Cuddlewood Grove | Various Editions | Mark Davies

'Cuddlewood Grove' Various Formats available

Standard Giclee, Edition of 45 + 5 APs. Framed Size 38.5" x 26" 

Large Giclee, Edition of 20 + 5 APs. Framed Size 46.5" x 34.5"

Canvas. Edition of 20 +5 APs Framed Size 48" x 33"

Original 64" x 41" 

Who would ever think that I could create such a beautifully cute scene such as this when you have seen my interpretations of ‘The Shining’ for example! ‘Cuddlewood Grove’ is unbelievably sweet and takes you to a clearing within an enchanting forest where the homes of ‘Barbie’, ‘Treetots’, ‘The Smurfs’, ‘Sylvanian Families’, ‘Strawberry Shortcake’ and ‘The Carebears’ all live amongst the trees.

As the title suggests, this image gives you exactly that, a cuddle on canvas for example. I think even those who loved their action figures will have a soft spot for these little beauties, even if it’s simply remembering stripping all the clothes off the Otter family to wind your sibling up! Judging by the sales numbers, it’s clear that you guys adore my pieces that showcase the childhood toys from our youth. The likes of ‘The Memory Remains’ and ‘Skool’s Out!’ series are both cracking examples of this! When we really used our imagination, without limits, what wonders filled our little minds eh, back then toys were absolutely amazing, no social media, barely any gadgets, it was all about the action figures and dolls. What did we then dream of every time we flicked through the catalogues? The playsets! It was that scene that the toy company always created that showed them all positioned next to each other for the figures to come to life. They opened our minds, and purses and piggy banks so easily!

‘Cuddlewood Grove’ was born from planning its crazy brother ‘Battle Street!’ as I wanted to create a pair that would complement and contrast. It was funny to move straight from fireballs, lasers and crashes to something so whimsical and beautiful as what you see here! If you know my work and my mind you will know that I often struggle to keep my pieces light, even the tiniest dark detail can often find its way into a pretty scene. I had to really fight the urge with this one. It’s funny, on writing this I just had to double check the image to make sure there was nothing naughty hiding amongst the leaves and love hearts. All good, all clear, well I guess a little ogling in the woods doesn’t count! For me personally there was the need to focus on creating nostalgia-fuelled ‘happy place’ art, so starting this piece immediately after ‘Battle Street!’ was so good as I was still buzzing!

Like I mentioned earlier, it certainly demonstrates my ability to move from the darkest of dark narratives to utter beautiful cuteness. If you haven’t seen pieces from my Horror collection, then it might shock you! There’s two sides to me for sure! My art has always been my outlet for my emotions and is always influenced by events and experiences outside of the studio. Sadly, since starting this crazy career there has been absolute horrors to deal with and still are.

Having my art as such a wonderful outlet is everything and has without doubt saved my mind from breaking. I guess the reason ‘Cuddlewood Grove’ is so bloody adorable and wonderful is that I was desperate to immerse myself into this surreal world where the only shadows where created by the sunshine that broke through the trees, lighting up the magic that lived within the grove. Honestly, it was like a comfort blanket from start to finish, I often found myself shaking my head and laughing as each little character came to life. I’m not claiming to have collected all the toys that you see here but it brings back great memories of what my sister loved/loves!

Thinking about it, I’m sure my younger brother collected ‘Sylvanian Families’! Come on, who didn’t sabotage their siblings collection of these, stripping them bare and introducing them to action man! Just me then?! Let’s move on! There is a huge amount to seek out here and I hope it really makes those of you who collected these toys and dolls feel really good, I really went for it to make it as cute and pretty as possible, just look at all those faces!

There were moments of stress, whilst creating the frog couple wading through the water, there were multiple power cuts from storms overhead which caused me to have to redo that part several times. I certainly turned the air blue as well as the water! So maybe there is a dark element to this piece after all! Whoopsie!