13 Apr Meet the Artist: Page Jones Davis
Each quarter, we feature different local artists at our Main Street Gallery in downtown Greenville, and we are excited to bring this tradition to Coldwell Banker Caine’s new Spartanburg Headquarters at 151 S. Daniel Morgan Avenue. For our inaugural artist reception in the new space, we are proud to display the work of Spartanburg artist, Page Jones Davis. Be sure to stop by from 5 – 7 pm on Thursday, April 19th to see her show. Plus, stick around until 9 pm to celebrate the grand opening of the building and Coldwell Banker Caine’s 85th anniversary in the Upstate.
Page’s work can be described as boldly colorful, modern, and abstract. Working mostly with canvas and paint, she hopes to create pieces that evoke curiosity, intimacy, playfulness, and chance. Page draws inspiration from line, texture, and color relationships.
To learn even more about our featured artist, we asked her to answer some questions about her work.
1. What piqued your interest in art?
I have been interested in all things creative since I can remember, however it was when I attended The SC Governors School for the Arts during high school that I realized making art was my gift in life. I realized that not only did I truly enjoy it, but I was pretty darn good at it, too!! I remember it simply felt as if I were right where I belonged.
2. How would you describe your style of art?
Expressive, intuitive, and intensely color driven.
3. Where do you gather most of the inspiration for your work?
I usually gather inspiration from my immediate surroundings which include nature, design, and music. Once the painting process begins, each canvas demands its own direction and becomes an island of imagery with all sorts of line and color relationships that gradually emerge. I am usually surprised by the unique direction and personality that each painting takes on even though it happens time and time again. I enjoy the process of being slightly surprised at the outcome.
4. What’s your favorite piece of your own work?
I have two favorites that come to mind immediately. One is titled “First Tree” and is a somewhat stylized appropriation of my son, Layton’s first drawing of a tree when he was a toddler. I revel in the certainty and the unapologetic nature with which he drew that tree. I wish I could bottle that confidence and sell it to everyone! I love when you ask a child what they have drawn, and they look at you with a look saying, ” Duh, a tree of course?!”
The second is a painting entitled “Heli and acorn” and it is based on my son Asa’s drawing of a helicopter. In my opinion, it’s the cutest, most colorful helicopter I have ever seen! I added some strange shape to it that looked like an acorn in my appropriation of it on a large canvas and the whole thing makes me smile. I painted in the shapes the same way that he used to color in shapes – with wildly bold, colorful lines. I was always in awe of the juxtaposition of his art vs his quiet nature.
5. What’s an interesting fact about you or your work?
I love and appreciate humor so much…amongst all of the seriousness of the daily grind, I am humbly reminded of its’ healing power while I work. There is usually a large amount of goofy, if you will, humor swirling in my head during my studio process but especially after the inception of the painting is well underway. The seriousness with which each piece begins eventually gives way to a playfulness. I make all kinds of mental and emotional connections between the physical world and the ephemeral while I’m absorbed in a body of work. When I leave the studio I just feel so grateful. I might literally catch myself chuckling as if I just got the punchline.
6. What famous artist do you most admire?
That is always such a tough question to answer because I admire many for many reasons. One of my favorites is Helen Frankenthaler for her larger than life, in your face, gorgeous, stained canvases. Thank you, Helen, for inspiring me to paint on the floor and not on the easel.
And then there is Cy Twombly for his raw, simple, honest mark making that always reminds me to pay attention to the emotive beauty and enormous relevance of scribbling…. like we did when we were children. Lastly, I admire Gerhard Richter because his work has taught me that there are no rules and that one should not allow oneself to be held prisoner to expectations from within or from without when it comes to authenticity.
To learn more about Page Jones Davis, visit her website.
Come meet Page Davis at our Artist Reception on April 19th from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Spartanburg Real Estate Gallery.
