American b. 1972 Jay Davenport is a contemporary realist painter that specializes in exacting and witty trompe l’oeil. With a keen interest in fine art and the encouragement of his grandfather, Davenport received private art lessons as a child. After achieving an Associate’s Degree in Painting and Illustration, he pursued academic training through an apprenticeship at The Wachulius Studio; through this particular experience, he honed his expertise in trompe l’oeil and began to develop his signature droll style. Davenport’s paintings are painstakingly detailed and the telling minutiae might be missed upon first glance. Cleverly toying with the viewer, his compositions are conundrums in themselves: photo-enhanced image versus direct observation; real versus imaginary; loving portraiture versus mocking documentation. A recurring theme in Davenport’s work is the personification of animals, which provides a commentary on how modern civilization has humanized domesticated beasts and wildlife to a humorous, but almost absurd, level. It begs the question: who do we treat better, our adored pets or ourselves?Currently, Jay Davenport is represented by galleries in Santa Fe, NM, Scottsdale, AZ, Fort Worth, TX, and Orleans, MA and provides private instruction at Stillwater Studio. His work has been shown from coast to coast, and he has received many awards, including The Bosque Conservatory Silver Med