Local Artist Joyce M. Davis
Joyce M. Davis,PhD, Professor Emerita (Valdosta State University) is a retired Professor of Art and Architectural History and an Artist. Holder of the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Georgia, the Master of Arts degree in Art History from the University of North Carolina, and the Doctoral degree in Art and Architectural History from the University of Georgia, she has practiced a dual career of teaching/publishing and the studio arts of drawing and painting.
She has participated in a wide variety of art shows, including juried regional and state exhibitions, group faculty shows, as well as community solo and group shows. she has organized a wide range of exhibitions, including community group shows and a pair of shows featuring her art and that of her art students. She has won a number of award in juried and non-juried shows.She works in a wide range of two-dimensional media: Pencil and Pen drawing, dry and oil pastels, acrylic on canvas and paper, oil on canvas, watercolor on paper, and mixed media. Her themes include scenes of Venice, Italy and Elberton, Georgia; portraiture of humans and pets; religious scenes; and other categories of special interest.
Her Venetian scenes arise from her travels to Venice to study the art and architecture of that city for her profession as an art and architecture historian, and her drawings and paintings of the architecture masterpieces of Venice have derived directly from her professional research.Her drawings of Elberton, Georgia, developed from her research on the architecture and history of Elberton, which is her native home. She was born in the heart of the city of Elberton and lives there today. She has written four books on the architecture and history of Elberton and Elbert County (The Architectural Legacy of Elberton, 2000; Historic Elberton, 2002; and Coggins Granite & Marble industries, Inc, 2006), has edited one book (Elbertonians Reflect Upon the Past, 2003); and has co-authored one book (Elbert County in Pictures II, 2014). In addition to her professional lectures while teaching, she also had lectured extensively about the architecture of Elberton, on local, regional, and national levels.
This exhibition includes an eclectic mixture of art with a variety of themes and media. Dominating this group is a selection of seascapes featuring the buildings of Venice, Italy on its Grand Canal and its small canals. Scenes of Elberton reflect her ongoing study of the buildings and settings of her hometown. The baseball scene shows a lifelong love of the game of professional baseball. Finally, the portrait of Jeff Chandler reflects an interest in an actor whose career was said to be lake a United Nations portrait and who became the subject of some of her academic study and projects about multi-cultural themes. This interest led to the article in Classic Images (2001) included here in this show, along with the portrait of the 1950s actor.
