Denise Davis

Denise lives permanently in Inverness-Shire, Scotland. She studied fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City, with further studies of contemporary painting and life drawing at Chelsea School of Art and private classes in Sussex, England. She has been painting professionally since 1998.

Denise's paintings are abstract - figures and landscapes interact and combine so that the viewer questions the inspiration. Paint is boldly applied and textured, with strong colour conveying strong emotion. The work is unique and arresting.

"I draw my inspiration mainly from the human form and the beautiful Scottish landscape that surrounds my home in the Highlands. It is usually my use of colour that first intrigues people, and then they discover the shapes and lines that make up the pictures. Most pictures are large and bold, with a sculptural feel to them."

The following is an extract from Georgina Coburn's review of Denise Davis' 2010 exhibition at Tore (see the Hi-arts website for the full review)

"Completion (Oil on canvas) is displayed rather appropriately in the converted gallery’s pulpit. The stark combination of the cross and figure in a desolate mindscape of steely grey/blue sky and black earth is illuminated by pure articulate use of cadmium red which is spilled from the base of the cross and from the adjacent figure onto the earth below. The effect of this vibrant red is quite extraordinary, like that of the gold in an icon. The connection is immediately with our own blood."