Often realized in the most intimate of scales, Davenport’s drawings and paintings are populated with anthropomorphic creatures that exist amongst hushed tones and delicate mark making. The artist states “I make my work in an unplanned way, you could say that the drawings and paintings are always ahead of me. I embrace play, and the tension that’s induced from mistakes that seem unrecoverable.” So Don’t Be Frightened is an example of new territories explored by Davenport that continues her investigation into dreamlike narratives, this time produced in atmospheric watercolor on raw canvas. The result of this shift in approach is as mysterious as it is beautiful, its grey and green protagonists mounted on a wooden support resembling a child’s chalk board, while animal like creatures hovering along its edges.
Penny Davenport (b. 1979) is a mixed media artist currently working and living in Liverpool, England. She studied Fine Art in Liverpool and has exhibited at Johansson Projects, Oakland, CA; Fortnight Institute, New York City, NY; Wilson Stephens and Jones, London; and Craven Museum, Skipton, North Yorkshire, England.