Bev Davis

This article is part of a series of artist biographies I created for the 8th annual #The100DayProject, a community art project in which thousands of people around the world challenge themselves to 100 days of creating. For my project, I’m interviewing and writing about 100 artists I’ve recently discovered. For more artist biographies, visit jgreenwalt.com/artists.

It was another one of Washington’s notorious gray days when, upon the urging of a new friend, I went looking for the Whatcom Art Market. With downtown Fairhaven consisting of about four-to-five city blocks, it didn’t take long to find. The market was hidden in plain sight, in an unassuming building on the city’s main street, a street I had walked many times before. For months, I managed to look right through the brightly colored sign with “art” printed across it in giant letters. Now that I was looking for it, the sign stuck out like a sore thumb against the taupe stucco.

I stood in the doorway, surprised by the diversity of work collected together under one roof. I scanned the makeshift aisles adorned with glassware, ornaments, paintings, photography, baskets, and jewelry. Then the most vibrant paintings of birds caught my eye. I walked over to the display, where the bold colors of a pink flamingo, swimming in cool blue waters, commanded my attention. I smiled. On the wall before me was a veritable flock of bright, colorful paintings—a welcome contrast to the dull day outside. 

Being in a social mood at that moment, I struck up a conversation with the two volunteers running the market. As luck would have it, one of the volunteers was Bev Davis, the artist responsible for the cheerful display paintings I was drawn to.

Bev’s bird art was what captured my attention that day, but since then I’ve  learned that she has the skill of depicting anything with joy. Her art embodies a familiar feeling of happiness, comfort, and levity that I remember experiencing from the beautifully illustrated children’s books I grew up with. When you look closely at her work, the brushstrokes themselves seem to smile. The joy depicted in Bev’s work is a clear reflection of how much she loves creating art.

Having been immersed in the art world for most of her life, it’s no surprise that Bev has mastered a variety of mediums and techniques. She can switch effortlessly between color pencil, watercolor, paint, and graphite—and I wouldn’t be surprised if she has a few other tricks up her sleeve.

In addition to being a multi talented master of her craft, Bev is also incredibly friendly and open-minded. She was one of the first artists on Contribute.to and has always been responsive to my requests for feedback, providing thoughtful input on her experience with the platform. I always feel comfortable reaching out to her to get her thoughts on the Bellingham art scene, new Contribute.to features, and art projects I’m involved in. I hope to get to know her better and hang out in person when the quarantine in Washington lifts.

If everyone could experience a little bit of the joy Bev infuses into her paintings, the world would be a happier place. Fortunately, it’s easy to pop into the Whatcom Art Market or visit her site for a dose of her smile-inducing art. I caught up with Bev to learn more about her and her work.

How do you describe the work you do? 

Realistic, colorful watercolors and acrylics.

Why do you do the work you do?

Painting is so much a part of me. I need to paint. It makes me happy, it helps me calm down if I am upset or stressed. I call it my therapy. I mainly paint people and animals. My goal is to capture them on paper or canvas and when a painting is successful and touches a person’s emotions, that is the biggest compliment to me.

This is my grandson—I have painted more portraits of him than any other person and it always brings me so much joy to study the sweet expressions on his face! It was created with Daniel smith watercolors on 300lb watercolor paper.

When and why did you start creating art in general?

I don’t remember a time that I didn’t like to draw, but I really discovered art in high school. I had an amazing teacher who provided what felt like an endless supply of art materials that formed the base of my art journey. I went on from there to graduate from the Art Institute of Seattle.

What are you most proud of in your life?

I’m really thankful for my family supporting my art throughout my life. My mom and brothers and sisters and later my son and daughter all cheered me on as I created art. But my biggest supporter has been my husband, Todd. He was at my side through art school, always encouraged me as I taught and looked for ways to expand my art, and even built me the perfect little art studio that I use today.

What else would you like the world to know about you?

I’ve had the privilege of working with a lot of children, teaching them art. I’ve worked in schools teaching art enrichment classes and I’ve taught classes for many years in my own studio. One of my favorite things was helping kids create murals in their schools- on the walls and on big canvases to hang. They would work together to create a finished masterpiece and they would be so proud of it when they were finished. I really believe that art can help so much with learning and connecting ideas and even understanding emotions. It is so amazing when someone realizes they can create something beautiful! 

Not long ago I did a challenge on Instagram where I painted 100 portraits in (about) a hundred days. I think that really helped me to grow as a portrait artist and it gave me a boost in confidence that I accomplished what I did.