howdy

I'm Megh Knappenberger, a Kansas City artist. Thanks for being curious about my story. 

While painting lights me up, what drives my uncommon career as an artist is storytelling and connection. 

Everything I make – from portraits, to Jayhawks, to confetti-filled shadowboxes – begins with a story. 

These stories are shaped by my Midwestern roots, and start with my own personal love of something or somewhere. I'm making the art I want to hang in my own home. 

These stories also give my work meaning. They create a connection between me and a subject matter. And, you. 

That's the magic. When someone shares my love of a subject and connects to the art. That is why I paint.  

ACCOLADES
My work has been featured in HerLife Magazine (KC), The Kansas City Star, ESPN Kansas City, Startland News, KC Spaces, KSHB41, KMBC9 and more. 

I am well-known regionally for being one of the only artists ever granted licensing by The University of Kansas (my alma mater) and for a collection of Jayhawk and KU-related paintings. 

My work extends to other local sports teams, with pieces celebrating the Chiefs LIV and LVII Superbowl wins, and portraits of several KC Current (NWSL) players. I also created the KU National Champions Heart for the 2022 Parade of Hearts, which was permanently placed at Allen Fieldhouse in December of 2022.

ABOUT MY WORK
My work can be described as riotously colorful, filled with splats and drips and scribbles. I primarily work in acrylic paint using a palette knife, but enjoy bending the rules and mixing other mediums into my work such as inks, oil crayons and markers. 

The resulting work is energetic, layered and deeply textured. 

The artwork I make is a lot like me – equal parts careful planning and spontaneity. I love experimentation and have been known to mix unconventional things in with my paint. This is best illustrated by my use of limestone “Rock Chalk” in the Original Six Jayhawks. I have also worked with over 30 carats of real diamonds, stone sculptural remains from the original Anheuser Busch Brewhouse, ash, and a number of collectors’ personal artifacts. 

Incorporating unconventional materials into my work is about creating a tangible connection to the story. 

MY HISTORY  
I grew up in St Louis and went to KU where I received a degree in visual communications. I moved to Chicago after college to pursue that career in graphic design. In 2010 I opened a branding studio that focused on food & restaurant clients, where I honed a skill for writing brand books.

In 2016 I injured my back and took a sabbatical from work to recover. It was during that time that I began painting again, something I had always done on the side but without much regularity. I had been living in Chicago without the space to paint. 

Before my injury I was feeling burnt out on design, and missed the analog aspect of making art with my hands. I asked myself, “is it possible to make a living as an artist?” All evidence pointed to the contrary, but I had to try. So I closed my design business and leapt. My other big "creative" project – my two kids – came into the world during this time as well. Life has changed in strange and wonderful ways since I began painting full-time. 

ME TODAY 
My studio in the West Bottoms neighborhood of Kansas CIty – an area filled with large, turn-of-the-century brick warehouses. The area just to the south once housed the largest Stockyards in the world. It is a weird, wonderful neighborhood with a mixture of haunted houses, artists and antique stores. and its somewhere I'm proud to call (studio) home.

I live in Overland Park with my husband and our two small kids. In my leisure time, I can be found watching nature and treasure-hunting documentaries, listening to podcasts and audiobooks, cycling and walking in the woods. I grew up with two very musical brothers who play and write to this day, and who created a love of music in me as well.