I am an oil painter, both studio and plein air. I paint because I like discovering something’s unique beauty as I see it, and then capturing my feelings about it in paint. As I discover each aspect of beauty I record it with a brushstroke, just like a musical note, only I do it with a color note of paint. My variegated brushwork and the textural way I apply the paint do much of the work as I communicate the beauty that I see in the subject. Part of what makes these paintings "impressionistic" is that I only paint those elements that strike me, an edited mosaic of brushstrokes, not a photographic rendering of every detail. These brushstroke impressions also involve the viewer...since the detail is not included, the viewer’s own eyes, emotions, and memories complete the painting.

I chose to study art in the old master-apprentice method. I was a 47 year old businessman who decided to make art my second career. I selected other artists whose work I admired and went to study with them, including the late Joe Abbrescia. I kept a notebook of what I learned along the way and have taught art at the Pacific Northwest Art School for six years. They have the students rate the instructors. I am proud to say that since 2006 I have had the highest rating of all the instructors, which I attribute to those who taught me in my own master-apprentice learning experience.

Thank you for your interest in my work. If you have any questions about my paintings or me, please contact me at james@jamesmooreartist.com.

James was born to a US Navy family and has lived throughout the US and in Sicily. After selling his marketing planning and research business, James moved to Montana near Glacier Park for nine years, where he started painting professionally. Now, James and his wife (Sue Symons) live on Whidbey Island, an hour and a half northwest of Seattle, Washington.

In addition to the American Artists Show in Italy (Torgiano, Umbria), James Moore has been in shows throughout the Pacific Northwest, including: ArtWest Open Competition (Jackson Hole, WY), Clymer Museum Auction (Ellensburg, WA), CM Russell Auction of Original Western Art (Great Falls, MT), Coupeville Festival of the Arts Gallery (Coupeville, WA), Festa Italia (Seattle, WA), Hockaday Museum of Art (Kalispell, MT), High Desert Museum of Art (Bend, OR), Italian Works by James Moore (Insights Gallery, Anacortes, WA), Montana Land Reliance Art for Open Space Show and Auction (Bigfork, MT), Museum of Northwest Art (MoNA) (La Conner, WA), National Western Art Show and Auction (Ellensburg, WA), MAC Auction at Northwest Museum of Art & Culture (Spokane, WA), Plein Air Painters’ US Open (Whidbey Island, WA), San Juan Preservation Trust, Art of the Islands (Eastsound, WA), Spokane Valley Arts Council (Spokane, WA), Treasure State Art Show (Hamilton, MT), Western Masters Art Show & Sale (Great Falls, MT), and Yellowstone Art Museum (Billings, MT),

James Moore has received several awards for excellence, including: Best of Show, Plein Air Painters’ U.S. Open (2009), Best Painting, Pacific NorthWest Art School Gallery (2011)First Place, San Juan Preservation Trust, Art of the Islands (2008); Second Place (2011), Glacier National Park Artist-in-Residence (2004), SKB Foundation Scholarship, Winner in the ArtWest Open Competition (2002), and People’s Choice Signudo (2002).

Active in many artist groups, James Moore is a member of American Impressionists Society, American Society of Marine Artists, California Art Club, Oil Painters of America, Puget Sound Group of NW Painters, and Plein Air Washington. He instructs workshops in maritime painting, plein air painting, and studio painting at the Pacific NorthWest Art School (Coupeville, WA), where he has the highest student rating of all instructors since 2006 when he started teaching there!

Many magazines and newspapers have covered James Moore’s career including: The Book of the San Juan Islands, The Journal of the San Juan Islands, (2012 Maritime Cover Image, “About the Cover” page 5); American Art Collector (August 2011, “Art Lover’s Guide to Collecting Fine Art in the Pacific Northwest” pages 62, 70); American Art Collector (June 2011, “Stories from the Sea: Marine Art Today” pages 92-94); Western Art Collector (March 2011, “Building on Tradition: Western Masters Show” pages 128 and 131); Whidbey News Times (March 2011, “Spring Studio Tour”, Editorial page); American Art Collector (February 2011, “Constructed Spaces: Works from Some of Today’s Best Cityscape Artists” page 98); Western Art & Architecture (Fall/Winter 2010, “Illuminations: Ones to Watch” pages 62-63); American Art Collector (November 2010, “Small Works and Miniatures” pages 90-93); American Art Collector (September 2010, “Unknown Terrain: Landscape Art Today” pages 100-101); Western Art Collector (July 2010, "James Moore, Grand Scale: A Centennial Salute to Glacier" pages 120-121); Western Art Collector (July 2010, “Glacier Gallery/State of MT” page 86); American Art Collector (June 2010, “Marine Art” pages 76-78, "Calling Coast to Coast w/ Kay Eagling of Insights" page 50; and “Calendar of Events-Centennial Salute to Glacier” page 38); Whidbey News Times (December 2007, “Ebey’s Landing Adorns White House Tree” Article on James Moore who was selected by the Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve to paint the Christmas tree ornament representing the Reserve for the White House National Parks Christmas tree.)

Galleries from coast to coast represent James, including: Crow Valley Pottery (Orcas Island, WA), Glacier Gallery (Kalispell, MT), Paderewski Fine Art (Beaver Creek, CO), Rich Timmons Studio & Gallery (Doylestown, PA), and Scott Milo Gallery (Anacortes, WA).

 

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