Artist profile: Perry Knotts

By Travis Hill

Among the characters parading past his West King St. office, Perry Knotts noticed a peculiar constant. His black, shaggy hair had just a hint of gray coming through; a black, gunslinger-style mustache dominated his unshaven face; and, for a homeless guy, he seemed just friendly enough to be approached.

“That was in 2004,” Knotts said. “At that point I had no idea I wanted to take photography this seriously. I had an interest in it, but when I started with Armando, I was just dabbling.”

Knotts has learned a lot about himself since he began chronicling Armando’s life as a homeless man in St. Augustine. Perhaps most importantly, he’s found it unwise to underestimate anyone.

Armando couldn’t be interviewed for this piece, mostly because he is hard to find. Despite the trusting relationship Knotts has built with him, finding Armando is always a crapshoot – for obvious reasons.

“Every few weeks he lives somewhere else,” Knotts said. “It’s so hard to catch up to him. I usually have a good idea about where he’ll be, but sometimes I’ll drive around in circles and never find him.”When he does find him, Armando is extremely accommodating. He has let Knotts into his transient lifestyle, showing him where he sleeps, how he gets food, and some of his secret hiding places.

“When we first started, I just asked him if I could take pictures and he had no problem with it,” Knotts said. “He said he’s been photographed hundreds of times.”

As it turns out, Knotts wasn’t the first person to notice Armando. In fact, if St. Augustine has a most ‘famous’ homeless person, Armando is likely it. The more Knotts hung out with Armando, the more he saw how well-known he actually was.

Once when Knotts took him out to dinner (he has never given Armando any money, but he has provided him a few meals), he was shocked to find that all the cooks and busboys in the back of the restaurant knew Armando.

“It’s crazy,” Knotts said. “If you start talking about Armando, so many people know who he is. Especially on the West Side.”

Knotts has been following Armando for nearly four years, and he is still amazed by how much he has learned, despite how little he knows about his subject. He thinks Armando is from Texas. He thinks Armando has been living in St. Augustine for about 20 years. But there is no real way to confirm any of that.

Knotts also doesn’t have a clear explanation on exactly how Armando became homeless. But he has a very good idea.

“It’s hard to understand him because of his accent,” Knotts said. “And when he is really drunk, it’s even harder.”

According to Knotts, Armando has a “terrible” addiction to alcohol. Watching how it has affected Armando has provided Knotts with some hard-learned insight.

“You and I, we try to hide our problems,” Knotts said. “For Armando, you can see how much he struggles with his alcoholism. He can’t hide it – everyone can see.”

That’s not the only lesson Knotts has learned.

“You shouldn’t make assumptions about people,” he said. “He’s homeless, but I’m surprised by how street and current events smart he is. He was talking one day about Britney Spears – that caught me off-guard. Another day he was talking about how tragic all of the recent school shootings have been.”

Armando’s big heart might be what has surprised Knotts the most. Recently, Armando has been urging Knotts to take his photos and create a book to show young people in school. Armando wants his story to be a cautionary tale – he doesn’t want addiction to destroy their lives, like it did to his.

“At first I thought he was joking [about the book],” Knotts said. “But he’s become very persistent about it. He really does want to make a difference.”

Perry Knotts is 26. He went to Flagler College, is now married, and enjoys his job at Screen Arts. He is a talented, fledgling photographer who shoots everything from weddings to surf contests. We don’t know how old Armando is. We don’t know where he sleeps. Or if he’ll eat. We don’t know if we’ll ever see him again.

But they are bound by this project, and Knotts, who is now working on the Armando book, knows how special it has become.

“It’s cool to see how he has nothing and still cares about people,” Knotts said.

For more pictures of Armando, go to perryknotts.com.