Artwork copyright Debra Davis. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Dragonflies, 1999

Debra Davis
(American, born 1960)

Location: Carmichael Middle School, Richland

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Dragonflies is a painting by artist Debra Davis. The artist worked as a fire weather observer on Miner’s Ridge near Yakima, Washington. While monitoring weather and fire conditions, she would sketch the insects that surrounded her, which inspired the composition. Describing the composition, she notes, “[The dragonflies] were iridescent electric blue, and flew in erratic paths. One evening I was driving back to fire camp (a dusty bumpy 2 hour ride) and watched the sun set through the lodgepole pines by Bumping Lake. It was so pretty that I stopped for a moment and got out of the truck to impress the flaming sky and dark trees on my memory. Later in my sketchbook, I made a quick watercolor that superimposed those blue dragonflies above the orange sunset.”

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Richland School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Northwest artist and naturalist Debra Davis creates paintings and sculptures that are strongly influenced by her summer job as a seasonal forestry technician with the U.S. Forest Service. A longtime resident of Central Washington, Davis received her Master of Fine Arts degree from Central Washington University in Ellensburg and taught art at Yakima Valley College.