About

Hello! I'm Davis McDavis. I was born under the name David McDonald in the frozen Northland of Minnesota. Raised by two crafty schoolteachers with varied interests including woodworking (my father) and gardening (my mother), I have always been creative and creating things. After creating several VHS movie masterpieces in high school, I studied film and creative writing in college. Following a series of activities best summarized in a short musical montage, I worked in accounting at Calvin Klein and then a 15-year career in publishing. All the while, I created a variety of side projects under the name Davis McDavis, including a blog, made-from-scratch soap, an ongoing performance art piece based on the worship of Oprah Winfrey ("O, The Oprah Religion,") a Youtube channel, t-shirts, paintings, and mixed-medium collages. 

After leaving my job in publishing, I now live in Manhattan with my husband and our newly-adoped rescue cat, Victor, and pursue my creative interests full-time. I most recently learned Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects, while also making several artworks in watercolor pencil and collage. Then while visiting home for the holidays, I found a dusty box of pastels that must have once belonged to my mother, and decided to see if I could use them to draw a picture using a photo of beloved friend's dog, Nigel, as the model. Nigel's parents loved the picture, and following that success, I've been adding to my portfolio have been with pieces that I hope bring joy to those around me: portraits of pets, people, and things that inspire me. Contact me to inquire about any of the pieces shown here, or to commission an artwork of your very own!