Romantic and joyful
This story was featured in the December 2018 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art December 2018 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
“LOOK AT THAT!” This simple, wonder-filled expression is what Anna Moore’s father, artist Robert Moore, would say when he wanted to direct his children’s attention to interesting patterns and colors in nature. Such spontaneous art lessons often sprang up when Anna and her siblings tagged along on their father’s painting trips into the Idaho countryside, but impromptu lessons were also known to unfold during family car rides and on visits to art galleries. Reflecting back with affection, Moore says, “My dad helped me learn how to appreciate beauty in the world through those little, everyday moments.”
Today the painter, who turns 25 this month, packs all that appreciation into her bright, impressionistic portrayals of Idaho landscapes and other subjects, from well-used tubes of paint to sun-dappled poppies. Earlier this year, Moore showcased her work at the prestigious Out West Art Show & Sale, and this past fall, her paintings received additional exposure in a show at Dana Gallery in Missoula, MT, where works by her father and her younger sister Rachel were also on view.
The title of the trio’s show, Nature or Nurture, hints that a bit of both have influenced Moore’s own creative path. Since completing her studies in fine art and graphic design at Utah State University in 2017, the artist has returned to Idaho, where she continues to learn from her father. But she is also building her own creative vision. One of her greatest influences these days is Lebanese artist Fatat Bahmad, whose vibrant, stylized still lifes and interiors have impressed upon Moore the power of an expressive palette. “There are intense transitions between Bahmad’s colors, but they are not abrasive,” she enthuses. “What I’d want to take from her is some of that beautiful handling of color. It’s not extremely realistic, but it’s romantic and joyful.”
Those two words could easily describe Moore’s own work, with its emotive, color-rich brush strokes. A nature-driven artist at heart, the artist shares her father’s passion for painting trees, in particular. For Moore, trees represent wisdom, strength, and life, but they’re also just fun to paint. “I love the negative spaces between the branches and leaves because I can put different shapes and colors in there,” she says. “Exact representation is not indispensable to me. The freedom to deviate is part of the joy of painting.” —Kim Agricola
representationDana Gallery, Missoula, MT.
This story was featured in the December 2018 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art December 2018 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
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