Sheila Davis

SCA, OSA, SFCA

My interest is the landscape, emphasizing the energy of the space as a whole. I paint it as I feel it – not as a physical likeness, but as an entire presence, involving the space of emotion, spirituality, temperature and the senses.

I find I am inspired by the friction and play of textures where surface planes meet. The tangled under growth competing for light and space. A play of forces, where colour and temperature meld or clash for dominance – a battle of the elements, Earth, Sky, Water and all they encompass. I believe an Artist interprets best what they know intimately…what surrounds them personally and they touch daily… what influences on a deep emotional level either conscious or unconscious. For me this is the untouched Ontario landscape… tangled, unfettered and unfinished…a work in progress, constantly growing and striving towards light, strength and freedom from constraint.

Using traditional oils, I work quickly and vigorously, laying in several layers of transparent colour and value using large dynamic brushstrokes combined with splatter and drip , these layers are each reworked with opaque brushwork and calligraphy as I attempt to portray what first excited me about the subject, the flash causing the rush of Adrenalin and the urge to ‘get it down’ before the feeling dissipates.I prefer to work in large format where I can apply movement and gesture to express the intense vitality and power I experience in the landscape.

I want the viewer to experience the moment as if they are standing there with me.

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About The Artist

Primarily self taught, Sheila has been a professional artist for over 23 years. Her interest lies in obscure areas of the environment as seen on the periphery of daily vision.

Sheila works in oil, painting both Plein Air and in the studio, preferring large panels. Using dynamic brushstrokes and saturated colour, she captures the friction and play of texture and temperature where surface planes meet, challenging the eye to look deeper, to see beyond the obvious, to become aware of those areas of nature necessary to existence, to see beauty in the mundane. 

Her work has a strong organic feel to it, indicative of the natural landscape she paints. Foremost she is known for the energy she pours into each work to capture the chaotic vibrancy of mother earth.

She’s an elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists and the Ontario Society of Artists. Sheila’s work has been featured in magazines, on television and is included in private and corporate collections around the world.