Debbie Avoux-Davis’ mural brings tropical backdrop to Laguna Art-A-Fair
Laguna Beach has its allure throughout the year, but in the summertime, the art festivals at the mouth of the canyon become as much of a destination as the city’s beaches.
A range of creative works, from ceramics to woodwork, and from painting to photography, will be seen throughout the grounds of the respective festivals.
Less often — unless it’s in the Pageant of the Masters — do you see large-scale paintings featured among the artwork brought on site by the exhibitors.
Laguna Art-A-Fair will take a different approach this year, as Debbie Avoux-Davis was called on to produce a mural after being juried into the summer show.
Avoux-Davis, a first-time exhibitor, expressed excitement about being included among the artists at Art-A-Fair, which pulls from an international talent pool. Approximately 115 artists are in this year’s show, which will be open to the public from June 28 through Sept. 1.
The introduction to the exhibitor side of the art festival scene has appealed to Avoux-Davis, who noted a “supportive” atmosphere in which “everybody just wants everyone to succeed.”
“It’s the first art show I’ve ever been in, and also, I’ve never shown my paintings on canvas before,” said Avoux-Davis, who learned she was taken off the waitlist about two months ago. “This is the first time I’ve had a series of paintings, which I’m really excited about. It’s the first time I’ve painted what I want because I’ve always been hired to do murals or commissioned pieces, things like that.
“It’s been a long time wanting to create my own series of work, so I’m just excited that I got accepted because I just started at the beginning of the year creating my paintings. I thought, ‘What the heck, I’ll give it a shot. I’ll try to send them into the show,’ so when I got invited, I was very excited.”
Kim Brandon-Watson, vice president of marketing and publicity for Laguna Art-A-Fair, said the festival received over 250 applications to exhibit work this summer. The applicants included artists from eight countries and 16 states.
While she was not brought into the show as a muralist, Avoux-Davis said Art-A-Fair officials sought her out for an additional project after viewing her social media. The San Francisco Bay Area native and Ladera Ranch resident has painted murals as full-time work for more than 30 years.
“Tropical Harmony,” which she created for Art-A-Fair, prominently displays water birds among greenery. It includes a pair of snowy egrets in flight and a blue heron, as well as two butterflies.
A well-trained eye may also be able to spot a couple of ladybugs, a feature Avoux-Davis incorporates on her original canvases to represent her two children.
The 10-foot-by-24-foot mural has been positioned in such a manner that it will serve as a backdrop to the live entertainment and dance floor at Art-A-Fair.
“I do a ton of murals at upscale apartment complexes, like in the garages or resident areas and things like that, so this is totally different,” Avoux-Davis said. “I’ve never had a mural in such a location that’s going to be so full of people and energy, and it’s just so cool. This will be a really neat experience to have.”
The live music and dance floor were among the steps taken to make the experience more engaging for festival-goers. Art-A-Fair reconfigured the layout of its booths last year to make it more open. With the mural, the festival has made another effort to offer something new to its guests.
“Debbie Avoux-Davis’ mural is a spectacular addition to this year’s exhibition,” Robert Ross, board president of Laguna Art-A-Fair, said in a statement. “It perfectly embodies the spirit of Laguna Art-A-Fair and our dedication to presenting art that inspires and moves people. We are thrilled to have her work featured prominently at our event.”
Positive reinforcement went a long way for Avoux-Davis in her artistic journey. She found herself being recognized in youth art contests, even when she felt she was covering up mistakes by adding to original drawings.
When she attended the Academy of Art in San Francisco, she turned toward murals by picking up jobs off the job board. Avoux-Davis added that one of her first opportunities to paint a mural was for her sister’s baby’s room.
Some of her work can also be viewed locally, as she did a project on an exterior wall of the Corona del Mar High gym last year.
During the summer showcase, Avoux-Davis will fill her booth with octopus paintings. A Netflix documentary, “My Octopus Teacher,” served as the inspiration for her submissions.
“I just learned so much about octopuses,” Avoux-Davis said. “They’re so intelligent and creative and clever and sneaky. It’s amazing. I think they’re the most amazing creatures I’ve ever come across — the way they can change their color and completely adapt to their environment, they can change the texture of their skin, they can change the shape of their body to hide from predators and to catch their prey. …
“I just decided, ‘How fun would that be to just start painting them and kind of create characters out of them,’” Avoux-Davis said. “... I just feel like I’m just going to paint what I love, and so far, the feedback has been amazing. I’m finding all these other octopus lovers. I had no idea how many were out there.”
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