Artists Talk- 1 featuring: Toby Davis, Contemporary American oil painter

    Welcome to the first in my Artist Talk series, a group of posts in which I will interview or feature various artists whom I admire or work with. I am hoping to give you, my readers, a chance to step behind the scenes and not only see some of the work I love, but also virtually step into studios around the world. Today I am featuring Toby Davis of Toby Davis Art based in  Boise, Idaho, USA.

  I first ran across Toby on Facebook when he posted a picture of a decorative element of a building in Paris. I was immediately drawn to it in an, 'I could do that' sort of way. I followed him and discovered a wide range of paintings in a more colorful palate which hit all of the main points of interest to me in art; window and water reflections, night scenes where buildings are lit up and seem like they invite the viewer inside, neon lights, and an assortment of  'cool' elements like Vespas and street cafe seating. While I like his Paris series best of all his paintings of Boise, his hometown, are very attractive as well.  

   During the summer I made a list of artists I admire who I would like to feature. I don't know about you but contacting complete strangers and asking them if they are interested in doing whatever it is you have in mind has never been my strong point. I would be a terrible salesman. Anyway, I contacted him last autumn about appearing on the blog and he seemed surprisingly laid back and was happy to chat and send me pictures. Which just goes to show, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

So without further Ado, I will share some of the questions I was able to ask him:

 Hi Toby, Looks like your gallery opening went well. Congrats! I have a few questions prepared as you suggested. I will just list them, and you can answer all or any that you want. 

(He answered all of them, in case anyone is wondering )

-One of the things I really like about your work is your painterly style. I find it hard not to drift into hyper-realism and I know it is a struggle a lot of painters have. How do you manage to avoid this tendancy? Do you have specific habits or techniques to keep your subjects tight while leaving the brushwork loose?

 I have really tried to keep my painting realistic, but not photo-realistic. I too have a tendency to want to paint in every detail. I tried everything to stop, and eventually just changed my reference material. I usually use a computer screen to paint from anyway. Often I will start with a version of the scene that I have run through Adobe Illustrator. I find it does a great job in simplifying the shapes. After the first layer, I will paint from the full digital photograph.

(Mental note to self, put photos through Adobe)

"Making the Turn" 24x30in - oil on panel

- I have a handful of about 6 brushes I use in everything I create. I feel naked and unable to paint without them. What are your go-to tools/paint colors/etc... What do you find yourself using for every painting?

  

 I don't have favorite brushes. I buy cheap brushes, use them, abuse them, and throw them away. About the only tool I use all the time is an architectural ruler ( the kind that is triangular) It gives me a place to hold it and a way to get down some straight lines.

 - I love that you go on inspirational photograph walks to find subjects. What constitutes a good subject in your mind. Do you find that there is a common denominator in your choice of images?

 I do not go out looking for specific subjects. It's really just what I think looks like a great painting. Most often I miss. Sometimes I don't see the painting until I see it uploaded on my computer, and other times I don't see it until months or years later. Sometimes in a really cropped in piece of a photograph. I tend to be attracted to contrast and color. I have a really hard time with composition (although I'm getting better I think). Subject wise, I could paint just about anything - I just like to paint. The cityscapes and landscapes were just a decision that I made a long time ago because I thought they would sell better, and I have to sell work to keep going (again - I just like to paint). I have a degree in Illustration and that gave me a wide range of directions. The subjects were partially part of a business plan, although if I didn't enjoy painting them, it probably wouldn't work.

"Grove Street Vista" 30x40in - oil on panel

- The pictures of yours that first drew me to your work are the ones portraying buildings (cafes/pubs) at night as well as the ones including neon lights. I don't see all that many painters choosing these particular subjects. I was drawn to them because I like Hopper and Felix Eckardt, both of whom include this type of subject in their work. Do you have specific painters who have inspired you in this type of subject matter?

 
I was always a big fan of Ken Auster's work. He started painting cityscapes way before anyone else was doing it (1980's ?). His work has been a huge inspiration to me. Other contemporary painters that inspire me are Jeremy Mann, Lindsey Kustusch, Mark Lague, and David Cheifetz. If you look at their work, I think it will be really easy to see how they inspire my work. A lot of them are knife painters, which I have never gotten the hang of, I'm envious. But, you have to do your own thing anyway.

"Tartempion" 24x30 - oil on panel

- How do you allow your paintings to dry and do you use a quick dry medium? It seems like you sometimes finish paintings shortly before they appear in galleries, is this just the result of internet appearances? ( I haven't actually paid specific attention to this, I just formed this impression, maybe I am wrong).

  I work on several painting at a time, so drying time isn't a big problem. Usually, while I'm promoting paintings that I just finished, I've already started new ones. It kind of overlaps, so it might seem like I'm quickly turning these out, but really it's partially the timing of the posts. I have refined my process over the last five years to be as fast as possible, and I try not to waste steps.

"8th & Main #2" 24x24 - oil on panel

- I like your travel paintings a lot- what was your favorite place to paint and where do you hope to go one day?

 I have gone to a lot of cool places, Sydney, NYC, Paris, London, Chicago, but I don't have a real favorite. I like the uniqueness of each place. Lately, I've concentrated on painting locally because people like to see paintings in person before buying and I don't have any gallery representation in other areas. However, I would like to go back to Italy someday, Spain, and also just a long trip ( maybe over a summer) traveling down the US west coast. 

- Are you a messy painter or tidy? I am fairly controlled when painting but I know people who throw paint and are a danger to society while painting

 
I'm somewhere in the middle. I don't splatter paint all over, but I also try to concentrate on what I'm doing and not on keeping everything clean.

- Do you enjoy painting alone or with other people? (ie, shared studio, collaboration, teaching)

Definitely alone, in my studio, with coffee, and a variety of music.

When thinking of questions I thought of one which many artists answer differently, maybe you could give your take on it. 'When home stores (like IKEA) offer so many wonderful, inexpensive prints, why should the average person buy 'real' art?. What is the difference, what does it have that Ikea prints don't. ....'

Ok, well I think there's always going to be people who are attracted to those IKEA prints. They clearly have their niche in the market, and if you want an image for your wall of your favorite Van Gogh or Monet, that's probably where you're going to have to go to get it. I think in talking to people that they often want something on their walls that they will not see hanging somewhere else. You want your space to be somewhat unique, and those people often buy from artists. The other difference is that people want the story that comes with a painting or print - How they found it, meeting the artist, etc. I visited a house of an older couple who had collected art since they first got married - they probably had 100+ paintings in their home. They had a story for everyone. Although none of the paintings were personally biographical, by looking back on the paintings that were hanging on their walls, they were reminded of the great times they had together and their lives.

- And last but not least, what is your favorite piece (or the one you are most proud of) that you have ever done.

I don't really have favorites anymore. I'm mostly into the latest one now. I did have a painting selected in the 2016 Oil Painters of America Western Regional Show of a Manhattan window display called "Flatiron Window". It was a really great honor, so I guess that might be considered a favorite. It was a hard painting that paid off.  

 

"Flatiron Window" 30x40in - oil on panel

 (that is a really nice one, it almost inspired me to do something similar but life, unfortunately, got in the way, maybe one day).

Thanks for your time Toby, it's been fun!

 Thanks, Sarah!

To see more of Toby's artwork check out his website or social media sites:

Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter - @tobydavisart 

Webpage- www.tobydavisart.com

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