Written by: Jo Ann Duggins
I've
been a long time friend and fan of artist Dave Moore. I remember the first
time I saw a Dave Moore painting. I remember it was outside his apartment
on a lovely Spring day in March or April or May...I remember the painting
with a monkey and it's yellowish tint and I remember feeling fuzzy when
I saw it. It takes a lot for me to remember a painting, much less how I
felt when I saw it. I am not into the abstract, I just like pretty pictures.
Dave, of course, is a true artist who has this humbling way about him. He
is a tall man with a quiet intensity about him. In the perfectly acurately
words of John Majer, "When I see Dave Moore I see a giant smile, a
controlled calm." Well said. He is a man who thinks deeply and it's
reflected in his images. They remind me of seeing the world underwater...very
calming, almost dreamlike, but quite organic with a touch of chaos. When
I view his art I have a deep tranquility...there's a small smile on my face
and a sparkle in my eye. I view art like I do music, if it makes me feel,
it's good and Dave Moore's paintings are just that and more.
I finally caught up with my good friend and decided he would be great to feature here. He kindly accepted.
Full Name: richard david moore
Age: 34
Hometown: hampton, virginia
Currently Residing: scottsville, virginia
Currently Listening to: andrew bird- the mysterious production of eggs
How long have you and your art had a relationship?
I have very distinct pre-school-era memories of drawings...I remember we (my pre-school gang and I) used to all want to be popeye the sailor. we would draw and cut out these spinach cans...and I have specific memories of making a 3-d spinach can with an open lid and spinach in the top...probably a visual copy of what I had seen in the cartoons.
How would you describe the content of you art?
Perpetually shifting. I want to be surprised b y the content of my own paintings. I usually try to introduce as many random elements as I can into a work, early on...then sort of sit back and see what starts to present itself and react. It's a game, really. Of course, sometimes it can be more straight-forward, like: "I want to make a landscape" or "I want to paint like Robert Motherwell today." My friend Chip and I used to joke around with the term "abstract realism" as a way to avoid classification and to confound critics, who we never encounter.
What medium do you prefer to use?
All of them, more and more. I've been working in oil again these last couple of years and really enjoying it, but me painting in oil is like glaciers moving. so I work in acrylic a lot and I've been into ink washes lately.
How do you get inspired to do a painting? What do you do
to prepare if at all?
mostly I just try to be present and working... pushing forward a little bit, always. like I was saying before... my general rule is just to activate the surface and then respond. but you know, inspiration can come in so many forms. it becomes a question of "how do I want to get inspired today?" it is the tedious job of the artist to ask and answer such difficult questions
If you could describe your art as a "mood" what would it be and do you think that mood is apparent when others view your art?
My friend Jenny in Richmond said that if my paintings were music they would be the sea and the cake. This was in '97 and I hadn't even listened to the sea and the cake yet, but later I thought it was a nice thing to say. I like my paintings to have a full emotional range...I work on a single Painting many times, in many different moods and all of them get recorded in the surface of the work, adding up to a personal history for a specific work that I believe people do respond to. This is the commonality between art, nature and humantiy: All contain beauty and also a threat and all sorts of variations in between.
What
or Who motivates you?
nature.. and Picasso...still, dammit.
Most interesting subject and why?
history. because it covers everything up to 1 second ago... and counting.
Did you ever find a particular piece to be difficult and why was it so?
lord- they're all difficult, unless they're easy. and you take those
easy ones thankfully and know your going to have to do a lot of dumb
painting to balance it out. but I have this one I started in 1999 that's
@ 30 ft. long now and still needs to get a bit bigger. I've moved it all
over the place since then, and worked on it sporadically and I still have
no idea when or how it's going to get finished. I have a certain amount
of faith about these matters, though.
What is in the future for Dave Moore?
I'm playing basketball @ 5 this evening.
Do you feel you've made accomplishments or rather do you feel you've introduced or stylized something within the art world?
I always just want to make art history a present-tense thing. The body of work Produced during my lifetime will be my contribution, so I try to make it good and plentiful.
What's in your pocket?
not a thing. (Gee gives new meaning to the title "starving Artist")
If you would like to know more of Moore visit his site at: www.lowlandking.com