Robert Moore’s work has a presence and a sense of order that come from a lifetime of close observation of nature. Growing up on his family’s farm in Idaho, his days were spent working with a shovel, irrigating the fields and taking off to explore the landscape on foot when his father denied him a motorcycle.
In Between Seasons, oil on canvas, 60 x 40 in.
This September, Moore’s latest exhibition, A Place of Peace at Altamira Fine Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, invites viewers to step into the landscapes near his Idaho home and in Colorado as they move through snow, aspen groves, mountain meadows and the shifting seasons. Looking at Moore’s work, it’s clear he understands the West as a living, breathing place, and his brushwork carries that energy—immediate, textured and full of light.
Painting is how Moore best expresses his feelings, and to him, capturing the feeling of peace on canvas means constructing a scene free of conflict and represents the harmony found in nature.
On My Way, oil on canvas, 76 x 46 in.
“As I’m painting in nature, people sense the beauty, they sense the order, and I sense it also, but I can also sense it on my palette,” says Moore. “When there are beautiful relationships of color, and then I can sense it on the canvas when there is a strong design that feels complete and not lacking.”
“That harmony with an ordered composition, with all the variety of stepping and progressions of color within each of those masses creates—there’s a peace. That’s what I strive after in my paintings, is that peace of not having conflict...that they feel intent, they feel designed and not accidental.”
Spring Has Sprung, oil on canvas, 40 x 60 in.
That sense of peace found so often in nature is captured on canvas through a highly technical process. When assessing whether to paint a landscape, Moore looks for clear information, “meaning, there’s a sky mass, there’s a mountain mass, there’s a ground plane mass or shape, and then maybe a foliage mass where that information is clear. It’s not 10,000 broken pieces of differing values, or lights, or darks,” he explains.
Moore’s work captures the rich yellow gold of aspen trees in autumn and the layered hues of wildflowers in a meadow. Looking at the vibrancy of his palette, viewers would never guess the artist is colorblind.
It’s yet another part of Moore’s technical process. His apprentice will arrange his colors on a monopoly-like board, with each hue assigned its place on the spectrum so that Moore knows exactly which one to reach for.
Nothing Better, oil on canvas, 48 x 60 in.
Peace does not come easily, whether in life or on a canvas. However, it’s the artist’s intent that his work creates a fixed space where viewers can return to experience even a moment of calm. “I hope [viewers] find a place of peace,” says Moore. “And that those who purchase it, and will have it on their wall, and it will be a daily source to be reminded that there’s peace available and that conflict does not win in the end.”
A Place of Peace will open on September 15 and run until the 29th at Altamira Fine Art in Jackson, Wyoming. A reception will be held on the 16th from 5 to 7 p.m. —
Altamira Fine Art 172 Center Street, Suite 100 • Jackson, WY 83001• (307) 739-4700 • www.altamiraart.com
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