Richard Thomas Davis

R.C.A.

canadian high realist painter

Richard Davis's paintings point to real times and places existing both in the past and present. His interpretations of commonplace and ephemeral subjects suggest permanence. Yet, in the tight balances that characterize his compositions and subjects, something feels slightly out of kilter as if change is imminent. Davis's subjects are the instants that stand still just before they vanish and the rich dimensionality of reality that comprises as much that is unseen as is seen. - Tom Smart

thumbnail Painting Going Home
new works
thumbnail Painting Granville Bridge
cityscapes
thumbnail Laundry Room, oil and tempera painting
interiors
thumbnail Painting Linen and Silk
people
thumbnail Painting Storm's End
landscapes
thumbnail Plastic Bag with Lemon and Orange, acrylic painting
still lifes

JULY, 2020

NEW, ZOOM IN TO A LARGER THAN LIFE IMAGE OF KINDLING AND MIRRORS

Kindling and Mirrors, oil and tempera painting

HONOURABLE MENTION AT FIGURATIVAS 2019!

Click the above image to see a remarkably detailed, larger than life image of Kindling and Mirrors. Zoom in and pan around the entire painting to see the delightful, rich surface of one of my best oil emulsion paintings.

This project started when the painting came back from the Figurativas 2019 show in Barcelona. I wanted to revarnish the work so took the opportunity to try something I've long thought of, making a high resolution "photo" of a painting using my flatbed scanner. It took 40 scans all carefully stitched together, to make the 800 meg file. It came out so well that I decided to ask my painter friend and website coding wizard John Hansen, if he could figure out how to do the zoom. A short while later he sent me an e-mail, "Giv'r a go", and here we have it.

WEBSITE UPDATE

My Basement series has now received two honours, first place for Basement Self Portrait at the 2013 Kingston Prize, and now the Honourable Mention for Kindling and Mirrors at Figurativas 2019. So I've made a new page to showcase several of those works. Click to view the Basement Series.

If you would like to be notified when I've added to or updated my site, please fill in the contact form and click the appropriate box. And if you have any thoughts or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Regards, Richard

PHOTO JOURNAL

A selection of photographs from the studio, and beyond.

Below are the most recent photographs. Visit the Journal for more.

October 2021, my new instagram account page
October 2021 - I finally bit the bullet. I’m on Instagram, @richardthomasdavisartist 😀
May 2021, feet up, view of my studio from my easy chair
May 2021 - Reflection turned sideways on the easel. A very complex painting, I’ve spent most of the past few months working mostly on this one piece. But the start of a nude self-portrait can be seen in the back, left, as well as a portrait of an artist friend, John Hall, back right.
September 2020, start of a new painting called Reflection
September 2020 - Just starting a new commission, Reflection. A winter image of maple trees reflected upside-down in a pool filled with its leaves.
July 2020, completely re-working the painting.
July 2020 - Here, unhappy with the way the painting was headed, I’ve sanded down La Luna, the first step of a complete re-working of the painting.
June 2020, Working on my big, new Toronto cityscape.
June 2020 - Working on my big, new cityscape of the Bloor and Yonge area of Toronto.
December 2019, me accepting award
December 2019 - Accepting my Honourable Mention at the Figurativas 2019 awards ceremony at the MEAM, Barcelona, Spain.
December 2019, me and Tony talking
December 2019 - Talking with Tony Luciano, a fellow Canadian and co-winner of Figurativas 2019, at the awards event, MEAM, Barcelona, Spain.

Richard Davis' paintings point to real times and places existing both in the past and present. His interpretations of commonplace and ephemeral subjects suggest permanence. Yet, in the tight balances that characterize his compositions and subjects, something feels slightly out of kilter as if change is imminent. Davis’s subjects are the instants that stand still just before they vanish and the rich dimensionality of reality that comprises as much that is unseen as is seen. - Tom Smart

Granville Bridge full background