Through Saturday, December 26 at the Warren Public Library, 205 Market Street, Warren, PA (2nd Floor Wetmore Gallery) Images Copyright by the Davis Family.
Sometimes just walking through Warren can be a treat. You never know what you might stumble upon. I accidentally wandered into the fabulous architecture of the Wetmore Gallery that overlooks the main reading room at the WPL yesterday and found a family that paints, right here in Warren.
Mark Davis (Self Portrait in oil, top image) and Karen Davis (Breakfast in the Sun Room in oil, next painting) are retired educators who are married. Their two children, Elissa Davis (Audubon Society in acrylic, third from top) and Chris Davis (The Post in oil and pen on paper, last image) also paint.
The family theme seems to fit well to this time of year. Holidays are about family aren't they?
If you are reading this today, Christmas Eve, then you only have one more chance to see these and about 30 others by The Art Family Davis, on Saturday, Dec. 26. The library is open on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It's closed tomorrow, merry Christmas.
Hopefully people will complain that they didn't get a chance to see these in person and the Davises will have another show soon, or even a reprise at the library. Or how about a holdover? Such a great place to exhibit.
Hey, I don't know anything about art, but the self portrait at top is reminiscent of Grant Wood. The second image, the still life, summons up a genuine zen quality. I wish I could afford to buy it. It's got "decor" all over it. The Audubon Society (yes, it's the one in Jamestown) reminds me of Richard Estes (Elissa Davis also has some great photography in the show).
The last image, The Post, struck me as the most unusual. Like Edward Hopper's stark visions, there appears to be a story here, perhaps a very long one. The photo of it doesn't do it justice, so drop what you are doing and go look at it.
You won't find anything else like these around. Comparisons are easy to make by fools like me, but none of this work by the Davises is derivative. It all looks like the real thing. Honest.
-- Chris Lareau
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