Sarah Knights is on a weekend break in Tobago, celebrating her 11th wedding anniversary by a beautiful beach. Time alone with her husband is precious, as she is not only a working artist, but also a full-time art teacher in Trinidad, with pupils aged from 12 to 19. Add to the mix the couple’s two toy poodles and this is one busy woman.
She is still so amazed to have received Tatler’s commission to paint a portrait of King Charles III that she has hardly mentioned it to anyone. Her husband knows, of course – ‘He is the driving force behind this,’ she says – as well as her mother and the principal and vice-principal of her school. But apart from that, she has kept it a secret. The invitation came out of the blue, towards the end of 2022, when she was approached by Khalil Akar, director of the Akoje Gallery in London. Having been asked by Tatler’s editor to help find an artist to paint the portrait for this issue’s cover, Akar thought at once of Knights, whose work he had come across in a group show of artists from Trinidad. He had immediately been impressed by her style, which he describes as ‘classical yet contemporary; serious but with an element of caricature’. He contacted her on Instagram and she sent him some sketches – it quickly became clear that she would be well suited to the task.
Knights knew from an early age that art was in her blood. She is the youngest of six siblings and remembers how her artistic mother used to draw pictures for them as gifts when they were children, encouraging them to do the same. ‘I grew up in the ’90s and I remember drawing my favourite cartoon and storybook characters,’ Knights recalls. ‘My brother and I used to draw Fido Dido and Bart Simpson. I think these were my first serious drawings.’ By her mid-teens, she had realised that she could capture a likeness and secured her very first commission: ‘It was from a friend who wanted me to do a portrait of him. I was generously rewarded with a $20 bill.’
The innate talent may have come from her mother, but it was her father who encouraged her to take her art seriously. ‘[He] made sure that I signed up at John D [the John Donaldson Technical Institute in Port of Spain] and UWI [The University of the West Indies], to further my studies. He was the one who took my drawings for one of the lecturers to view at John D.’ She ended up studying art for four years at John D and three more at UWI, where she majored in painting and met her future husband, Stefano Caines, also an art graduate specialising in design and animation.
Her big break came in 2012 when she showcased her work at a UWI alumni exhibition. She submitted a portrait that was snapped up by Martin D Mouttet, director and owner of Trinidad’s leading gallery, Medulla Art Gallery in Port of Spain, who offered Knights a solo exhibition. So firm was his belief in her talent that he was prepared to wait five years for her to complete the pieces, which finally launched at the gallery in 2017 to great acclaim. ‘I was so nervous,’ she recalls. ‘My art is so personal and I was afraid of what everyone would think.’ Knights’ painting is certainly personal. The show, titled One Thousand Mes, was a collection of self-portraits because, as she explains, a portrait as she understands it is not just an aesthetic likeness, but the exploration of a personality, and there is no one she knows better than herself.
The show was a sell-out and Knights was elated. But rather than become a full-time artist taking portrait commissions, she continues her career as an art teacher, painting in her spare time. ‘Painting for a client is very different,’ she rationalises. ‘When you paint for yourself, you have absolute freedom. With a commission, you are working for someone else, and this restricts you in some way.’
So did she have to think hard about accepting Tatler’s commission? ‘Not at all. I just knew I had to take this opportunity. This is very special.’ That’s not to say it hasn’t been one of the biggest challenges of her life so far. Not knowing her subject at all, she spent a long time preparing and studying photos online, finally selecting two on which she would base her portrait. ‘I chose one with a hat because that was how I wanted to paint him, and one without the hat so that I could capture the head properly. I had to decide whether the King would face east or west. The original painting had the figure facing west, but I thought it was more appropriate for him to face east – the rising of the sun, the beginning of a new day, a new dawn. I think it was important to capture the King looking hopeful, full of clarity in a time such as this, so I got my husband to sit for me in profile to help me get the pose right.’
The result is extraordinary. In this single portrait, Knights has captured the complexity of the contemporary King’s role. The pose is regal and dignified, but even barely glimpsed in profile, the eyes are thoughtful and the hands are clasped in the lap, a classic gesture of self-restraint. As a composition, it is striking for the contrast between the intricacy of the face and details of the uniform set against the expanse of bare wall. The layers of tone in the background pick up the hues of the skin, with highlights on the hands, the ears and the forehead. Knights loves working with acrylic – she originally turned to it to avoid using oil and turpentine, which give her migraines, but soon realised that it suited her style. ‘I paint fast and build up layers of colour, and acrylic dries quickly, which allows me to get into my rhythm.’
Looking at this portrait, it is no surprise to hear that Knights’ artistic inspiration comes in large part from Francis Bacon, particularly his works during the 1960s and 1970s, which employ a similar palette and the same technique of setting the subject against a plain background. She also admires Claude Monet, whose work she ‘fell in love with in college. I love his colour palette and the quick brushstroke he used to capture his surroundings,’ she says. And also George Condo, Hayv Kahraman and Sheena Rose: ‘There is a bit of edginess and playfulness these artists are able to capture in their portrayal of the figure that captivates me.’
She began by depicting the King sitting on a chair but soon realised there was more to this portrait than just a figure. As one of the first portraits to be released post-coronation, it will become a historical document. ‘But I had absolutely no idea what a throne looked like!’ she laughs. Sir George Hayter came to the rescue, with his painting The Coronation of Queen Victoria in Westminster Abbey, 28 June 1838. Knights has borrowed the shape of Hayter’s throne, which she outlines in gold to match the epaulettes and tassels on the King’s uniform, but has aptly dropped the pomp and luxurious trappings of the Victorian coronation piece.
If Knights wasn’t originally planning to watch the coronation, she admits she changed her mind after this commission. However, across Trinidad, it was the older generation that most enjoyed the celebrations, particularly those who remember waving flags during the visit of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 1966. In the run-up to the big event, Knights spent every spare second working on the finishing touches to her portrait and expresses the relief she felt when it was finally done and ready to be shipped to London: ‘It makes me nervous working at home with just a small studio space, where painting on a large scale is difficult. This is the largest painting I have done in a while. And nothing is completely safe. One day I came home from school and found Spud and Pino [their mischievous but much-loved dogs] nibbling at the edge of the canvas. Thank goodness I spotted them just in time!’
