Daily Inspiration: Meet Alissa Davies

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alissa Davies. 

Hi Alissa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I have been an artist since I was little, drawing fashion designs in my bedroom and immersing myself in my Waldorf education. I have two artistic and supportive parents who encouraged me to pursue art. I went to Smith College and majored in studio art, while also getting to spend an informative junior year at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. There I was able to partake in 3-D classes and art therapy classes, two genres that have influenced my work today. When I became pregnant in 2012 with my son my art exploded open. Up until then, I had tentatively trended towards abstract work, always feeling like I had to follow “art rules” and try to make my work more representational and approachable. I had a myriad of feelings becoming pregnant. Although the pregnancy was planned, my excitement was mixed with deep grief, anger, and confusion. Art became my therapy and it guided me towards greater acceptance of the next stage of my life. My son made me the artist that I am because it was during his pregnancy when I began to trust and believe in my own unique artistic voice. I create more now with two kids than I ever did before and my creativity continues to feed me and be a source of release. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I feel very grateful to have always had the support of my parents; being an artist was never something that they tried to guide me away from. Rather they celebrated and supported my passion and still do. It is unfortunate that most colleges do not instruct art students on how to create and grow a thriving business though. The starving artist is a myth, especially in this technological age, but I know that I have struggled to bring as much passion and dedication to the business side of my art career as I have to the making of the art. This is a continuous learning process for me, as for many artists. As mentioned prior, I struggled for years before becoming a mother on what my unique artistic voice was, feeling like I had to fit myself into representational boxes and follow art rules that really weren’t in alignment with who I was. It is very easy to get distracted by the comparison game and to feel like you have to make the art that sells the easiest. When I have fallen into these traps, I find that my process loses its aliveness and my art suffers overall. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am an acrylic/mixed media abstract painter who loves painting in color. My work is intuitively created, meaning that I have no preconceived idea of what is going to come out when I step up to the canvas. Rather I meet the surface with patterns, shapes, and colors that I have observed in nature and my own inner landscape that wants to be expressed in non-verbal ways. I keep risk-taking, playfulness, curiosity, and openness at the forefront while I paint, allowing color theory and attention to composition and flow to play in towards the completion of a piece. I am most proud of my dedication to my art, to showing up when I don’t feel like it, and creating work that resonates with who I am. Recently, I have begun to offer intuitive painting workshops to guide adults back to their creative selves. As much as I love being alone in my studio, dancing to music and painting, I equally love guiding those whose creative voices have been silenced reawaken to their unique artistry. 

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Risk-taking is important in my work. I can feel when I am playing it safe when I am holding onto a part of a painting that needs to be pushed further, or when I am stuck in routine. That is when I have to choose a bold color, make a large and fast mark or put the painting aside. Most of the time, when I take the brave route, I end up creating a piece that feels exciting, interesting, and the most like me. Risk-taking to me implies action. I have learned as I have gotten older that as wonderful as dreaming and scheming is, it is when I put myself out there visibly and perform an action that I generate self-confidence and learn the most. This is true in my actual art-making and in my art business and everyday life. Art really does inform life and vice versa. 

Pricing:

• Prices of paintings vary from $35 to $2500, depending on size and materials.
• Commissions are welcome.
• Intuitive Painting Workshops/Art Consultations

Contact Info:

• Email: alissad15@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.alissadavies.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alissadaviesart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alissa.davies.5/