Atlanta-based artist Jared Knox “I fondly remember visiting the Alabama Black Belt for the first time as a teenager on a family hunting trip to Lowndes County.”
“(Looking back on it now), it created a love of hunting and an admiration for all wildlife,” he said.
Perhaps Knox channeled his black belt history while working on “Bobcat and Bobwhite,” a 36-by-24-inch acrylic painting on canvas. 2nd Annual Wetumpka Wildlife Art Festival (WEWA) In November 2023.
Knox, a 2021 graduate of Auburn University, created the artwork specifically for the contest in Wetumpka. He had been encouraged to participate by his wife, Cindy Harris. Alabama Black Belt Adventure Association (ALBBAA) Founder Thomas Harris saw his work at a gallery in North Carolina.
Mr. Knox, an avid hunter, said he drew inspiration from the joys of upland hunting and quail conservation when creating “Bobcats and Bobwhites.” He also drew on his personal experience of seeing a wild bobcat during a deer hunting trip to northern Georgia.
“There was one field with bobcats and I got to see them hunt once or twice,” Knox said. “It was dusk. That image stuck with me. It was a big bobcat. I love that image, and I love the story of all the different animals going out and catching food. .”
“Bobcat and Bobwhite,” a painting by Atlanta-based artist and Auburn graduate Jared Knox, won Best Picture at the inaugural Alabama Wildlife Art Competition at the 2nd Wetumpka Wildlife Art Festival. Awarded.
That's exactly what “Bobcat and Bobwhite” shows. “How cool would it be to see a bobcat holding a quail?” Knox added. “Looks like he just got it recently. It's a fresh murder.”
Knox grew up in Marietta, Georgia and studied mechanical engineering at Auburn. Art was his hobby even in college, he said, and he did some commissioned work. Then, during his final semester at Auburn University, he was unexpectedly invited to exhibit his work at a gallery outside of Atlanta.
He said encouragement from a gallery owner was a “lightbulb moment” that motivated him to make art his full-time career instead of engineering. He established a studio after graduating and has been working as a full-time artist ever since.
His decision was validated when he entered the Alabama Wildlife Art Competition and won Best of Show.
“It was really great to be a part of it because some of the artists I most admire were there, like Dirk Walker and Sue Kee,” he said of the two artists who also received honorable mentions at the show. Mentioned. “I've always been a fan of theirs. It was really cool to be in it and win and talk to them. It was amazing.”
ALBBAA helped facilitate the 2nd Annual General Meeting Wetumpka Wildlife Art FestivalCreated through a partnership with. Kelly Fitzpatrick Memorial Galleryknown to locals as “The Kelly,” the city of Wetumpka, and the Smoot-Harris family.
“The goals of the series of festivals are wide-ranging, to increase tourism, impact economic development, expose The Kerry to a wider audience and, hopefully, create an ongoing event for this fascinating community. , which includes a desire to benefit the Wetumpka area by continuing to host the event, “to grow into a mecca for the arts,'' said Thomas Harris, whose family has deep roots in the Wetumpka area. said.
