Artist Profile: Kitty Davis

Quiet Observer of Nature

By Heike Hellmann-Brown

Kitty Davis signs her paintings CHDavis, in reference to her beloved aunt, Catherine Hickson Buff, who instilled a love for painting in her. My aunt was a wonderful artist herself, Davis says. I am her namesake, and I think of her often when I paint.

Davis grew up in Perry, Ga., where the rural environment greatly influenced her subject matter. From my earliest memory onward, I shared my life with a succession of dogs, cats, birds, horses, fish, bunnies or any other form of wildlife that strayed by my home. I learned what a unique personality each animal has.

After graduating from Georgia Southern University with a major in Industrial Engineering and a minor in Art Design, Davis worked in the architectural field, drafting layouts for RVs, school buses and the Piggly Wiggly grocery stores. However, her passion for animals and her love of art intensified while she raised her two kids on a small horse farm in Alpharetta. Davis began to study with masters in portrait art to turn her passion for animals into a career.

Davis is especially fond of horses and has spent several years studying their anatomy, bone and muscle structure, expressions, body language and social behavior. Horses are magic creatures, she says. As a child, I roamed the pinewood forests near my Perry home on my quarter horse, later volunteered with therapy horses, and now have the privilege of living in an equestrian subdivision. Often she takes her camera and watches her subject matters to capture those precious moments when their personality surfaces.
In her oil paintings, Davis brings her subjects to life. Through color and composition she creates mood, conveying the attitude, shyness, and aggression that govern the interactions between the horses, as well as the quiet communication between horses and humans. I strive to create natural settings and subtle expressions that capture the unique bonds we have with our animal companions. I see myself as an observer of nature. I would want for a non-horse person to understand horses through my paintings.

While Davis earned a reputation in the local horse community for her soulful horse portraits, her main focus now is on landscapes. I still might put a few horses into the background, she jokes. But, my main goal is to showcase my appreciation for nature.

One of the artists who highly influenced her in this aspect is Butler Brown, who is from Hawkinsville, close to her own hometown. My mother is an avid collector of his magnificent paintings, she says. I was surrounded by Browns work when I grew up. Today, I am a country girl living in the city, but his landscapes always remind me of home. I hope my paintings will remind someone of the community they grew up in, of their carefree childhood memories, just like Browns works do for me.

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