By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — If you go for a walk around Bass Lake, be sure to bring your wallet. Local artist Earl Davis is likely to be there, capturing a serene moment on canvas — and with a masterpiece for sale.

Davis is one of the featured artists for the week of July 7-13 for the Blowing Rock Historical Society’s “Artists in Residence” series at Edgewood Cottage. Retired as a full-time church pastor but still serving in an interim capacity at various churches in and around the High Country from time to time, what was once an avocation, painting, is now pretty much a full-time profession. His productivity reflects not just his skill but also how much time he has on his hands.

“I have warned them all not to whisper to our guests — but they do it anyway!”

Laughing, Davis the entrepreneur looked around at all the landscapes hanging on the Edgewood Cottage walls and said, “I told my wife that I was thinking about having a ‘Summer Clearance Sale.’ She replied, ‘Well, you can call it whatever you want but you are going to get rid of some of these paintings!'”

It turns out, Davis is a natural born salesman. He brought 80 of his pieces to the exhibit and, as the week was winding down, reported that he had sold a little more than 30.

And that is on top of what he sells “on the fly” while painting at Bass Lake.

“One day I went out to paint at Bass Lake and took a painting I had worked on because I wanted to compare what I had achieved with a similar time of day at the lake. I set it on the ground against my easel. A short while later, some folks out walking around the lake stopped and started talking to me. And they asked if they could buy the painting! What I discovered is… first, people love local art and, second, they appreciate the opportunity to have a memento of their walk around the lake,” Davis said. “So I started to bring a painting out every time I paint at Bass Lake. I think I have sold about 36 this way!”

Davis said he got serious about painting about 15 years ago and has sold over 600 since taking it up, seriously.

All of his work is in oils and he has a passion for landscapes. Naturally, a lot of his focus has been on the readily available vistas and more tranquil settings in the High Country. A few years ago, he did a series of paintings capturing scenes along the Blue Ridge Parkway, from its overlooks. He has also visited a number of national parks around the country, listing Yellowstone, for example, as one of his favorites.

More recently, Davis’ creative attention has turned to running water, whether creeks and rivers, or waterfalls.

“You know, in art we can’t actually paint light, but we can paint the effects of light hitting on things, like rushing water in a stream,” said Davis. “It is really fascinating.’

Ever the salesman, Davis called to a young couple across the room in Edgewood Cottage. They kept being drawn back to one particular painting.

“Is that painting speaking to you?,” asked Davis. “I’ve warned them all to not whisper to our guests, but they do it anyway!”