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Distant horizons, sunlit skies, green fields, and
golden hills fill Raymond Knaub’s landscape oil
paintings, emphasizing the importance of place
in all of his art. Harmony, wholeness, light, and
space are adjectives Raymond uses to describe
his work. Though his works are based on actual
landscapes, Raymond feels no obligation to
render them exactly as an illustrator would do.
His artwork has evolved over the years to reflect
a deeper internal interpretation.
Raymond was born into a farming family and
raised in Nebraska, which helped him gain a
bond with the land. That connection did not
immediately manifest itself through art. In high
school Raymond focused on running and
jumping hurdles, which earned him an athletic
scholarship to a university in Texas. There he
studied math and engineering, and it wasn’t
until he took a drawing class by chance that
he began to see the landscape of his youth
through an artist’s eye. He went back to
Nebraska to study fine art at the university and
followed that with graduate school at the
University of Colorado in Boulder. Gradually,
he discovered what his own style and subject
matter would be. "I asked myself, who am I,
what kinds of paintings are real for me? I am a
landscape artist, and when I thought of where
I was reared and where my roots are—it’s rural,"
Raymond explains.
Raymond’s work has been exhibited in many
regional and national competitive shows
such as the Coors National Western Exhibit
Invitational in Denver and the Allied Artist
Annual in New York City. In June of 1996, the
Museum of Nebraska Art featured Raymond in
a one-man show entitled “Rural Wanderings.”
About his own work, Raymond says, “I can’t
say that I paint purely for myself. Painting is an
emotional communication with another person.
The viewer brings to the painting his or her own
baggage. They interpret it the way they want.
The interpretations may or may not coincide
with mine, but that’s all right.”
Through knowing the physical features of the
land and being in touch with its deeper
“feel,” Raymond has come to know who he is.
By sharing his paintings, he offers viewers the
opportunity to make their own personal
connection with the wide open spaces around
them.
Raymond Knaub is published exclusively by
Bentley Publishing Group in Walnut Creek,
California.
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