John Moyers occupies an enviable position few artists will ever know. What he most likes to paint, collectors most like to purchase. Northern New Mexico landscapes. Native American figures. Horses and riders.
That’s what you’ll find in a small show of new paintings this April at Maxwell Alexander Gallery—with a twist.
“Most of my work is focused on the figure and I do these big portraits. [Gallery director] Beau [Alexander] and I talked about it and thought it would be fun to do a show more focused on the landscape,” Moyers says.
A Sea of Gold, oil, 12 x 24 in.
In the half dozen new paintings, the scenery around Taos—the mountains, the clouds—takes precedence over the reduced figures traversing the terrain. The rich colors, luscious paint application and idyllic settings are unmistakably John Moyers, but the focal point is the land, not the people.
It’s land that Moyers knows intimately despite now living in Los Angeles. The artist’s family moved to Albuquerque in 1962, too young for him to remember anything else. He was raised in New Mexico and lived there until recently. He returns as often as possible.
Moyers completes his paintings in the studio with inspiration coming from sketches made on site. Countless sketches have been made over decades of close observation.
Shaded By Clouds, oil, 12 x 16 in.
“It’s hard for an artist to compete with another artist who lives in the subject matter he paints. I’m sure if I grew up in Vermont or Massachusetts, I’d be painting the New England states,” Moyers says. “If you travel there for one week a year, two weeks a year, it’s hard to compete with the guy who lives there year-round and can see every element of the weather, the light, the constant change in light, because every day is different.”
Tracks in the Snow, oil, 18 x 18 in.
Many artists, good ones, have been overmatched by New Mexico’s glaring light. Modernist legend Stuart Davis was never able to capture the state effectively despite numerous tries. He was a northeasterner, a city guy from Philadelphia and New York. He could paint the heck out of a cityscape. The high-country sun befuddled him.
In Moyers’ hands, New Mexico takes on a luminous quality, the landscape not harshly lit from above, rather warmly lit from behind. Light serves almost as a character in his paintings and, except for one winter scene, the Maxwell Alexander Gallery show pieces are sunny and warm to the point of cozy.
Fire in the Sky, oil on gessoboard, 12 x 12 in.
Especially a piece titled A Sea of Gold. “I love painting the fall colors in New Mexico and the chamisa when it’s blooming,” Moyers says.
“It’s always important for an artist to paint what they know,” Moyers adds. “[Artists] tend to get into trouble when they paint for the market...”
Moyers’ latest work proves again no one knows New Mexico better. —
Maxwell Alexander Gallery 1300 N. Lake Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91104, (213) 275-1060, www.maxwellalexandergallery.com
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