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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Putting paint to canvas has been Barbara Binford Davis' calling all along.
"I can't remember not wanting to be an artist," said Davis, who after years of relegating art to the sidelines now works full-time as a fine artist.
Her style is impressionistic, portraying scenes of nature, and particularly skyscapes, but scenes of the city, as well — downtown streets, iconic spots in Cloverdale, the Capital and other landmarks.
Such themes are reflected in "Bang. Bang. Boom.," the official Jubilee CityFest 2012 poster. The work depicts the riverfront, with brilliant fireworks lighting up a black night sky and reflecting below in the Alabama River.
"The print Barbara designed showcases the riverfront area that has been a catalyst for downtown revitalization," Dick Morris, chairman of Jubilee CityFest, said at the poster's recent unveiling.
Davis is a lifelong Montgomerian, a graduate of Sidney Lanier High School who earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from Auburn Montgomery. In October, Morris asked if she would create this year's official Jubilee poster, sponsored by AT&T.
"Having lived here forever, seeing all the Jubilee posters over the years, all along I was saying, 'Maybe one day I can do a Jubilee poster,'" Davis said. "I was thrilled when Dick called me."
Personal connection
She had no idea how much personal meaning the Jubilee commission would have. The poster, with its flashes that seem to come alive on paper, is powerful, and there is a story behind it.
Barbara Davis and her husband, John Davis, a lawyer with the attorney general's office, met as students at Auburn Montgomery. Both had part-time jobs as runners for downtown law firms.
They had only been dating a month when the 1985 Jubilee came around.
At the last minute, one of the lawyers asked Barbara if she would stay around on Jubilee evening to let some firemen up on the roof, a safety measure for the fireworks display.
She agreed, and told her date they would be spending Jubilee far above the city, specifically, atop the northernmost building on Commerce Street, the closest one to the river. Along with the firemen, the couple settled in on the roof.
"Honestly, it was perfection — warm, breezy. The sun was going down and the sky was all pink, and the Montgomery Symphony was playing," she said.
That night on the roof, John wrote "I love you" in the palm of Barbara's hand. She remembers the evening in detail; she had found the man she would marry. It was a cue-the-fireworks moment. No, really.
"Then the fireworks display started over the river and you could see the reflections in the water and the boats," she said. "It was just like we were up in the air, watching it. It was so sweet and romantic."
The two knew they'd be together from then on. They married in 1988.
As Davis was still reeling from being chosen as this year's Jubilee poster artist, Morris gave her a theme: Fireworks, in honor of one of the festival's biggest draws, "Bama's Big Bang," a pyrotechnics extravaganza choreographed to music.
Following the dream
It could not have been more appropriate for Davis. First, there were those fireworks more than 25 years ago. Now, fireworks symbolize something else. When she turned 40, she realized that if she was going to follow her dream, the one she's living now, she had to make it happen.
Recently, the song "Firework" by Katy Perry came on the radio while Davis was driving.
"If I could pick a soundtrack for my poster, this would be it!" she said of the upbeat pop song. But the lyrics — the part about doors being "closed, so you could open one that leads you to the perfect road" — could be the theme song for this chapter of her life.
"You have another chance to pursue your dream and do what you love," Davis said.
Early on, Davis specialized in portraits, but now her true love is plein art, a method that involves setting up a portable easel outdoors and painting live as nature's movements, shadows and colors shift minute by minute.
The technique requires super-quick reaction, and she relies on her eye for nature's surprises, such as glowing cloud formations or a sun-dappled grouping of trees, to guide her. Her husband is used to her suddenly asking him, while in the car, to stop and go back to a scene she can't resist re-creating.
Among other local art professionals, Davis's work caught the discerning eye of Sandra Hicks, director of Stonehenge Gallery in Cloverdale, where many of Davis's pieces are displayed.
"I was drawn to Barbara's painting. I remember seeing her art work somewhere in Montgomery and I said, 'Who is this? This is really good,'" Hicks said. "The colors, the composition and all the things that make a painting look the way it's supposed to be are there."
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