Feature of the Day #44: Janet Moore

Rounding Spot Red #1

Greetings!
Today's feature goes to Janet Moore and her captivating paintings.
Moore has been working as a professional visual artist for the past 25 years. She received her training at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in British Columbia, and the Simon Fraser University Summer Institute Intensive Program in British Columbia. She has received a number of awards from Canada Council and the Yukon Government. Her work is included in the Canada Council Art Bank, the Yukon Government Permenant Art Collection, the Yukon Arts Centre Collection, and the City of Whitehorse Collection. Her artistic spirit has been expressed in various mediums such as sculptural installation, oil and acrylic painting, and combining various techniques in mixed media collage paintings and monoprint/painting.
This is what Moore has to say about monoprints and what makes them unique:
Known as the most painterly method among the printmaking techniques, a monoprint is a non editionable kind of print and is essentially a printed painting. The characteristic of this method is that no two prints are alike. However, images can be similar but editioning is not possible. The true appeal of the monotype lies in the unique translucency that creates a quality of light very different from a painting on paper or a print, and the beauty of this media is also in its spontaneity and its combination of printmaking and painting. 

Portal 1

One example of Moore's monoprints is Portal 1 (left). Created with acrylic paints on a canvas, then brought to life with a palette knife and brush. The colors, even through a screen, are almost tangible. They're bold and strong, refusing to be ignored. Each color scrambles to stand out above the rest, yet none succeed. Even the brilliant patch of blue in dead center is overpowered by the swarming yellows; the greens creeping over it like a parasite. Yet even with all this disjointedness, there is unity in the chaos. Each color has its place and its time. To take one away would disrupt the tumultuous balance. If it weren't for the patch of red in the blue, the image would become too cool as the blues and greens gain control. And without the cool colors, the image would almost be too brilliant to look at. Overall, it's a beautiful mixture hot and cool, chaos  and control, depth and shallowness and altogether, a remarkable piece.
The first image that drew me to Moore's art, was her painting Reach (below right). The eye cannot simply ignore the proud and skeletal tree as it towers into the distance. The snarls of branches and twigs grasp in vain with some unknown intent, while shying away from the edge of the canvas. The colors have the same beautiful balance of hot and cool as seen in Portal 1. Reds and yellows coexisting with greens and blues while battling for control. As a mixed media painting, Reach was created using marble dust and medium, layered gesso, acrylic paint, charcoal, and varnish all on handmade paper collaged onto a wooden panel. This is what Moore has to say about Reach:

Reach

I spent two months as an artist in residence at the Banff Centre for the arts in Canada. I had a most beautiful studio to work in while there. There was a long skylight above the area where I painted and I could see these trees above me when I looked upwards. I could here the sounds they made as the wind blew and their branches rubbed up against the side of the studio. During my time there the leaves on these trees changed colours and eventually fell so that just the skeletal trees were left for me to look at. I was reminded of the life cycle within which we live, breath and have our being. I was touched by the beauty of these trees and reminded of my "feet of clay."
To see many more of Moore's paintings, visit her Etsy store here: www.etsy.com/shop/janetmoore
Make sure to check out her website for information on upcoming shows, paintings, and more: http://janetmoore.ca/home.html

Be Creative today!

~Squirrel Creek Creations

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Spring Pond #6