Maggie Davies
Histoire de l'artiste
I’ve been interested in art all my life. I have always enjoyed drawing and painting and took lessons as a kid. Later on, I ended up studying studio art at the University of Guelph. While I was learning about multiple art forms in school, painting watercolours was my favourite hobby. Over the years, I’ve done all types of painting including acrylic and oils, but watercolour remains my preferred medium to this day.
I find art-making very therapeutic and relaxing, and I love to get in the creative zone. Creating art gives me the ability to translate something that I see or feel into something tangible. The beautiful muted colours unique to the northern landscapes inspire my watercolours greatly.
When I paint realistic scenes, they usually represent places I have been to, or environments that have had an impact on me in one way or another. My landscape paintings usually come from pictures I took while out hiking or camping. I will often get inspired to take a picture with the goal of turning it into a painting, so I will take that into account when I plan my composition. Then I’ll print the picture and use it as a reference point while I paint.
When I paint abstract pieces, the process is a little different because it’s more therapeutic. That’s when I get totally lost in the process and see where my paintbrush takes me! I love to listen to music and paint whatever I feel called to with the colours that inspire me in the moment. Many of those abstract pieces have a similar feeling to them since they are a way for me to translate my own interpretation of the world.
I am a primary teacher now and I love to tell my students that creating art is something that everybody can and should do just because it feels good. I try to instil in them that making art isn’t something you should force or something that you do with the sole purpose of becoming an expert. Once my students get comfortable with the idea of making art all the time just because it feels good, I’ll introduce more complex lessons. My biggest philosophy is to create for the joy of creating, and it’s really important for me to pass that message on!
Originally from Ontario, Maggie has been living in Yellowknife since 2014. A “Sunday painter” and a teacher by trade, Maggie loves to capture snapshots of her life up in the North through her watercolours to share with family and friends. Over the years, watercolours remained a sustaining presence in Maggie’s life, as a favoured creative outlet and hobby. While taking part in the studio art program at the University of Guelph, Maggie showcased some of her pieces in group exhibits, and, in 2021, she partakes in her first solo exhibit in Yellowknife.