At age 87 Carroll Davis still is a work in progress as he continues to pursue his life’s love and passion for art — even more so today, having overcome a double pulmonary embolism and cheating death in the process.
He maintains a rigorous routine of painting – every single day – and many of his favorite works are on display inside the Pinecrest home of his adoring son Marc, his wife Milagro, and three children.
His own parents, who did not share the enthusiasm for Carroll’s work his son would years later, objected to Carroll’s dreams and aspirations. They steered him into law school and away from his love of painting and art.
His father, born in 1880’s Texas, was a hard-nosed businessman raised the hard way. Founder of the nationwide auto parts chain Western Auto (remember Davis Tires?) His father made a fortune while enduring obstacles, yet deterred his son’s aspirations even though he knew being an artist meant everything to him.
Nonetheless, the young Carroll persisted. And today he believes, “The more recognition you can achieve, the better.”
When Carroll was eight years old, he and the family left Kansas City, and moved to Miami Beach’s posh LaGorce Island. After passing the bar exam in Florida, he took an appointment with a big name law firm in Miami Beach, Warren Klein & Moore.
But three years and one failed marriage later, Carroll loaded up his station wagon and drove for six days to Mexico to follow his heart and take his life in a totally new direction. It was in Mexico he met and married a beautiful French woman, his current wife Jacqueline, became a father, and headed back to Miami.
Although the happy couple bought a home in Coral Gables, it wasn’t long before wanderlust set in and he got the calling to move again — this time to France where he immersed himself in the European art scene for two years.
For Marc, to be exposed to living in Paris at such a young age, was truly rewarding.
“With a French mother and my father an artist, it was a natural thing to learn French and fully embrace European culture,” he said.
Carroll’s love of his homeland called him once again and Carroll and his family settled in the area of Miami now known as Pinecrest, where Marc lives today.
By 1980, the Davis couple eventually built their dream home at SW 136 Street and Old Cutler Road in Palmetto Bay. This is where they finally settled and lived for 35 years before ultimately moving to the East Ridge retirement community.
After nearly 400 artworks completed, Carroll suffered a pulmonary embolism, forcing him to take a four-year hiatus. But he is back now, painting as prolifically as ever. His time off recuperating reinforced the notion that painting is what makes him most happy in life.
“I am painting for myself. For the pleasure and enjoyment I get out of doing it. I would paint if I never sell another painting because I love it.”
Marc has sought opportunities to show his dad’s work locally, including a show being proposed in cooperation with a nearby hospital foundation.
Marc attended Gulliver Academy and FIU. He followed in his grandfather’s footsteps as a businessman, creating a small franchise, Bagel Barn, which he operated in South Miami and the Brickell District for 10 years. Now a real estate agent with The Keyes Real Estate Company, he is a member of the firm’s President’s Elite Club.
To find out more about Carroll’s art, or to view and acquire a piece, contact his son Marc Davis at marcdavis@keyes.com or call 305-951-5752.
