Artist Jill Knoll has spent a lot of time cultivating different art forms and finding ways to bring color into her life – that includes her love for agriculture and Kentucky.

Jill grew up on a cattle ranch in Montana where she and her husband raised their 6 children. There she discovered her love for art. What started out as charcoal drawings morphed into watercolor paintings and photography.

Because she came from an agricultural background, she developed a deep appreciation for animals and nature – an appreciation she also instilled in her children.

“When I was growing up, we raised Registered Hereford cattle and also had several Jersey milk cows that had a special place in our hearts,” Jill said. “Our oldest daughter now has her own Jersey milk cow. We’ve always had farm animals around.”

Throughout the years, Jill combined her love for animals and art. Before long, she decided she wanted to share her art with others through her business – Stock and Lavender.

The business started with greeting cards and evolved into prints and other products. She often paints goats, horses, race horses with jockeys, and scenes that feature local buildings. She also provides the artwork for several products in Kentucky Soaps & Such in Stanford, KY – cards, hand towels, and goat totes.

Twelve years ago, life brought the Knoll family to Lancaster, KY where she finished homeschooling her children. She also got involved in the community by teaching art at the local homeschool co-op. She embraced her life in Kentucky with her family.

Jill said she enjoys getting to know the different communities throughout Kentucky because they take pride in their towns and heritage.

“Every place I go has its own flavor, and I really love the diversity I see in Kentucky,” Jill said. “It speaks a lot for each community and they kind of build their own character. It’s unique because people took the time to make it special. It helps people be grounded in their community and creates a community spirit.”

For Jill, art is a great way of just capturing everyday life in Kentucky. That, of course, involves creating work around horses and race horses with jockeys as a tribute to Kentucky.

“I like figuring out how to place the mud coming up from their hooves,” she said. “It’s just really fun. I love being able to use quirky colors. I also like to use colors that you wouldn’t normally use. I love the way color looks on paper. It still really excites me. I never get tired of it.”

Jill had been a customer of Kentucky Soaps & Such for a long time, so she decided to feature some of her products in the Stanford, KY store. A lot of her goat art has different themes. To her, they often come to life with their own personality. She even named one of them “Georgina.”

Jill said while creating her art is something that she enjoys, she does have to be in the right frame of mind.

“It’s just something that makes me happy,” she said. “It’s just a cheerful thing to do.

Jill started selling her creations through greeting cards. She would take her artwork – sketches or paintings – and capture them electronically so they could be reproduced. Today, Jill sells her creations to local shops, under her business Stock and Lavender, such as Kentucky Soaps & Such and has a space in Versailles at Green Street Gifts. Click here to view more of her art.