Sea SCAPE: The Art of Being Alive

“He’s all jacked up, ready to go!”

Landscape painter Bill Davidson wasn’t describing an overenthusiastic art student. He was facing a Sierra Nevada black bear that had demolished a student’s cooler, scattered her painting equipment and consumed two caffeinated energy drinks.

Missing part of a hind paw and having knocked over the student’s tripod, the bear inspired Davidson’s fitting nickname: “TriPaw.” It stared at him from about 25 feet away, apparently in no hurry to leave while there was still hope of more snacks. 

“I attract the bears,” he laughed.

Fortunately, the acclaimed Monterey-based artist’s next appearance promises fewer encounters with wildlife and a rare treat for Montecito art lovers. Davidson is coming to the Music Academy of the West, October 30-31, to judge Sea to Summit, the annual exhibition of Southern California Artists Painting for the Environment (SCAPE), and to demonstrate how he transforms a blank canvas into a landscape painting.

His visit has a purpose beyond artistic inspiration. The exhibition benefits the More Mesa Preservation Coalition, which is working with the Trust for Public Land and Santa Barbara’s Environmental Defense Center to acquire and protect 265 acres of coastal open space now for sale. The 170 new paintings from local painters, including scenes of More Mesa, will be offered, with a portion of sales supporting preservation.

“There’s nothing better than being out in beauty,” Davidson said.

His richly colored oils capture turquoise surf beneath rugged cliffs and golden poppies spilling toward the Pacific. But his wanderings also take him inland: he recently led a group of artists into the Sierra Nevada to paint autumn aspens, mountain streams, and waterfalls. He has taught in the Grand Tetons and around the world, designing workshops as experiences rather than conventional classes.

“We’ll plein air paint for four days and eat and drink and have an adventure,” he said. TriPaw certainly delivered on the last part.

Back home in Monterey, workshop students share dinners and sometimes karaoke. Two doctors once declared they wouldn’t sing; by evening’s end, Davidson could scarcely reclaim the microphones.

Such exuberance might seem an unlikely second act for someone who spent 25 years as a trial lawyer in Atlanta. During his final five years in law, he took up painting and attended his first workshop.

“I can teach way better than this. I just need to learn how to paint well,” he remembers thinking.

Jury trial work had taught him to explain complicated ideas simply. He brought that same clarity to painting, making complex techniques easier for students to understand.

He studied, practiced, and developed an approach built around the underlying structure of a painting: composition, shapes, and values. Today, the award-winning artist is a signature member of Oil Painters of America, the American Impressionist Society, and Laguna Plein Air Painters.

His larger philosophy, however, is about much more than technique. In his essay “The Un Van Gogh-ish Art Journey,” Davidson rejects the tortured-artist myth in favor of a simple prescription: “Make a life that makes you alive.”

“The better you feel about yourself, and the more fun you put into it, the faster you’re going to grow,” he explained.

An important influence was his aunt, Sister Maurus Allen, a Benedictine nun and theology professor who traveled widely, studied yoga in India, and encouraged him to follow his curiosity. When he mentioned taking art lessons, she urged him onward. She once told him, “Art is the only thing that can save the world.”

“She was the most grateful person I’ve ever met in my life,” Davidson recalled.

He likens a thoughtfully composed painting to a deliberately composed life. Both require knowing what matters, making choices, and building a strong foundation beneath the surface.

“You get to choose what you want to paint. You get to choose how you want it to look. You’re doing the same thing with your life.”

Davidson chose the Pacific coast, wide-open landscapes, and a life spent sharing their beauty. At Sea to Summit, SCAPE artists are using that same inspiration to help preserve More Mesa. Bill is bringing fresh oil paintings to the show. 

At the end of a painting day, Davidson asks students not whether they made a masterpiece, but “What did I learn?”

Perhaps Sea to Summit poses a related question for Santa Barbara: What landscapes do we cherish enough to save?  

Sea to Summit | Music Academy of the West

Friday, October 30: Exhibition 4-6:30 pm; free reception with music and refreshments, awards at 5 pm

Saturday, October 31: Exhibition 10 am – 3 pm; Davidson’s free public painting demonstration 12-2 pm

November 1-3: Three-day painting workshop, Santa Barbara Harbor, 9:30 am – 4 pm. $650. Register: [email protected].

More information: s-c-a-p-e.org of moremesa.org