East Gallery
Bob Davis
Images from the Locust Grove Studio
December 13, 2004 thru February 13, 2005
Stillwater
artist Bob Davis chooses subjects to paint that he would enjoy having
around his own house. In this exhibit of his work, Images from the
Locust Grove Studio, Davis chooses subjects that feel right. “Each
of my watercolor paintings are my own individual creation. Watercolor
can be difficult to control. While it has a sparkle created by the
white paper showing through the transparent paint, the medium dries
quickly and the artist must work fast and accurately to achieve the
desired effect.”
“What I tell people is that watercolor is like life. You get surprises and you have to work around them.”
Davis keeps a camera in his car and when he sees a composition, he stops and takes a photograph. “A few weeks ago, I saw three men in a gas station in Stratford, Oklahoma, standing by a trailer full of watermelons. I took several candid shots. When I got home, I sketched the picture, replacing the current model pickup truck with a 1953 model. I changed some signs and buildings to give it the look and composition I wanted. Then, I drew the sketch on plain bond paper. I placed tracing paper over the original sketch, traced the parts I liked leaving the paper blank where I would make changes. I then altered the sketch to achieve a more finished look and did this same process several times until I got the drawing the way I wanted it.
“I then transferred the drawing to 200 lbs. Arches, cold press watercolor paper using a carbon paper technique. As I began to paint I first put in the broad washes, covering the complete sheet, except for the areas that would be highlighted. I built up some colors by layering until they reached the intensity I desired. After everything dried, I took finer brushes and began the details. Finally, I went into some of the detailed areas and delineated them with graphite and white tempera.”
Davis also creates commissions called Special Place Portraits with subjects such as theaters with “your old car out front and the title on the marquee of the first movie you attended with your spouse or the house you grew up in with your dad’s old truck parked out front. With the right references, I create pleasant memories.”
Born in Portland, Oregon, David received a degree in Commercial Art
from the University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond. He was an illustrator
in the Marine Corps and has worked as a graphic designer/illustrator
for manufacturing companies, ad agencies and printers while creating
free-lance art. For the past 18 years, he has been the Manager of Creative
Services at the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education
in Stillwater.
Davis has exhibited his work at six shows in Oklahoma and participated in art festivals in Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico and California.
Sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts Council. For more information contact Scott Cowan or Karen Sharp at 405.521.2931 or scott@arts.ok.gov