Sometimes an artist has to go east to go west. In the case of California-based painters John and Terri Kelly Moyers, Wandering West, which is the title of their new show, means returning to Santa Fe, New Mexico, a place they called home for 20 years. “We’re really looking forward to being back in Santa Fe. We’re hoping to reintroduce ourselves,” Terri says ahead of their first “big show” in New Mexico’s great art hub since their move.
Terri Kelly Moyers, Señora de Santa Fe, oil, 30 x 20"
Opening August 11 at Legacy Gallery on Canyon Road, the exhibit literally retraces old paths for the couple. Terri and John had “tremendous success under the Altermann & Morris gallery,” says Legacy Gallery owner Brad Richardson. “We’re actually in the same location, which has always been one of my favorite Santa Fe locations and one that I have been trying to obtain for many years.” Richardson’s flagship gallery has been a Scottsdale, Arizona, fixture since 1988, so he’s excited to host major shows at his two new galleries in Santa Fe.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to represent John and Terri off and on during that period of time,” Richardson continues. “John and Terri, of course, lived in Santa Fe for many years and I think they truly represent the Santa Fe art market.”
John Moyers, Into the Light, oil, 40 x 60"
“Santa Fe has been ready a long time for a gallery like Legacy,” John says. “They’re filling a void that needs to be filled.”
In addition to revisiting old haunts, the Moyers are honing in on subjects that reflect the culture and the people who call the Southwest home. “We both tend to paint a pretty wide variety of subject matter, but we’re focusing a lot on Native American [and] Hispanic subject matter for this one—in keeping with the Santa Fe theme primarily,” says Terri.
John Moyers, The Beauty Behind, oil, 24 x 24"
Works like Señora de Santa Fe highlight Terri’s interest in authentic shawls and their decorative potential while Compadres offers a chance to engage her playful side. “The donkeys were fun and it’s a blast,” she says. “It’s a way I can just kind of loosen up a little bit and just have fun with it.” John, too, is focusing on subjects that resonate with the Santa Fe audience, including storytelling with figures rendered in his unmistakably fresh color palette.
Their former studio assistant and mentee Hannah Harper sheds a little light on the Moyers’ working practices. “So much of it—like color palette and all of that—comes straight from painting outside,” she says. “Over and over and over, painting outside at different times of day and then kind of locking away those color palettes mentally and bringing them back out when you’re in the studio—that outdoor work informs literally everything they do in the studio.”
John Moyers, Guardians of the Lincoln Cane, oil, 36 x 48"
Between commitments for shows, Terri and John try to make time for plein air painting trips. This year they hope to visit Europe and the Canadian Rockies, where Terri grew up. “It’s tough stuff and it puts you through your paces,” says Terri, equating painting from life to shooting free throws. “We have to draw and compose and think about all the things that are important and make a painting a good painting. And you have to practice.”
Her husband agrees. “I’ve always been a fairly loose painter. I just don’t want to and I can’t really paint tight, you know, it’s just not my deal. But there’s lots of people out there that are very good at it. I’m just not one of them,” says John. “I just try to do my own thing and not be influenced by other people and just try to do my own work. So it kind of leads me where I’m going.”
Terri Kelly Moyers, The Courting Robe, oil, 36 x 30"
Working under Terri and John, Harper not only improved her own craft, but got to know Western art’s first family on a personal level. “It was so much fun spending time just watching them work in Santa Fe,” she says. “Terri would have all kinds of dramatic film scores and stuff playing, and then John’s studio was super loud country music. So it’s really funny to see the differences in their personalities even come out in the environment that they feel the most productive in.”
Harper continues: “More than anything, they’re setting the example of doing things the right way, especially if you’re a representational artist and trying to paint true to life. It’s so important to work from life, to go outside, to get your own models, to just do everything from scratch. I think that’s kind of rare these days in contemporary Western art.”
Terri Kelly Moyers, Compadres, oil, 12 x 16"
Richardson is excited about the pairing of the two artists for the Legacy show. “As a couple, they’ve been a real cornerstone to the Western art market for many years, participating in all the major shows and with the top galleries,” Richardson says, “They’re just a pleasure to work with and we’re excited about this upcoming event.”
Wandering West opens August 11 and runs through August 21 at Legacy Gallery’s Canyon Road location in Santa Fe. —
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