LOCAL ARTIST CAMMY DAVIS by Joe Camarlinghi, KOBI-TV
Jacksonville, Ore. — Cammy Davis always remembers being artistic, but there are certain events that helped her to become an actual artist; like her parents selling everything and moving the family off the grid.
Cammy said, “My parents, they had a stable life with a motorcycle business in San Luis Obispo, California, and they decided they wanted to be hippies and live off the land and they sold everything, bought a little Airstream travel trailer and moved to this beautiful little piece of property down by the river. Everything I ever wanted I had to create myself or build myself.”
Cammy had similar transition in her adult life, as the dip in the economy pushed her into getting back to art.
Starting with learning interior design, Cammy eventually found her way to painting. But as often is the case in order to move forward, you have to take a step back. For Davis that moment came when she was talking with a gallery in Portland. “Took my art up there and they said, ‘Cammy, your art has become static,’ and I was so crushed and I came home and stood in front of the canvas and said, ‘when did you feel good painting when were you out of your head?’”
The answer to that was actually quite simple according to Cammy, “It was music. I always remember music being a huge part of my life, so I got Beats and put them over my ears and started painting to the music.”
That burst of creativity led to more than just new brush strokes on the canvas, it’s also brought about one of her latest creations, music art videos.
“There was a musician who was playing in the studio one day and it was country, and don’t usually like that. But I was like, ‘wow,’ there was this moment. I said, ‘Do you want to make a video?’ And then two weeks later he was in backyard playing. It was impromptu.”
While these videos bring out creativity, Cammy also knows her work has to make some money and that’s why she started a line of jewelry. “I had this idea; there are people like me who couldn’t plop down $5,000 for a piece of artwork, so I thought of jewelry, so I took the large pieces and put it into jewelry,” Cammy said.
She has the drive and vision, but also resourcefulness. If she can’t afford the supplies she needs, she will find a way to create it herself, just like she did growing up.