Dancing with Sea Lions
The Dancing With Sea Lions project began as a fundraiser for the 20th Anniversary of the Florence Events Center. The volunteers of the Florence Arts, Culture, and Entertainment nonprofit group (previously known as the Friends of the FEC) headed up this project in conjunction with the Florence Events Center Staff. Twenty life size sea lion sculptures were each painted by a different artist. All of them were displayed with their sponsors along the Oregon Coast till October of 2016, when they were then purchased by businesses and individuals. Fifteen of them are still publicly displayed in Florence and near by coastal locations. See our 'Where are they now' map for their current locations, and check our blog for updates. Share your Dancing Sea Lion pics with us and we'll add them to our Gallery of images.
Christine Caldwell Davis
Project Name: Stella the Sea Wolf
Christine Caldwell Davis was born an artist, and began drawing and experimenting with color at a very young age. A love of travel has allowed her to roam the western United States, Mexico, Greece and France, painting and teaching.
An avid lover of the out of doors, her experiences have influenced her choice of both subject and color. She has white water rafted Oregon and Idaho rivers, camped, hiked and more recently spent her summers cruising the outside of Vancouver Island on her boat named “Reel Sketchy.” It was during her travels around the Ucluelet and Nootka areas that she was introduced to the art of the First Nation people. That introduction provided her with a different view of wildlife.
Caldwell Davis is well known for her colorful representation of her subjects. Be it portrait, still life or landscape she is always looking for a new approach for the viewer, either through color or interpretive view of the subject matter itself.
There is a quote, “There is nothing new under the sun”, but she is always looking to entertain the viewer with a different view. When asked what her goal is she will most often say, “I would simply like to create a pleasant experience for the viewer, one that makes their world a happier brighter place while giving me an excuse to play in the paint box.”
Her favorite quote is by Winston Churchill who discovered painting late in life. He said he was taking a “Joy Ride in a Paint Box.” Christine continues to play in the paint box and loves every minute of it.
Christine Caldwell Davis says she became involved with Dancing With Sea Lions for a couple of reasons. First she has always been an active volunteer in our community and has contributed many hours of support and art donations. But the most compelling reason of all was that she had a vision for Stella the Sea Wolf. Christine said she felt strongly about bringing Stella to life and hopes you enjoyed the ride in her paint box.