"These paintings are Frankensteins. Bits and pieces of images I find and stitch together to have a new life. Often the new incarnations are personifications of abstract ideas, like vulnerability and defiance. Small, uneventful moments made into larger stories. These paintings are about alchemy, secrets, innocence, things we keep, things we throw away, the fragility of life and the beauty in common objects.
"Baroque still life painting has been an influence on my work. Not only is it beautiful and rich with lush textures, but the objects were used symbolically. For instance, a pocket watch would represent the fleeting nature of earthly pleasures. Sometimes dead animals were used to create an aristocratic image of country life. The animals in my paintings are more in line with ancient cultures who kept faith with animals as part of what it means to belong. Animals are used as oracles. In the case of birds, they are mute messengers, heroic in their silence." -- Deborah Davidson
