MICHAEL DAVIS FINE ART

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Michael Davis is a watercolor realist inspired by the beauty and timelessness of the southern landscape. As a child he spent summers on his grandfather's farm in the rolling hills of Webster County, Mississippi. It was time spent here in his early years that sparked his passion for nature. As a teenager he spent much of his leisure time at Little River Canyon in Northeast Alabama where he was truly overwhelmed by the beauty and splendor of God's creation. This instilled in him an intense desire to express this beauty through painting. These fond memories remain an inspiration and are reflected in his many paintings that portray the beautiful landscapes of the Southeast.

Although he began painting in oils when he was young, he quickly developed a love for the beauty and detail he could capture with watercolor. Influenced by the works of Hubert Shuptrine, John Carlson and Wayne Spradley, Michael has spent his entire career developing his unique style of realism with watercolor. While Michael remains primarily a watercolor realist his current works in acrylic offer a new dimension to his artistic vision.

He has been accepted into numerous juried art shows and exhibitions and won many awards. In 2012 his Realism in Watercolor Solo Exhibit was featured at the Hardin Cultural Arts Center in Gadsden, Alabama, the Fine Art Gallery at the LJCC of Birmingham and the Leeds Arts Council Gallery in Leeds, Alabama. He was a participant in the 2012 Energen Art Competition in which his painting “Autumn on the Bayou” was purchased for their permanent collection. In 2013 his works were juried into the Energen Art Competition, the Alabama Wildlife Federation Fine Art Competition and the 54^th Annual GAA Fine Art Exhibition at the Gadsden Museum of Art. Solo Exhibits for 2013 included the Art Gallery at Hoover City Hall in July and August as well as Amicalola Falls State Park in the North Georgia mountains in October as part of their Visiting Artist Series, and a Solo Exhibit at Brookwood Medical Center in Birmingham in December. In 2014, he will be a participant in the Energen Art Competition as well as the Alabama Wildlife Federation Fine Art Competition. Michael’s watercolor and acrylic paintings will be featured at the Rosenzweig Art Center in Columbus, MS in July 2014 and he will return to Amicalola Falls for a Solo Exhibit in October 2014.

Among his many awards are Best in Show in the 2012 Eufaula Art Show, Hoover Arts Alliance Award at Art in the Gardens 2011, Hannah LeMaster Watercolor Award in Arts Alive 2011, Best of Show in Painting at the 2011 Fountain City Arts Fest, First Place Watercolor in the 2010 Hoover Shelby Art Association Show and Best of Show in the 2009 Vestavia Art Association Show. Michael is a member of the Mountain Brook Art Association, the Blue Ridge Mountains Art Association and the Over the Mountain Plein Air Painters of Birmingham. His paintings are in private and corporate collections throughout the South.

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Mary Jane Everett, a native of Mississippi and graduate of Auburn University, now lives and makes baskets near Newbern, Alabama. Everett started basketmaking in 1999, after taking a workshop led by Billie Ruth Sudduth at Arrowmont School for Arts and Crafts. She has also studied under Lissa Hunter, Hisako Sekijima, and Mark Kolinksi. Before moving to Hale County, she worked in a studio in the Arts District of York, AL. She has exhibited in various venues across the Southeast, including the Alabama Artists Gallery, Alabama State Council on the Arts, Montgomery, AL; Coleman Center for the Arts, York, AL; Kennedy Douglass Center for the Arts, Florence, AL; Wiregrass Museum of Art, Dothan, AL; and American Craft Council juried shows in Atlanta, GA and Charlotte, NC. She has twice won the Merit Award at Kentuck Festival of the Arts, Northport, AL and won Best of Show at Prairie Arts Festival, West Point, MS in 2009. In 2005, Everett received an Individual Artist Fellowship Grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts.