About
Looking Closely
Dylan McKnight is a New England-based artist recognized for his impressionistic paintings that illuminate the stories of the region's landscapes and working communities. Trained in drawing, oil painting, printmaking, and sculpture, he earned his BFA in Painting from the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts.
After a hiatus to raise a family and pursue a career in technology, Dylan recently returned to painting with a renewed perspective shaped by life's experiences. Now working primarily in watercolor, he embraces the medium's spontaneity, balancing wet-in-wet passages with elegant and decisive brushwork, to reveal light, structure, and atmosphere with a limited palette.
Dylan's paintings have earned national recognition, with selections into exhibitions of the American Watercolor Society, the San Diego Watercolor Society, the Watercolor Society of Houston, Cape Ann Plein Air, and the American Impressionist Society. In 2025 he was elected Vice President of the New England Watercolor Society, where he supports the regional watercolor community and helps advance plein air painting across New England.
His work is represented by Sidoti Gallery of Fine Art on Main Street in Rockport, Massachusetts.
Select Accolades
- Third Place, New England Regional Juried Exhibition, New England Watercolor Society, Watertown, MA (November 2025)
- Raymond Beaupre Award for Excellence in Representational Watercolor, National Juried Show, Rockport Art Association and Museum, Rockport, MA (November 2025)
- First Place, Plein Air Litchfield 2025, Litchfield, CT (October 2025)
- Second Place, 2025 Plein Air Show, San Diego Watercolor Society, San Diego, CA (July 2025)
- Modern Impressionism Award of Distinction, 25th Annual National Juried Exhibition, American Impressionist Society, Rockport, MA (September 2024)
- Honorable Mention, Cape Ann Plein Air 2025, Gloucester, MA (October 2025)
- Merit Award, 48th Annual International Watermedia Exhibit, Watercolor Society—Houston, Houston TX (March 2025)
- Vermont Community Foundation Alden & Mary Bryant Award, New England Watercolor Society North American Juried Exhibition, Plymouth, MA (November 2024)
- 3rd Place, Quick Draw, Cape Ann Plein Air, Gloucester, MA (October 2024)
- People at Work and Play Award, Cape Ann Plein Air, Gloucester, MA (October 2024)
- Honorable Mention, 4th Annual American Impressionist Society Associate Member Exhibition (May 2024)
- Anne D. Sullivan Memorial Award for Excellence in Watercolor, New England Watercolor Society Regional Open Juried Exhibition, Pawtucket, RI (October 2023)
- Award of Merit, New England Watercolor Society Associate Members Exhibition, Plymouth, MA (September 2023)
- New England Watercolor Society Award, Guild of Boston Artists New England Regional Juried Exhibition, Boston, MA (September 2023)
- Honorable Mention, Perkins Cove Plein Air, Ogunquit, ME (September 2023)
- Honorable Mention, Adirondack Plein Air Festival, Saranac Lake, NY (August 2023)
- Nancy and Jess Mobley Award, 11th Annual Green Mountain Watercolor Exhibition, Waitsfield, VT (July 2023)
Publications
- Giles, Max. "Watercolors For All." Fine Art Connoisseur, vol. 22 no. 3, June 2025, pp. 58
Education
- BFA, Painting, Lyme Academy College of Fine Art, Old Lyme, CT