Lowell Davis and Red Oak II

I first met Lowell Davis many years ago. I was a young attorney working with a number of local Christian artists in developing a Christian Artists Guild. Lowell’s then son-in-law was one of them. I was not an artist But I had a vision. That vision was to see a number of Christian artists working together to create beautiful and wonderful things to the glory of God. They would be a spiritual support to one another as they developed their art.

In art, we are closely aligned with our Creator. Satan is not an artist; he is a destroyer of life, happiness and art. Among other things, I used most of my savings to purchase an old church in downtown Carthage so that the Guild would have a place to meet and to practice art. Looking back, it was not perhaps the wisest move for a young family man who had limited funds. However, I believed that God was leading in that direction and so I did it.

The Guild, which had a group of very fine artists, became what I call Failure 57 ¾. Why do I call it that ? Well, the Guild was to be only one of many failures I was to see in my life. It was not the first, and certainly nowhere near the last. It was probably somewhere near the middle. The ¾ is added because it was not a complete failure. There were many lessons I learned.

One lesson I learned is that artists are like cats. They come and go as they please. They do what they want to do, pretty much when they want to do it. Most are not A types or S types. They are wonderful and creative. Most are not money driven; instead money is only a means for them to carry out their art.

Secondly, they are often misunderstood and march to the sound of a different drummer from most of the rest of the world.

Thirdly, being a good artist does not mean that you do not deal with the difficulties that most of the rest of the world also experiences. In many instances, good artists, like our Savior Jesus Christ, are acquainted with suffering and pain.

Many years ago at one of Guild meetings we went out to Lowell Davis’s place at Red Oak. Lowell was outside painting. It was a quiet evening. The stars were just beginning to come out. It was a quiet evening of painting and discussion.

The evening began quietly. Slowly a small choir of crickets began to make their night music (Eine Kleine Nachmusik, if you please) and pretty soon a small group of frogs began to come in from the tuba and bass section. There are special times in our lives when things all seem to be in harmony. As Lowell painted, nature seemed to quietly add the music that made the painting magical. Well, many things have happened since then, both in Lowell’s life and in mine. I won’t go into them, but in our own way we both saw hardships that we could not imagine at the time.

Although I still make my living as an attorney, I have in my senior moments taken a love to riding Harleys and taking photographs. I still believe that God loves us and that Jesus Christ not only showed us the way but is the Way. But I have scars in my life, and God is not through with me yet--even at my age.

And so, recently as I was out photographing the country side, I ran into Red Oak II. One webpage says it is up for sale. I do not know whether it is or not. However, if it is, it is a wonderful place. In its construction and fabric is wonder and creative genius. It is a part of the life of Lowell Davis. Sometimes our art jumps off the page and takes on a life of its own. Here, art has leaped off the canvass. It is a town built from memories of boyhood wonder that has become alive. It is wonderful, magical, and whimsical. If it is for sale, that is tragic. But then nothing is forever and our art lives on when we are with our Creator.

As I drove through Red Oak II, I remembered that the child in each of us never really goes away. Hidden with in, some times it comes out to play and once again sees the light of day. And so some of this child like wonder came alive in Lowell as he recreated the town of his boyhood, but even better than it really was back then. And as I rode through it and saw the art, the inner child in me was quickened and I saw myself gazing at Red Oak II in boyhood wonder. After all, isn’t this really what great art is all about. Art, whether it is a Greek tragedy or wonderful, whimsical art takes us out of ourselves and transforms us. It leads us to an experience with life and to art.

Now, more about Red Oak II and the memories of our childhood.

I grew up in the Texas oil patch. My home town was near Pickton, Texas. I took my kids to see it one time, and the whole town was gone. The oil company had picked up and moved all the building to another oil field in Louisiana. My children looked at me in amazement as I tied to explain to them that the town that I had grown up in was no longer there. Where there had been houses and laughter and life, there were now only a few trees and foundations left. I kind of felt like someone had robbed me of a very valuable part of my childhood.

Lowell Davis, when confronted with that, went out and recreated his childhood as an artist. In short, the artist met and recreated the memories of his childhood.

Red Oak II is a wonderful place. If it cannot belong to Lowell, then I hope it will belong to a group of people that can preserve it and protect it. It is wonderful art. And it is part of America as it used to be and as it ought to be. It is a place where gentle humor resides and the quaintness and essential virtues of our country still remain. There is no place in Red Oak II for greed and avarice. It is an unwelcome guest and would soon find its place in Sheriff Hookers run down jail.

You can learn about Red Oak II by going to http://redoakii.com/

You can learn more about Lowell Davis and his art by going to http://lowelldavis-artist.com/

Lowell did not charge for people to walk through Red Oak II. If he ever did that would be OK. But those are the choices of the artist/creator.

I have taken a few pictures of Red Oak. They were taken from my car. Lowell lives there and I did not want to intrude upon his privacy. So you may see an occasional car antenna.

I hope you enjoy the pictures.