Sunday, November 23, 2008

+...BriAn DaViS...+









The artist Brian Davis, a native Californian, born into a family of musician parents in 1946, Brian loved art all his life. Formally educated in Fine Art at Pierce College and California State University-Los Angeles.

He has the profound depth, the beauty of soul, and the unique composure of a man who truly understands the creation of a piece of art. Although magnificent flowers and landscapes are the main choice for his compositions, Brian Davis says, "The actual job of making an arresting piece of art has nothing to do with what the thing is."

Known for his magnificent flowers, Brian Davis transforms exquisite blossoms like roses, calla lilies, and dahlias into romantic, compelling images with sharpness, color, movement, edge, and light.

Brian believes that the great depth in his art is derived from his paying great attention to the subtle shifts in value (relative dark and light). He is often asked if there is a light source behind his paintings making them look so lit up. "The light is the real subject of my work. The flower is the stage, the light is the dancer."

Before he begins his artistic journey on canvas, Davis combs the fields and gardens near his Los Angeles home, searching for a flower or landscape that catches his eye. Brian carries his camera everywhere so he can shoot a flower or landscape at any moment. Since flowers wilt so quickly, and it can take weeks to make a painting, the artist has found a way to create his floral image from a series of different shots for each flower. He may not do an exact botanical rendering, changing colors and leaves at will.

Utilizing two hanging mirrors, so that he can view his unfinished work at all angles, Brian works daily in his small studio filled with books, music, and historical videos.

Greatly influenced by the Dutch Masters, along with the artists of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco, Brian is inspired by images of highly stylized renditions of birds and flowers and their intensity of color achieved by many, many layers of paint.

Brian begins a painting with the darkest shades of colors, representing the background, and then proceeds to bring layers upon layers of colors "forward" to achieve the three-dimensional quality of his technique, known as "value painting". The perfection of the Nineteenth-Century French painting technique, called "pouchoir: gave Brian instant recognition as a serious painter and Master Print Maker.

Since the early eighties Brian's focus on oil paintings and the further refining of his "value painting" techniques brought his body of work to new heights of artistic expression and perfection.

Brian is a true artist with a vast understanding and knowledge of art. His cerebral view of paintings causes him to say, "My art, like all art, is at its core a form of communication that is not easily translated into words - good art transcends words."

His latest editions are a fascinating group of images that allow the viewer to feel and recognize the light, the essence of a Brian Davis piece. Brian's work hangs in museums and private collections around the world.

"The process of making a strong piece of art is an inspiration. I love making art. The fun is in the doing."

Image courtesy of Brian Davis

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