David Glyn Davies

Medium Pigment on Linen

Instagram @david.glyn.davies
W www.davidglyndaviesartist.com

Address 3 Hawker St, Mount Martha 3934

My artworks are developed from my love of European medieval architecture and the many facets that make up its aesthetic developed during a period of four centuries: roughly from the 10th – 14th centuries.

I started my artistic life as a sculptor in stone and was fascinated by the artisans who worked during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Their ability to fuse function and decoration artfully with consummate skill was second to none. Three particular aspects of the medieval aesthetic was the development of the arches and bosses and capitols. Bosses, arches and capitols were as much an integral part of the building’s structure as they were a decorative element. Some depicted the four seasons, others depicted everyday life; others the lunar cycle related to farm life during Harvest Festival or scenes of seed sowing. Others were carved with images of people whose lives were blessed or damned.

My fascination with this imagery was piqued by its sophisticated nature and the way in which the sculptors were able to link everyday human experience to their immediate world. The tactile nature of their carvings brought real life events into their surroundings. The other aspect of these carvings was that in the grand space of a nave, the sculptors created small visual stopping points, intimate areas of visual play as a reminder to the viewer of the importance of simple humanity. It was a highly sophisticated method of design that brought philosophical, spiritual and emotional elements to tell stories. The pictorial elements of these carvings could be used on any story board in any contemporary design studio. 

One aspect of the medieval aesthetic in terms of carving was the depiction of eyes. Eyes were mostly carved in what is called an ‘almond’ shape as this was considered beautiful. Perversely enough, or maybe not so perversely enough, there are many contemporary animated television shows (Manga), whose digitally drawn characters have over accentuated ‘almond’ eyes as a way of accentuating a particular contemporary view of beauty. It is obvious to me, that as an aesthetic element used so frequently in the media, this particular aspect of contemporary design is as new as it is old. Perverse indeed. 

The design layout in many of my paintings pay homage to Euclid and his mathematical propositions that were such an integral part of medieval building construction and divine numbers; particularly the number eight, a number that is considered a ‘lucky number’. The number 4 on the other hand, is considered very unlucky in certain cultures; but given that two fours make eight, I find human labelling or association (good and bad) an oddity in itself. It is that type of oddity that draws me to particular subject matter. I also try to draw upon childhood connections, childhood growth, childhood fantasy, childhood expectations: naïve and yet sometimes unwittingly sophisticated in their interwoven complexities. The challenge for me is to tell a story on one canvas through a medieval means of design. The floral images in my paintings are used to portray the many facets of the human condition. 

Fuchsia – Cheerful, playful and uplifting. Liveliness, self-assurance and confidence
Rose (centre motif) – Love and romance – Secrecy and confidentiality
Nasturtium – victory through struggle – compassion and warmth
Forsythia – growth and development into maturity – times of change for example winter to spring – a flowering of the spirit
Daffodil – a symbol of vanity