VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

Water media artist Mary L. Davis presents a new series of works, Unexpected, at Archway Gallery, August 7 through September 2, 2010. The artist, who is celebrating a year of artistic success, will be on hand to visit with guests firsthand during the exhibition opening reception on Saturday, August 7 from 5 – 8 pm at the gallery, located at 2305 Dunlavy, Houston, Texas, 77006.

Davis was selected from among 113 artists to receive an award from the Watercolor U.S.A. 2010 competition for her aqueous media painting, Shattered Glass. This prestigious honor afforded her Signature Status within the organization and an invitation to become a member of the Watercolor U.S.A. Honor Society. The judge for Watercolor U.S.A. 2010 was Richard Martin III, Professor Emeritus of Art and Director of the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University, Texas. Davis was presented the award this month at the opening reception of the 49th annual national juried competition at the Springfield Art Museum, where the award-winning piece is on display through August 8, 2010 in Springfield, Missouri.

In her former life, Davis worked for an architectural and engineering consultant and later became an entrepreneur. She served as the President of the Davis Alliance, which facilitates infrastructure projects and cityscape enhancements throughout the Houston area.

Her use of aqueous media, which by its nature has a great deal of material flexibility, suits Davis’ desire for an unstructured creative outlet which distinctly contrasts with the exacting nature of her professional life. Davis has pursued her career as an artist after taking water media classes since 2005. Davis served as the President of the Watercolor Art Society-Houston from 2009 to 2010 and is one of the newest members of the Archway Gallery roster of artists.

ABOUT ARCHWAY GALLERY - Archway Gallery, one of Houston’s oldest artist owned and operated galleries, is located at 2305 Dunlavy and is open Monday – Saturday from 10 am – 6 pm and Sunday from 1 – 5 pm. Since 1976, Archway Gallery has been exhibiting the work of the area’s finest artists, providing a great selection of affordable, high quality art including sculpture, pottery and painting in a variety of media and styles.

Artists are always on site, offering visitors a unique experience to meet the artist who created the work, offering a personal insight about the process behind their creativity. The gallery offers a “Tea and Tour” program, providing visitors with a free artist-led tour of the current exhibition, followed by tea and refreshments. In addition to monthly exhibitions, Archway also hosts a variety of demonstrations and monthly readings for local writers and authors.

With 30 artist-members, Archway Gallery is THE destination in the Houston area for art.

For more information, visit ArchwayGallery.com or call 713.522.2409. Become a fan on Facebook and follow the gallery on Twitter.

Pictured:  detail Shattered Glass.  Full image below.