In 1969, at the age of 15, David C. DeCamp fell in love with the Caribbean on a mission trip to build a church and shelter on the island of Roatan. As a result, the Caribbean influences and love of the people come through in much of his work.

David opened his first gallery in St. Augustine in 1976. In 1988 he began working with stained glass, where he won many Best of Show awards.

During this time David gained recognition for restoring antique toys and autonama. Private collectors noticed David’s work and commissioned him to design Christmas caricatures and autonama. As a result, David was able to develop his own distinctive style. These designs were so successful that David soon opened show rooms coast-to-coast. His clients included Gumps, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus. He began to design for House of Hatten, Christmas Corner, Midwest, Hanford’s and Department 56 as one of their signature artists. These lines met with great success. The scope of his work included the mediums of glass, metal, wood, clay, porcelain, resin, paper mache, fabric, stone, and painting with watercolors and oils.

David’s work became well known as heirloom collectibles. Various museums added his works to their collections, including The Jacksonville Children’s Museum, St. Augustine Children’s Museum and The Atlanta Toy & Doll Museum. Private shows included The American Folk Art Museum at Lincoln Center and.

In 1991, after his success at Department 56 where his work set record sales, David moved to Costa Rica to work with the Inter-American Bank Foundation as a consultant to develop cottage industries in Central America. Inspired by the success of these programs, and having found his true passion, David moved to the Caribbean in 1999 to build and teach in Seventh-day Adventist schools and churches. Eventually he founded Samana Bay Mission which hosts youth and family educational programs and camps.

To help fund his mission work, David returned to his artistic endeavors. Beginning in 2001 he took inspiration from his travels in the West Indies on his 42-foot schooner and produced over 75 watercolors of Caribbean landscapes, tropical fish, and fanciful mermaid imaginations. Once again, David’s artwork will brighten the homes of thousands of people worldwide, and this time it will go toward making the world a better place!

The Art of Saving a Planet

We all love Tropical islands and their people but as they have been exposed to our life style Teens and whole families have been leaving the remote Islands and there rural homes for the big cities. Hoping for what they think is a better life…The result has been disastrous poverty; crime, prostitution; drugs and alcohol addiction are the result (broken lives).
Those that stay have not had the education to live a good life even when what they need to do this is all around them.
People, like all living things, need education direction and nurturing to grow up well.
The Samana Bay Foundation’s mission is simple: Strengthen people and communities by teaching them the skills and the vision needed to see what they have and to use it to build a good life in the country. To see the value in were they are and what they have, to protect there environment and most of all, to give them hope.
A healthful life for all people is what artist and mission found David DeCamp and the rest of us at Samana Bay are after. We achieve this through education, and by helping people develop life skills and spiritual philosophy that allow them to achieve a healthy and successful life style.

Groups come to the mission for camps, seminars, retreats and country life classes that teach them to become better, more aware stewards of the earth and themselves.
And through bringing youth and families from the cities to the camp and there interaction with the youth and country families they all find out to there amazement that life can be so much better there!

David DeCamp, a renowned artist and designer, created a beautiful collection of Caribbean Watercolors and he has developed a cottage craft industry in the Dominican Republic around them. Samana Bay Mission gets support through donations, but mostly by selling the things we create. We call it, “the art of saving a planet”

We believe that together we can change the World. One Person one Family one village One Island at a time.....


THE VISION OF
SAMANA BAY MISSION
FOUNDATION

TO PROVIDE THROUGH EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND A PHYSICAL EXAMPLE OF WHAT COUNTRY LIVING CAN BE.
TO RAISE THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF COUNTRY FAMILIES AND AWARENESS OF THE VALUE OF COUNTRY LIVING. THUS HELPING TO ESTABLISH CHANGE IN RURAL FAMILIES AND HOPE AND VISION TO THERE TEENS SLOWING THEIR MIGRATION TO THE CITIES.
AND THROUGH EDUCATIONAL CAMP PROGRAMS TEACHING CITY FAMILIES THE SKILLS NEEDED TO RETURN TO COUNTRY LIVING
THEREBY AIDING IN THE REVERSAL OF THIS MIGRATION.
THAT THROUGH THE SUCCESS OF THESE FAMILIES
WE MAY BE AN EXAMPLE ACROSS THE GLOBE.

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