COURTNEY DAVIS SACRED ART
Your consciousness can change the consciousness of others
ART 1990-1994
SYMBOLS OF THE GRAIL QUEST 1990
Paperback Published by St. Justin
In 1989 I was living in winter let in Lyme Regis, Dorset and the bedroom window, where I worked overlooked the small harbour called The Cob, made famous by Meryl Streep who walked it in The French Lieutenants Woman. I am no great sailor and prefer to keep my feet firmly on Terra Firmer, but I do appreciate it's power and beauty, and every day the view was different and always inspiring. My Celtic Art Source Book was going well and I had just received the contract for the Celtic Tarot.
I was approached by Ian Forrester Roberts who had collected a vast amount of information on King Arthur over his life and was planning an exhibition at the Guild Hall in Winchester, and was to be called Land Of Arthur. Winchester is famous for the Arthurian Round Table that hangs in the cathedral and draws a large tourist trade.
From that exhibition a project formed entitled Symbols Of The Grail Quest and consisted of 13 paintings covering various stories in the Grail legend. The completed work was very different from what Forrester Roberts envisaged, I think he imagined that the illustrations would be more traditional. The collection was displayed at Winchester in 1990 and then moved to Worcester Cathedral, Tewksbury Abbey and later taken to Brittany.
A book version came out in 1990 by St. Justin Jewelry who had been licensing my art in their pewter jewelry range. Oddly, for some reason they decided to use some other artists image for the cover and then acknowledged me as the artist.
My life has been one of continually being on the move and always found it hard to put down roots, never feeling I truly belonged anywhere. Because of that lifestyle I have found life more fluid and comfortable when the Universe calls for change, and it has continually.
MERLIN AWAKES 1990
Hardbck/Paperback Published by Firebird Books
In 1984 I published Merlin The Immortal in hardback and then a paperback version, Peter Quiller who wrote the text was never happy with the editing that took place, feeling it was lacking the spirit of the Merlin communications he recieved. So we both looked for a publisher who would create a new edition for us.
I working on three book projects at this time for various publishers when the commissioning agent for Blandford Press contacted us and mentioned he was setting up his own publishing and has he was always excited about the Merlin message, would we be interested.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ARTHURIAN LEGENDS 1991
Paperback Published by Element Books
1991 seemed a lot of pen and ink work rather than colour for my book commission work at this time. Never actually met the author Ronan Coughlan.
CELTIC GODS, CELTIC GODDESSES 1991
Hardback/Paperback Published by Blandford Press
Great honour to work with R J Stewart on this book project. I was working from a very dilapidated building in Staverton, Devon at the time, the jewel in the crown was the Buckfastliegh Steam Railway running passed my door and would have the timetable on my wall so I could run out to see it pass.
I had separated from my wife and was living in the building, cooking on a single camping stove and standing in a plastic bowl to wash, this was a continual pattern through my life. I eventually decided to move to Cornwall, hired a rent a wreck van and set off, with no particular idea of where to go.
IRISH CELTIC MAGICAL TRADITION 1992
Paperback Published by Aquarian Press
I had recently moved to St. Austell in Cornwall when I started the Irish Celtic Magical Tradition. I had plenty of book work coming in and spent lots of relaxing time exploring the different fishing villages around the area.
I did have the local church praying for my soul after I had shown my Celtic Art Source Book to a few of the congregation, but apart from that all was idyllic.
Idyllic was about to end abruptly when I met CR, I was taken in by his vast fortune and charm and agreed for him to take over the licensing and day to day business so I could focus on my art. Once papers were signed a much darker side ti his character appeared.
When Irish Celtic Magical Tradition was published, I was invited up to Glasgow to take part in a Celtic Festival and would have the opportunity to meet the author Steve Blamires. The next time we met was at the Articulture Gallery in Chicago and my first solo exhibition in the USA.
ART OF CELTIA 1994
Hardback/Paperback Published by Blandford Press
Art Of Celtia came shortly after my second spine operation and I had moved to a small Medieval village called Abbotsbury in Dorset. It was period of great turmoil in my life, the birth of my two children and the most productive time for creating books and art. Much of the Art Of Celtia was created in a very dirty loft of the local Post Office and spiders were a constant companion as they ran across my work.
I had foolishly signed a contract with a business partner who I soon discovered had a very dark side to his nature, I was bullied and eventually lost my entire business to him.
Even so, Art Of Celtia is a book I am very proud of.
CELTIC MANDALA BOOK 1994
Hardback/Paperback Published by Blandford Press
Still working from a loft in Abbotsbury, my life was becoming more and more bizarre with the antics of my business partner. I was experiencing odd noises on my phone and the business partner was convinced he was being watched by MI5. This time would finally end in his elaborate escape from the UK to Canada.
This book was created with the help of Helena Patterson who worked with me on the Celtic Tarot.
The book was a real effort of focus on creativity and embracing the Merlin energy rather than what was happening outside.
ARTHURIAN ZODIAC 1990
I wasn't entirely happy with the Symbols of the Grail collection I created for the Land of Arthur Exhibition apart from 3 or 4 paintings of the 13. I was still learning my craft and rather than relaxing into the work, there was a lot of apprehension that I wasn't competent to do it justice and felt that this certainly reflected in the work.
The Arthurian Zodiac was one of the first projects after my move to Buckfastliegh in Devon. The outline was concieved by Ian Forrester Roberts for a new Land of Arthur Exhibition and connected various Arthurian characters with different Zodiac signs. I felt more confident executing this idea and probably because I had moved from a winter let to my own new home and was more settled.
I was very relieved that I had also completed the Celtic Tarot and the difficult pressures that came with it had settled down.
This confidence seemed to encourage an essence of Burne-Jones in the style, with bright colours and a feeling that the paintings had more depth to them.
The collection never materialised into a book, though most of them would be used later in King Arthur's Return, but that was four further house moves away.