The featured artist for this edition of HLR Spotlight is Chesley Davis, a Toronto-based visual artist who works with traditional and digital media to create paintings and illustrations. He is in his final semester studying in the Visual and Digital Arts (VADA) program at Humber College where he specializes in contemporary painting and drawing. Davis also has experience working in urban construction, which has influenced his desire to explore the building process and has cultivated his passion for creation. He recently completed an extensive commission consisting of 60 digital portrait illustrations for a marketing event held by the healthtech startup League. Davis’s work has been exhibited in the Humber art commons gallery and will be featured in an upcoming art exhibition for the Humber 2023 VADA grad show.

Artist Statement

“I make art because I like to view the physical world in an objective way. I am always observing my environment, and strive to capture and often simplify the beautiful complexities of our surroundings. I find that everything can be broken down into geometric shapes and I am always looking at the underlying structure, regardless of the subject matter. I hope that in doing this I am able to adequately honour and represent the subjects in my work. My medium of choice is paint, both acrylic and oil. My paintings are often centred around people, and aim to strike a balance between realism and abstraction. I am always focused on the design elements to ensure the composition is visually appealing, both as a whole and in its details. I want the viewer’s eyes to flow through the painting, and I believe that for my work to be effective and fluid, it needs to have a balance between factual representation and a looseness of texture, colour and form. Currently I am building a body of work consisting of 20-30 paintings exploring urban landscape, architecture, still life, and figures. This collection will be experimental in nature, featuring unique colour combinations, varying canvas sizes, and different paint application techniques. With this series, I am challenging myself to shift my mindset; instead of focusing on perfectly capturing the likeness of the subjects of my paintings, I am aiming to paint more freely, allowing my emotions to guide the brush. My goal for the future is to present my paintings in galleries, as well as explore applied art that people can hang in their homes.”