Artist's Biography
Michael Timothy Davis is a native of West Virginia and a graduate of Shepherd University located in Shepherdstown, WV. After earning his BFA in Painting, he continued his studies at the Schuler School of Fine Art in Baltimore, MD where he was finally able to immerse himself in the techniques of the atelier tradition that he had long looked for.
Long hours spent in the studio drawing from casts and developing a strong technical foundation from which to work from helped prepare him for the path that he now follows.
Michael’s work is reminiscent of the Old Dutch Masters in their dark backgrounds and presence, but he strives to find the simplicity of the scene. Whether it is the idea of light or the intensity of a color he looks for a quiet intensity in his subjects. He hopes that in some of his work a subtle humor is also present.
After studying for three years at Schuler’s, Michael began to seriously take on commissions completing portraits for Catholic University in Washington, DC, the City Hall of Martinsburg, WV, The Bank of Charles Town, as well as for many private patrons. Recently he began to enter competitions where he was a finalist in “The Artist’s Magazine” 28th Annual Art Competition, Portrait and Figure Category and also the winner of Greenhouse Gallery’s Salon International 2013 Western Art and Architecture’s Award of Excellence. Along with his own work, Michael also teaches private lessons from his studio and at the Loudoun Academy of Art in Leesburg, VA. He believes in the need to pass on the traditions that he loves to help foster this renaissance in contemporary realism.