honey Jackson in Melbourne. Marnie’s art has been featured in magazines and in ad campaigns for brands such as Dulux paint, Dyson and Koala Mattress.  This year Marnie started to exhibit regularly in joint shows, exhibitions and events around the country, including recently selling out at the affordable Art Fair in Melbourne.

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