For more than three decades, Dedi Knox has made the Yampa Valley her home and inspiration for her art. From a mountainside studio with what she calls breathtaking views of northern Routt County, Knox paints with the backdrop of Steamboat Lake and Hahn’s Peak, both of which continue to fuel her work as a watercolor painter and abstract artist.

“I live in paradise,” Knox said. “I have a 360 (degree) view of the mountains. I love the fresh calm clean air and I love being out in North Routt. I am inspired every day. It’s really miraculous.”

Knox moved to Steamboat Springs 31 years ago with an eagerness to pursue painting professionally. She has since been involved with the Wild Horse Gallery, Artists’ Gallery of Steamboat, Circle Seven and for the past eight years Pine Moon Gallery, where her most recent exhibition, called “Exciting Transition,” opened during September’s First Friday Artwalk.

“People in Steamboat are receptive, curious and oddly enough so educated in the arts,” she said. “It has been a very rewarding experience.”

Growing with Steamboat’s art scene

Since moving here, Knox has watched and participated in the transformation and growth of Steamboat’s arts community. She experienced the galleries of Steamboat evolving into hosts of photography, sculpture, painting and other art forms. That process, she said, led to a diversity that is a sign of momentum toward great things to come.

“The Yampa Valley has grown immensely,” she said. “We have a lot of resort people who come, build and stay. They’re very receptive and very open to all kinds of art.”

She credits the natural surroundings as a constant source of inspiration while also seeing them as an immense challenge.

“I primarily am a watercolorist and it is hard to keep up with this scenery. It’s just so beautiful,” Knox said. “There has been an influx of building in the last few years, but the ranchers and the cowboys are still very much a part of Steamboat. They are very curious, brave and interested in art.”

From illustration to abstract

Knox’s artistic journey began in childhood. As the eldest of three children, she found drawing to be both a calming and fulfilling outlet as she grew up.

“I started seriously at about 8 years old,” she said. “Since I rode horses, I drew horses, but it’s more fun now later in life to be experimenting with large shapes and colors.”

Her early love for illustrating the world that surrounded her would eventually become a career. Knox would come to work as an illustrator for Western Publishing in Racine, Wisconsin. That experience gave her a strong technical background, which eventually turned into a challenge when it came to loosening her style to fit the direction in which she wanted to move artistically.

“Abstraction is a bit more difficult for me because I have to let go and let my mind roam in my childhood memories,” she said. “I painted as a child when I was a child. Now, I’m going back to it.”

Her current show at Pine Moon is a reflection of her journey back to her youth in an exploration of color and nature through abstract expression.

“It’s been very rewarding to see people enjoy that and I am enjoying it,” Knox said. “This is very different and I’m hoping that people will come in and appreciate the difference in the interpretation of the local landscape.”

A life in teaching and learning

Knox’s path also included a career in education. After graduating in 1967, she earned a teaching certificate at her parents’ insistence from the University of Wisconsin. She later became a Department of Defense civilian teacher at an Air Force base in England.

“It was one of the most exciting adventures I have ever had in a hut, without many materials, and with eager learning students who really wanted to be there,” Knox said.

Teaching also gave Knox a place to watch how young people discover and develop within the arts.

“The most exciting class I ever taught was photography to seniors in high school,” she said. “It was an eye-opening experience because you get to look at the world through the eyes and brain of an 18-year-old. It was so exciting and I learned so much from them.”

Art and community connection

Even as her work becomes more abstract, and her career enters a new phase, Knox hopes that viewers feel personally connected to her pieces and the stories they tell.

“Hopefully the scale of the painting and the colors in the painting will allow them to think back. If they can stretch themselves into the childlike forms and the movement of the painting, they can put themselves in the middle of it,” she said.

The most rewarding moments for Knox are when someone stops long enough to truly engage with her work.

“Perhaps they turn around and see me standing there,” she said. “Maybe after all these years they might recognize me and say, ‘Oh my gosh, I like this one.’ I like to hear why and what their baggage is that they bring to my painting.”

Building the future

Knox is also encouraged by the direction of the arts communities of Steamboat Springs. She sees high value in groups like the Yampa Valley Sustainability Council, which integrates art into its annual auction, and for the volunteers and organizations who keep the town’s creative energy and spirit alive and well.

“It’s very important to combine the arts with the other environmental and scientific projects here in Steamboat,” she said. “It’s working. People in Steamboat volunteer, even when they have small children in the schools. Older people are eager to help as well because they bring wisdom.”

Knox’s artwork also serves as an inspiration for those who are part of her creative world.

“Dedi is brave with her medium and is not afraid to try new things while still maintaining her own unique style. She has done things with watercolor I’ve not seen elsewhere and brings to the viewer a new perspective on the ancient medium of watercolor,” said fellow artist Jennifer Baker. “She is definitely one of our more prolific local artists and we are certainly honored to have her work at the gallery.”

As for what comes next in her life and career, Knox is taking things one brush stroke at a time.

“I do one day at a time and when I do one painting I love, I usually do about five of the same subject,” she said. “I just hope that health-wise and outlook-wise and with my family, I will be able to continue to do my work.”

For more information on Dedi Knox and her works at the Pine Moon Fine Art Gallery, visit PineMoonFineArt.com/Dedi-Knox.