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The Celtic Art
of Courtney Davis
By Courtney Davis
& Nancy Davis
Published by Spirit of Celtia
(1985)
 Most books based on the life and work of an artist are written after the artist has died, or at least reached an advanced age; like any other professional, an artist goes through many stages in his work, and whether or not one wishes to compare earlier work with later work, it is only possible to gain a proper appreciation of a life's work by viewing it as just that. In this book we do not intend to present the work of a whole lifetime. At the time of writing, Courtney Davis is 38 years old, and, we hope, has many years of work ahead of him in which to develop his art further. This book is simply a presentation of some of his work to date. We hope that readers will enjoy it, and that anyone who is interested may better understand Courtney's work, and what motivates him. We also hope to encourage future work by making his abilities better known. In 1974 Courtney's life was changed completely when he had a major operation to correct a spinal problem from which he had suffered since his birth. He was lying in the hospital bed after the operation when suddenly he found himself 'taken out of his body; while seeing it across the room, he felt another operation being performed, this time not by the doctors of the hospital. When he returned to his body, he saw a group of ethereal monks standing at the foot of the bed discussing what they had just done. A staircase then 'appeared' and they silently walked up it. However one wishes to regard this account of Courtney's experience, it had a profound effect on him, just as similar experiences have deeply touched people who have returned in amazement from the brink of what they had previously considered to be 'death'. He resolved to devote his life to sharing the work of those who had helped him, both in the physical world and beyond, though at the time he did not know how. Courtney has never had any formal training in art, but has always been 'artistic' . His second job after leaving school was as an apprentice at diamond-cutting gold rings, and he progressed to become one of the leading designers of wedding rings in London at the time. It was while he was engaged in this work that he had the operation on his spine. The unusual nature of his experience in hospital and the death of his father soon after, led him to begin a search to discover more about life, which, he now felt, had much more to show him than he had ever expected. Avidly reading and talking with others, he found a well of creativity within him, and a desire to express what he felt. He became interested in healing and diet as essential counterparts of his quest into the realms of the spirit. Shortly after his operation, he left the jewellery trade and went to work for Sunwheel, the natural foods company, at their then-small factory in London. During this time he was asked to do a drawing for the company's magazine, and it was the execution of this modest first commission that introduced him to drawing. His earliest drawings were confused attempts to show his own feelings: mainly figurative, full of direct symbol, and laboriously "meaningful'. Gradually, however, he found that simplicity and balance were more effective in illustrating his feelings.
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