ARTIST BIO

Jackie Davis's current works fall into two categories. Those on paper, painted in gouache and oil pastel with collage elements. These works have all been painted during the last 3 years in Qatar, The Middle East and Melbourne. This collection is entitled , "The Colours of Summer."

The other works are watercolours painted on canvas during the last year. These are depictions of the West Australian Bush.

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Jackie was born in London, England. She has suceessfully exhibited and sold work in London, Norwich, [UK], Dublin, [Ireland], Perth ,[Australia] and Qatar, [The Middle East].

Jackie has always had a passion for art and sold her first painting in 1967 at the age of 14.

She attended art college in Birkenhead, in Nothern England, and then obtained her degree in Textile Design from Loughborough College of Art, specialising in woven textiles.
After finishing a Diploma in Art Education in Brighton she went on to teach art at Norwich City College.

Jackie then changed career and for the next 20 years she worked as a Psychiatric Social Worker in London; working with young adults who were struggling to cope with severe depression. Painting and exhibiting were a 'light relief.' It was during this time that she fully developed her mature style of art that embraced light and colour, referencing the detail of her external world; flowers, foliage, fruit, sky, water, weather. This analysis and appreciation feeds her internal vision creating a meditation on the natural world.

Jackie and family moved to Norwich, in 1994 and opened a natural health clinic, [Jackie is a qualified homeopath and counsellor], and for the next 7 years she was involved with regional art exhibitions. In 2001 the family moved to Dublin and Jackie was an enthusiastic contributor to the Dublin art scene.

In 2006 they all moved to Doha, Qatar, where she taught art at Park House English School. On moving to Perth, Australia in 2007 she achieved her life- time ambition of opening her own art gallery in the hills in Kalamunda.

Then after a 10 year absence Jackie returned to Qatar where she enjoyed being a full-time artist,sucessfully selling work to private buyers.

She was commissioned to provide 15 paintings for a private school in Doha.

Jackie and her husband moved to Melbourne in August 2017 where she continued to paint exhibit and sell.

Then in December 2019 Jackie and her husband came back home to Perth. 

Jackie then changed direction in her work and inspired by her travels in the Australian bush started on a series of watercolours based on local scenes. Still with the same attention to colour and texture that were the defining focus of her collages but with a realism and simplicity that are new. 

Jackie's artistic vocabulary includes the mixed media of papers and fabric that she has amassed during her travels in Europe, The Middle East and Asia. In particular India ,as her love of pattern and colour finds an affinity with the strong Indian aesthetic. Her singular vision encompasses visually striking compositions and explorations of bold and contrasting colour. The strong tactile presence of her collages reference her engagment with both woven and printed cloth, always with a touch of humour. 

But it is her love of the West Australian bush that is her greatest muse and her constant inspiration.