Sketchbook Thoughts

A sketchbook for an artist is like a personal diary. Along with intimate thoughts, it includes very personal pictures that pop into my mind seemingly at will.

My thoughts are probably very depressing to others. But, we all have a unique view of the world, life and everything else. Between those bleak lines of dispiriting thoughts, there is beauty. Beauty is seen in many forms, but for me, nature truly inspires me.

For no matter how brief our time is on this earth, nature will always be raw. It can be dangerous and mysterious but those moments of beauty overshadow it all. It never bends to the whims of others and therefore the only force on this earth unapologetic to be itself.

Life is a dark struggle in the night, with brief moments of joy scattered about like stars.

Our lives mimic nature, dark and dangerous and yet beautiful, if we but look.

The sky is never truly dark at night. On those special nights when the stars shine brilliantly, you can sometimes catch a glimpse of the milky way. Those nights are fabulous. The night sky is never truly black. Our universe is color and it reaches into our world to disperse the dark.

It gives me hope.

I wouldn't want it any other way.

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The Experiment

Despite what many non-watercolor artists say, watercolor can be versatile. You can make mistakes and you can correct them (to a certain extent). Ripped up gauze detail. I like to think of mistakes in watercolor as a challenge. Yeah, I may have ruined what I had had in mind, but the mistake now pushes me to think differently. How can I incorporate this "mistake" into a 'happy accident'. Since I am creator, I can now take that mistake and mold it. How can I use it to create something new. Hence the experiment. Sounds like a bad B-movie, LOL! Colors used: French Ultramarine Blue Quinacridone Gold Quinacridone Red In my latest watercolor, I wanted to play around with different textures and see what I could come up with. The final piece. The first image shows the texture I used at the bottom of my paper. It's just some gauze that I ripped up. I put it in place and then saturated it with water a...

2024 Updates No.2

Some ruins found at the Franny Reese State Park, New York. It's funny how a year can make and break you in moments. I started this year out with high hopes. I wrote about my workshop, which was made possible by an artist grant from the NC Arts Council. I had everything booked and planned. However, before any of that could happen, a lot of things at home happened. In the last week of April, my mother-in-law went into the hospital. She would be in and out of the hospital and rehab for several months... till mid July. My own mother has been battling cancer for the last eight years and had problems related to that in July and the end of September. It would be nice to be there for both of them for their health issues, but I live in North Carolina and my family live in South Dakota. It's kind of a long, hard commute and not cheap. But, I did made it to the workshop. Michal Jasiewicz was amazing. His watercolor paintings are fantastic. His style is fun to paint. I lear...

2024 Updates

January 2024 Update I have been quiet on social media lately. There is a reason. These cooler months are a good downtime. I can get other stuff done, like resupplying and focusing on family. It's not all sunshine and roses, however. There were art exhibits and my framed pieces are on low supply as they are pretty much everywhere! In January, there was a Wood and Fiber Art Exhibit at Arts of the Albemarle where several of my tree paintings were featured. Also in January, I taught a workshop on Line & Wash at Arts of the Albemarle. Line and wash is so much fun and everyone was delightful! Time for Wine - RLDavis 2023 I am currently taking a pottery class as well. It's a nice diversion from painting. And a chance to get to know another way to artistically express myself. Ceramic Bowl Four paintings went to the Nasamond Suffolk Academy's Annual Juried Fundraiser where two paintings were sold. Our Albemarle Reg...

R.L. Davis Fine Art

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