Jennifer Davis: 100 Creatives

Jennifer Davis

​Spend a weekend at any of the handful of galleries hosting opening receptions, and you'll see that the Twin Cities has a thriving, dynamic, and exciting creative scene. To honor this, over the next couple months City Pages will be highlighting the best and brightest folks in town by counting down our top 100 creatives. Artists who make our list won't be ranked, and will appear in no particular order (because that would be a heart-breaking and impossible task). Check out our Dressing Room blog throughout the coming weeks as we chat with artists who make the Twin Cities scene amazing.

No. 100: Jennifer Davis

City: Minneapolis

Years spent living in MN: 35+

Our first artist is Jennifer Davis, a Minneapolis painter who has wowed fans over the years with her whimsical art. Davis' work often features a mix of muted neutrals and vibrant pastels, her subjects an inventive mix of kind-faced creatures at play. She is currently exhibiting work in "Flourish" a group show at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Recently she took the time to answer a few questions with us.  

Reverence

​Name three things that are inspiring your work right now:

1. Animals
2. Colors
3. Patterns

Name three things that inspired and/or motivated you as a budding creative type:

1. Richard Scary's Best Story Book Ever and my childhood toys. (I recently rediscovered the book and boxes full of my old toys/drawings. Everything I do makes more sense to me now). 
2. Animals. I have always found them endlessly fascinating.
3. Working alone
 
What do you have going on now or coming up in the near future that should be on our radar?

"Flourish" at the MAEP with Erika Olson Gross, Terrence Payne, and Joe Sinness. I have fifteen large (for me!) paintings on display.

Lucky

​What has been your biggest challenge as an artist?

Finances can be tough. The challenge for me is learning to live a bit conservatively all the time to avoid the pits.

How has the local scene changed over the years?

It feels more and more like one big, crazy, always-changing family.

Of all of the creatures/characters you have created in your work, which one do you feel the most affection for? Why?

Today, this sloth (pictured right). He is not lazy, just a little slow. He is happy marching to his own drummer and makes his own luck.

Favorite ice cream flavor:

 Chai at Izzy's in St Paul.

Looking for more on Jennifer Davis? You can keep up with her on her blog and Flikr account.

Do you have a suggestion for someone whose work we should be checking out? Feel free to leave your top picks in the comments.

Curious

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