Phil Davis studied Fine Art and Sculpture at Loughborough University. Beginning his career as a commercial artist, his early work depicted landmarks of his travels abroad, particularly Spain, Italy, Eastern Europe and Asia. Changing to working largely with oils and acrylic resulted in work of greater vibrancy, and allowed the more experimental and existentialist narratives in which he is interested to be explored through a style he has coined 'Stencilism.'

Through this style he produces landscapes, and figurative subjects that combine vivid colours with additional features of the subjects incorporated using handmade stencils. This style is a constant blending and morphing of two processes, a combination that creates dynamic and emotionally heightened images where creative instinct and the fine detail of his chosen subjects are portrayed and juxtaposed alongside each other. The bold colours and dynamic ways in which they are applied convey the emotional intensity around the subject, whereas the stark graphical tones of the print process convey a sense of bold physicality. He uses this combination of two processes to present his own interpretation of the physicality of life but seen through the eyes of pure emotion. 

Phil Davis' style enables him to work with instinct and emotion, as well as being meticulous. The painting process begins by focusing on colour and mood, applying paint to the canvas in an expressive and free-flowing way. Moving on to the composition itself, he creates stencils of the relevant subject matter before printing the results onto the canvas, thereby pushing boundaries with traditional compositional processes in painting. As he experiments with different ways of applying stencils to canvas, his style seeks to blur the distinctions between traditional painting and printmaking, in order to create new and interesting ways of applying colour, texture, composition and form in order to suggest a more subjective version of his subjects. 

The Footprint of Time

“I never cease to be amazed day by day by my surroundings and deeply feel thankful for the ability to experiment and appreciate everything from the most ordinary to the most extraordinary. This marginalized world, made up of waste, the useless, the despicable, goes unnoticed by the human eye, which has been educated to appreciate only one perspective of what is designated as an aesthetic value. Paradoxically, it is on this "dark" side where I discover colors, textures, materiality, which I rescue and enhance in my painting.”

Experience Inside and Beyond the Frontier

“The project "Experiences Inside and Beyond the Frontier" gestated from some trips in search of new experiences that offered new possibilities for my work. I toured Morocco, India, Southeast Asia, and my country, Chile. An exhaustive, deep look, going beyond the apparent, reveals to us that, despite the formal differences, the inner look, of an existential order, is universal and equally disturbing to all human beings of any race or creed. Through ceremonies and rituals, hope quiets souls.”

“My artwork is created, for the most part, using oil painting and mixing different techniques on different supports. The themes I choose to portray have a mixture of both realism and dream-like sequencing. These themes emerge after the connection I experience emotionally and intellectually when visiting different countries. During these travels, I take particular interest in studying the ethnography of the region I am in. My past journeys through the Atacama Desert, the Saltpeter Towns, Valparaíso, South East Asia, Morocco, and India have served as inspiration. Using these experiences, I interpret them later in the solitude of my studio.

In the past couple of years, my work has been shifting from ochre and brownish-toned paintings that once had a more academic and rigorous approach into more vibrant color paintings with looser brush strokes resembling a more expressionist style.

I am constantly observing and learning about our environment, in particular, human behavior. These two main subjects continue to serve as material for my present and future creations.”

Robert (Bob) Perriam, for forty years a field geologist working in the exploration industry in remote areas of Western Australia, carried a camera and photographed the landscapes which he visited. Now retired, Perriam uses a small motor-home to make photographic trips to remote and scenic areas. 

"My preference and inspiration is for pristine wilderness landscapes, trees and wildflowers untouched by the hand of man."