Meet Marian Davis

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marian Davis.

Marian, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My mother once enrolled my sisters and I in an art class to fill up our summer boredom. We competed against each for the “most creative” award. I can’t say I won that contest but never forgot the thrill of creating. The brush went dry through nursing school and time in the Peace Corps. I eventually ended up at the University of Colorado Medical Center as it was known in the ’70s assigned to the pediatric critical care unit. I took my attachment to the patients and their family’s home with me. It wasn’t long before I needed to balance a highly emotional work environment with life outside the hospital, so I signed up for a life model sketching class at Metro. The person to the right of me in class was so incredible with her charcoal stick I went home deflated big time.

Years later, I was teaching botanical art and illustration technique at the Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, PA. Who knew? I stayed in nursing part-time while raising two children and had a decorative painting business I ran from home. My husband and I followed our children back to Denver seven years ago and once again, my art endeavors sought a new path. We both always held an appreciation for abstract art but after numerous attempts with watercolor paint, I failed to reach the creativity I sought. A friend introduced me to alcohol ink and yupo paper, which gave me the flow and looseness I was seeking. I quickly moved onto acrylic paint on canvass and often start my paintings by working out color, contrast and composition with oil pastels on BDK paper. Classes at the Student Art League of Denver have been beneficial. When asked how long it took me to finish a painting, I follow the advice of an art instructor…” it took the 40 years I have been using a brush and paint.”

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Leaving our little Denver Wash Park bungalow 30 plus years ago where my husband and I bought our first home and started our family for the gray skies of the East Coast was stressful but necessary. There were advantages to the move, especially for my husband’s job opportunities and the closeness to the schools that fit our children’s future careers but we always longed to return to Colorado when the time was right. I’m grateful we are back now and altogether, enjoying family time with children, their spouses and our grandkids.

We’d love to hear more about your art.
I strive for uniqueness by creating abstract art that encompasses all the experiences and techniques of the past 40 years of art endeavors using different mediums. Using my art to benefit organizations that raise money for the welfare of others through silent auctions is something I hope to do more of once it is safe to be a social community again. Art makes the world a better place in so many ways. It can bring joy to one or bring enjoyment and life changes to many just by its creation.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
The art community I was invited to join when I moved back to Denver enhanced my art and personal life beyond measure. The Stapleton (name in the process of being changed) Art Association I joined encompasses a large group of civic-minded artists.

Contact Info:

• Address: 3022 Syracuse Street
  Denver, Colorado 80238
• Website: mariandavisart.com
• Phone: 4126069041
• Email: mariandavis@gmail.com
• Instagram: mariandavisart
• Other: Artfulhome.com. Singulart.com.

Image Credit:
Kathy Daly Photography

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