Welcome!  The purpose of this website is to showcase my art, so that you (my collectors, fellow artists, friends, and family) can stay abreast of and connected to me and my work.  Each available painting also lists the size, price, and which gallery has the piece should you wish to see it in person or purchase it. 

I am an oil painter.  I paint because I like discovering something’s unique beauty as I see it, and then capturing my feelings about it in paint.

I am both a “studio” painter and a “plein air” painter.  Plein air is a term which means painting from life outdoors and capturing the fleeting effect of light and atmosphere in one sitting.   Admittedly, I often spend studio time on a painting to finalize it, but I always strive for a finish in the field. The other term you might hear for finishing a painting all in one sitting is “alla prima”.  Whatever the term, there is nothing like the fresh, loose, imperfection of detail, but perfection of feeling, that comes from capturing the moment with wet into wet paint.  Do I create studio paintings?  You bet.  A large painting, a unique composition, a complicated piece, bad weather, or an outright failure in the field (it happens) will put me at my easel in the studio using sketches and photos for reference.  The light and shadows remain constant, no rain, no wind, it’s warm, the scene does not change, the restroom is handy…studio painting has much to recommend it.  Nonetheless, staying fresh with plein air painting strengthens my studio painting.

I have learned and am still learning, from my fellow artists.  I am ‘self-taught’ only in the sense that I have sought out and learned from artists I admire.  I have taken their workshops, watched demos, painted with them, and studied books.

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James was born to a US Navy family.  So, he grew up in Hawaii, Sicily, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, and California.  With his wife, Sue Symons, he created and ran Moore & Symons, Inc., a marketing research and planning firm in Atlanta, Georgia.  After selling the business, James and Sue lived in northwest Montana near Glacier Park for nine years, where he started painting professionally. Now, James and Sue live on Whidbey Island, an hour and a half northwest of Seattle, Washington.

James’ work has been shown at national and regional exhibitions and auctions including:

ª       Plein Air Painters’ US Open (Whidbey Island, WA)

ª       Museum of Northwest Art (MoNA) (La Conner, WA)

ª       CM Russell Auction of Original Western Art (Great Falls, MT)

ª       Montana Land Reliance Art for Open Space Show and Auction (Bigfork, MT)

ª       Treasure State Art Show (Hamilton, MT)

ª       The Hockaday Museum of Art (Kalispell, MT)

ª       Yellowstone Art Museum (Billings, MT)

ª       National Western Art Show and Auction (Ellensburg, WA)

ª       ArtWest Open Competition (Jackson Hole, WY)

Awards he has received include:

ª       Best of Show, 2009 Plein Air Painters’ U.S. Open

ª       First Place, San Juan Preservation Trust, Art of the Islands (2008)

ª       Glacier National Park Artist-in-Residence (2004)

ª       SKB Foundation Scholarship

ª       Winner in the ArtWest Open Competition 2002

ª       People’s Choice awards at Signudo (Kalispell, MT)

A member of Oil Painters of America, Puget Sound Group of NW Painters, and Plein Air Washington, Moore is represented by Crow Valley Pottery (Orcas Island, WA), Gallery San Juan (Friday Harbor, WA), Glacier Gallery (Kalispell, MT), Insights Gallery (Anacortes, WA), and Timber Stand Gallery (Sandpoint, ID).  James teaches at the Pacific NorthWest Art School (Coupeville, WA).