Though Kathleen Knowling’s early paintings were watercolours, she soon turned to oil, oilstick, and coloured pencil—the media for which she is chiefly known. Brightly coloured, thickly textured, her work reveals her emotional response to the rural and urban Newfoundland environments she loves.

Born in St. John’s in 1927, Knowling earned a B.A. in history at Barnard College in New York City. The following two years she spent studying art in Paris. Marriage shifted her energies to raising a family; her art career went on hold until the mid-1970s, when she once more could focus on painting. She renewed her studies in art at institutions in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland; her first exhibition was in 1975.

Knowling has been active in the local arts community for many years: she has taught art history at Memorial University, conducted bookmaking workshops, and curated exhibitions. She has also published art criticism and poetry. Her work has been shown in many group exhibitions as well as the solo exhibitions “Hooked Mats” and “The Sparrow’s House.” She currently lives and works in St. John’s.